Coffee Filter Mariner's Compass, Day 1

Some small, some REALLY large! A coffee filter is nothing more than a paper circle. I've been intrigued with the sewing potential for almost 30 years. Here's the first one that I did some string piecing on. I cut the circle in half and used up some scraps.

 And here it is from the back. I still take these with me to trunk show presentations!

The first compass I drafted for a coffee filter appeared both in the pages of Quilt Magazine and also in my first book (Bold, Black and Beautiful, AQS 2004). Autumn Mariner's Compass.

Block Size: 14" x 14". Quilt Size: 23" x 23"

Drafting a compass has been around for hundreds of years. Take a look at the page I wrote for the compass quilt in my book.

I made a larger one in green and it was the basis for a dozen or so workshops. We did not piece on coffee filters, but I took the concept and drafted the foundations on newsprint for my students. This appeared in my 3rd book (Paper Piecing Perfect Points).

Block Size: 16" x 16". Quilt Size: 28" x 28"

I made it in browns as a class sample. Not sure where this block is!

Beginner's Mariner's Compass

And another one that I enlarged into a sweet charity quilt for a young child. Here's the center.

Valentine's Compass

I pulled out all sorts of pinks and reds and put borders around this and it is being quilted for our charity endeavors here in Northern Virginia. A very girlie quilt, right?

Simple 16" Mariner's Compass with fun borders!

I also proposed a variation on this compass by adding an inner ring (donut) and then pieced points in another ring. I called this Sassy Mariner's Compass, but my publisher thought it was too busy! That's the point - lots of fun fabric being downright sassy! This also was a workshop for a few years.

Sassy Mariner's Compass. Block Size: 22". Quilt Size: 38" x 38"

I pulled out my workshop box and found enough samples to make this quilt again, along with parts for still another one. That's just the way I approach teaching - lots and lots of steps in REAL fabric!

I'll be back on Wednesday with some larger (MUCH larger) quilts using a 20" coffee filter as the center. Do you remember seeing these?

20" coffee filters from a coffee shop

I've made 5 quilts using these large coffee filters and I hope you'll enjoy seeing them!