Finding useful opportunities for expressing your quilting creativity is sometimes a challenge. I love making full size quilts, but the backlog of quilt tops that need quilting in my cupboard is a reminder that large projects are not always the most appropriate project to launch into. A Mug Rug is fun, but to the other extreme, as they can be small and fiddly. The alternative - the Cat Mat.
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| Sparky the Cat on Broken Dishes Cat Mat |
This is Sparky the cat modelling my most recent Cat Mat using the Broken Dishes quilt block pattern. I enjoy making this size project as I find that the size of a Cat Mat offers more scope to test out new quilting patterns, and to practice some different machine quilting techniques. Best of all they actually get used, all day, every day, by the cats, as they are placed in strategic places around the house. Also, they can be thrown into the washer easily.
This particular project used 5" batik charm squares in a mix of yellow, orange, red, pink and purple. The mat finishes up 18" square, with the finished quarter square triangles being 3.5". To create the contrast that builds up the Broken Dishes pattern, I made up some quarter square triangles, pairing up light and dark squares, front sides together. I then marked a diagonal cross on the lighter fabric, as a guide for sewing. The dashed lines on the diagram show where I machine stitched the two squares together with a 1/4 " seam allowance, the solid line shows where I cut them, once stitched on the machine.
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| Quarter Square Triangle Unit |
Once sewn and cut, you have sets of light / dark triangles, which then need to be paired up into the squares, which can be seen on the far right of this picture.
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| Quarter Square Triangles - half way through! |
With the squares complete, plan the layout, making sure the lights and darks are next to each other throughout. I find that taking a picture on my iPhone or iPad at this stage is a useful reminder of the layout, as once I start lifting up the pieces for sewing on the machine the blocks easily get mixed up!
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| Broken Dishes Quilt Pattern Layout |
For this mat, I backed it with a red fabric, which I cut larger than the final size, so that the backing fabric could be brought forward onto the front for the binding, which I machined in place, after I had quilted the mat. As I said before, these mats are ideal for improving your free machine quilting techniques, and on this one I filled the darker triangles up with a smooth zig-zag pattern, which followed the graduating shape of the triangle.
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| Broken Dishes Quilt - Backing and Binding |
I love the Broken Dishes pattern. I think it is especially great for using up scrap fabrics, the pattern is quite dynamic, and I particularly like quilts which have the same repetitive pattern throughout. I don't profess to be ther greatest machine quilter, and I have had no complaints about the quilting so far, but then Sparky's eyesight is not too great ...
