Last year, Mom and I took an absolutely wonderful class on “applipiecing” from Caryl Bryer Fallert at the Chicago quilt show. Our class project was a small block. If any of you ever have a chance to take a class from this amazing artist, I highly recommend it.
I finally got around to doing something with that block – I made it into a trivet, using a square cut from a felted wool sweater as the batting. My goal was to produce something somewhat heat-resistant, absorbent, and machine-washable to use on an end table as something I could set my coffee mug on. It took a few tries to get the top, batting, and backing placed in the right orientation so I could sew them together and end up with both outsides on the outside, and the inside on the inside – but to my (small) credit, I realized the error of my second attempt much more quickly than on my first attempt. My seam ripper got a good workout on this project.
This picture was taken before my first use of the trivet – a good thing, since I managed to spill coffee all over it right away. (It did prove its absorbency and machine-washability, and is now back in use on my living room end table)
Wow, that’s beautiful! I’ve been thinking about making a specialized potholder for the handle on my cast-iron skillet with felted wool, but I’m still looking for some kind of heat-resistant lining to use.
And I totally understand about getting things in the right orientation to have all the outsides wind up on the outside. I had to go through three iterations of the first notebook cover from last Christmas’s Crackpot gift before I got it right, and that was after I’d pieced the mockup using muslin!
This looks great! I haven’t done anything with my sample, but I should get some points for knowing where it is. Ok, so not that many points because it is in plain sight…
Trivets, coasters and potholders are great ideas for completing sample pieces. I may have to borrow this idea.
P.S. It really helps to talk to yourself while you are trying to get the layers in the right order. I’ve tried every method, and this is the most reliable.
Lovely trivet, Rebecca! I would be inspired to do a variant on it for myself since one can never have too many absorbent, washable trivets or coasters. However, I am heavily into Blanka Janosi’s quilt now, with another one for Baby Szepesvari-Takacs to follow close on its heels. But that led to another thought. Small trivets of this sort would make great Crackpot Christmas presents. Hint, hint…