Here I've got all four potholders sandwiched and pinned, ready for quilting. The pieced block is on top, two layers of Warm 'N Natural in the center, and chosen fabric for the backing on the bottom.
I quilted each according to the block design and my own inclination at the moment. That's another advantage of making potholders that I forgot to mention earlier. They give you a chance to try different quilting lines and designs. Much better to ruin one small potholder while learning free-motion quilting than a whole quilt. Sometime I'll show you the potholders I made years ago when I was trying to learn how to meander. Why I haven't thrown those away is a mystery. They are AWFUL!
Below are the four different potholders after quilting.
Anvil
Brave World
Road to Heaven
Castles in Spain
The front view of all four potholders with binding sewn on and completed.
And the back view.
So what did I learn about these four (actually five . . . but we've already ruled out Southern Belle) new (to me) traditional block patterns I tried?
I like Road to Heaven so much that I know I'm going to use it to make a baby quilt soon. As I was working with Brave World, I found myself drawn to it more and more. Because the pinwheel design is always attractive for a wee one, I might give it a go for a baby quilt also. Anvil seems very plain, but I can visualize a quilt using a different colored fabric for each "anvil" and separating the blocks with sashing. The block was easy to construct so even a full-sized quilt would go together fast using this block. Castles in Spain has good eye appeal but I think I'd like to find a coordinating block to alternate with it. Out of the five blocks I worked with in making the potholders, I found four I'll probably use again . . . not a bad percentage!
Whew, finally done! If you think the blogging about the construction of these potholders took a long time, rest assured it seemed like it took me a REALLY long time to actually get the work on them done. Hope my daughter still wants 'em!
4 comments:
Yeah, gimme, gimme, gimme! I think it would be interesting for your readers to know how big they are, too, ya know? (Finished size.)
Anvil & Road to Heaven are the same pattern, no? Just tweaked a bit to create a difference? At any rate, they are definitely my favorites, and I LOVE the stitching on Anvil! Couldn't get THAT by hand-stitching! ;)
Chicken Mama - I did a little blog post in regard to your comment. Check it out.
They turned out great! I like them all. And thanks for the post re the size and the pattern differences. It is always amazing to me how different fabrics can make such a difference in the same pattern. I look forward to "quilting" with you a long time via the blog.
Vivian - Yay, let's do it!!
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