I’ve been commissioned to make an altar mat for Brigid, a goddess of smithing. Requests were earth tones with a star burst/sun center, metallics an extra bonus. Traditional piecing rather than foundation paper piecing. These are the fabrics I pulled.
I won’t necessarily be using using all.
Blue and green make the red and orange pop, I have metallics, and the two prints in the left are a maybe.
Blue has metallic dots, the dark orange has a more grunge spread of the metallic. The leafy ferns green is a batik, I also have a solid green to go with it.
For this, I would ideally using FPP because I have the exact block in mind. It does raise the price, and they requested traditional piecing. I’m gonna look up a tutorial on how to make a pineapple block using traditional piecing, but courthouse blocks are another option. Courthouse blocks don’t have the star bursting effect, but I can get a Brigid’s cross in there with some color arranging.
Time for graph paper!
For the Brigid’s cross, I’ll use a schoolhouse block combined with a square-in-square. The arrangement of colors will create the cross, SnS will allow more color play, and for this I’ll be using a minimum of four fabrics. The brackish print will be the very center, metallic red will be the arms of the cross, blue will be the triangles in the SnS to make the red, orange, and yellow pop with more balance. Hmmm..still deciding. I think I’ll need to do the layout in colors first.
This is the other pattern I’m considering. None of the applique or buttons, but add a row of Xs to make it even, and a couple borders to make it reach the requested 20x20 inch size.
Yay! @mrs-k-cottage-witch opted for foundation paper piecing!
This is half the block, and I’m making eight blocks plus a border or two in order to reach 20x20 inches.
When I hear earth tones, the first thing I think is warm, calm, old forest, potted garden, log cabin, and balance. To bring all that out, a cooler color needs to be in place. Otherwise everything just sort blends together and looks bland. This blue does it beautifully. Imagine if I used a brown or orange. Not quite so strong nor balanced, is it?
Now, back to work!
Time to trim the edges!
Small tip: take photographs of layouts before committing to the arrangement. You’ll see things in the picture you would otherwise not notice.
I couldn’t decide on what fabric to use for sashing, and the photos helped me figure it out. The same fabric as the center strips. I’m putting a 1 inch strip (finishing at half an inch) to help increase the size. It’s now 17x17 inches, which means at least two borders.
Time for borders!
Before adding more borders, I need to remove all the paper. I have about an hour of that to focus on. First, a snack, then paper removal while watching a film. After that, one border. I have about 1.25 inches left to reach the goal. I’ll use the blue for the border and then the striped fabric for the binding. The bright orange brick print will be the backing.
Top is finished! The stripe print will be the binding, and only about 0.25" will be visible when done.
I just realized I covered one of the borders!
It’s a hint of a print, not a solid green.
A somewhat meandering stitch setting on my machine, combined with an earth tones variegated thread. Straight stitch for stitch-in-the-ditch within the blocks.
The machine quilting will absolutely helpful in keeping the mat flat. Less poof effect and stiffer. Which can be ideal for mats. I used this for my own altar mat and it’s great!
Adding definition to the center of the blocks!
And Jasper is being very helpful.
I don’t let either of the cats on the fabric or projects, and everything is washed before I pack and send it. If you want something “blessed” by my cats, just ask. I’ll set it on the floor for them to love aka sleep/loaf.
Time for binding!!!
I absolutely love how this has turned out.
All done! It shrank a solid inch, which is far more than I expected. Now it’s 19x19 inches. Still gorgeous!
I still love this altar cloth! Thank you many times over for all your hard work! It was a wonderful experience commissioning you for this piece :)
