Mariner’s Compass, Part 1

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved the design of a Mariner’s Compass.  Maybe it reminds me of the stars or the sun, celestial orbs with radiant light.  I’m a child of the moon who loves the warmth of the sun, fascinated by the interstellar glory of a supernova deep within the cosmos.  But the Mariner’s Compass isn’t considered an easy design to stitch together so I shelved the idea in the back of my quilt artist brain and told myself, one day, when I’m a “master”, I’ll give it a try.

I’m nowhere near a master in the quilt art world, but it turns out there are tricks and treats available if one only looks.  I came across a Little Bits pattern by Cindi Edgerton at the local fabric shop.  The pattern employs the paper piecing technique.  Always up for learning new techniques and, with the added bonus of finally making my own Compass, I snatched up the pattern and took it home (after paying, of course).

Using fabric from my stash, bright, sunshiny colors each, I dove in this week and created the vibrant block below.  Turns out paper piecing is pretty simple once one gets the hang of it.  Learning this method should come in handy for future projects, using my own patterns.

I intend to ignore the rest of the purchased pattern, discarding the idea to ring this sun with a border of flying geese.  Not a big fan of geese, fabric or real.  I have to dodge real geese on my way into my office building, which is true test of one’s dedication to the day job.  Instead, I plan to offset the compass block on a 45 degree shift from one point in the lower right side of the quilt top.  The remainder of the top will be a soft yellow to pick up the tiny hint in one of the compass points, representing the first hint of light at the dawn.

In the meantime, please let me know what you think of this blast of color.

Please stop back in a couple of weeks to see the finished top and the quilting progress.

How open are you to trying out new things?