I decided to attempt the 'Laced Star' quilt block on one of my large bowls. I googled images of the pattern to get a feel for it and see it in different colour combinations, and stumbled across 'BARN QUILTS'.
You all probably know about these already, but they're new to me and I have been fascinated by this recent trend which is taking off in rural parts of the U.S.
As you can see, the barn owner chooses a quilt-block they like, or one which has some meaning in their family history, and has it painted onto a huge board and mounted onto the side of their barn.
There are 'Barn Quilt Trails' you can go on, where you get a little map and off you go to find them all. They can now be spotted brightening up the landscape of many US states. A lady called Suzi Parron even wrote a book about them, telling the wonderful stories behind the individual choices of quilt block. Have a look at her blog if you want more : http://americanquilttrail.blogspot.co.uk.
So this is the 'Laced Star', above on a barn and below on a pot! Once I'd got my head round it, I didn't find it too difficult to map out onto clay.
Years ago when I first started making these, I found the more complex patterns a bit challenging, but now I really enjoy them as I have kind of 'got the hang of it' with practice! Geometry was the only thing I ever understood in Maths at school, and that was probably more to do with an ability to see patterns, than anything numerical!
Because it's called Laced Star I decided to impress a strip of flowery lace into the clay to make the border. That's the green band you see here. Though, I expect by 'laced', they really mean 'interlaced', but anyway!
Now I'm off to put a huge painted quilt-block on the side of my barn .... except we don't have a barn. We do have a double garage which can be seen from the side of the road - maybe that would do?
Up until five years ago, I had never even heard of a 'Quilt Block', so it's no surprise that I didn't know about Barn Quilts. Did you know about them? I think I have a few American readers, so obviously you all knew!
You live and learn!
x Cathy
