Misty Mountains Coaster

As an Aurifil Artisan, I choose to participate in challenges throughout the year that use Aurifil thread. I absolutely love these because they push me outside of my comfort zone. This month’s theme is Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP) and I immediately thought it would be so much fun to use create a Misty Mountains coaster! I’m quite the rookie when it comes to FPP and my previous experiences, well, I didn’t really love them. But a coaster seemed like a small, non-threatening way to try FPP again.

Spoiler Alert: I still dislike Foundation Paper Piecing.

For my Misty Mountains coaster I dug through my scraps and came up with a nice blue palette. I created the coaster design in Illustrator, scaling it down to end with a finished 4.5″ coaster. I was a bit stumped about how to create this FPP design without needing to break it up too much, and came up with sewing together colors 2 & 3, 4 & 5, and 6 & background together and putting that seam on the dotted lines in the pattern. This allowed me to sew the design together in one fell swoop. I realize this isn’t “standard” FPP practice, but, hey, it worked for me.

I used Aurifil 50 weight in 2805 for piecing and 2785 for sewing the coaster opening shut. Because I feel anything can pretty much be improved with hand-quilting, I’d like to add some hand-quilting details with Aurifil 12 weight in 5007.

I went into this super excited, friends. I thought this was going to be the project that made me like FPP just a little bit more. And by the end of the four coasters, boy, I was going to be looking up more FPP patterns with joy and glee. Well, if you’re squinting at the photos and wondering why you only see ONE finished coaster and a whole lot of unused paper, there’s a reason. Not even two seams in, I realized that actually, nope, still not a fan of FPP. I finished my one Misty Mountains coaster and decided to call it a day. Will I ever make three more to have a complete set? Only time will tell. But previous experience would dictate that putting your money on “no” would be a pretty safe bet.

If you’re wanting to dip your toes into FPP, I have a handy video that outlines stitch lengths for everything from quilting to FPP.

I do love the finished look of this Misty Mountains coaster. It captures the look and feel of Misty Mountains and would be quite at home in many different decor styles. And if you like foundation paper piecing, this project might just be for you.

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