I was delighted when Fiona from PatternTrace asked if I would test her Mountain Tub Foundation Paper Pieced (FFP) pattern for her and even more so when I saw what she had designed. Immediately it appealed to me with the rainbow/ colourwheel mountains, ombre affect and simple geometric shapes.

My immediate thought was to to make the sun set behind the mountains and with the left overs from my Entropy Quilt being a yellow, orange, red/pink and purple sat on my desk it seemed a no-brainer. I did a quick scribble with my colouring pencils on tracing paper over the construction diagram and that sealed the deal. I was inspired while at festival of quilts by the improv quilts so quickly joined some of the yellow orange scraps to make some panels I could cut the background from.

I used my favorite paper for foundation piecing which happens to come from PatternTrace* too. *Full disclosure – I am working in partnership with PatternTrace but I used their paper before this partnership and this is a genuine recommendation. I should do a proper blog post about why I like this paper, but in summary it’s because:

• It’s semi-transparent so helps you pattern match or see where the fabric is
• It’s thin and flexible so easier to work with than normal paper
• It rips off easily, but not too easily (once sewn sections don’t start to fall off)
• It’s fully recyclable as it’s 100% paper. I collect all my bits in a tub when removing the paper and throw it straight in the compost and it mixes in with the wet matter easily

For this partnership I help promote their products in exchange for 3 packs of foundation paper and can only assume I was selected because I had been genuinely raving about their foundation paper. This review is a true reflection of my experience of the pattern and not bias.

You can get 10% off your order with PatternTrace for Foundation Paper or any bundle which contains it using my code: “andsewi” & you will automatically get this Mountain Tub pattern added to your order FREE.

I didn’t have a set plan while I was piecing the main panel, I grabbed what I thought and went for it! I must have really enjoyed this part as I took no photos but each section went together quickly with 5/6 seams each, I felt quickly like I was making progress. Again the sections came together quickly and easily and before lunch I had a completed panel. To be honest I think you could use this pattern to make a nice wall hanging. With my ombre setting sun sky I started roughly matching the the yellow and orange shades but it quickly became apparent I didn’t have enough fabric left over to continue.

For quilting the panel I wanted to do it simply and not add to much detail so the FPP could really shine! I have only recently ventured into using heavier weight thread to quilt with and I maybe got a little to excited at the Wonderfil stand at Festival of Quilts. I had bought a glow in the dark 40wt thread (more about this later) in a light lemon colour and why not use it straight away! Hoping to replicate the last rays of sun coming over the mountain I echoed their shape with a simple straight stitch.

Joining the short end of the panel I certainly found Fiona’s tip for holding the seam allowance out the way gave a nice smooth joint and helped the tub keep a consistent shape.

The template for the base was perfectly sized and went on remarkably easily I think, maybe because it’s an oval (fantastic as it’s different to all the other tub patterns) and you have a straighter edge to start and stop on. It was well clipped and pined in place but it was a one hit and no seam ripper was required! Lining went it easy and the whole construction probably only took half an hour maximum. I did decide I had to hand finish the binding so that probably took longer.

I felt it needed a little something else and a fab quilty friend Lauran from @Lovevernhandmade on Instagram suggested some hand stitched stars! I think this cute little detail really makes my tub and I certainly need to be doing more hand sew little details like these!

In summary, this is a fab little pattern for a slightly different tub. A relatively quick make I would say it took me about 4/5 hours but I was not peddle to the metal as it was the summer holidays and I had to stop to Mum occasionally. It’s not overly complicated either in the FPP or tub construction. Hardest part for me was joining the bias finishing, getting the ends to join without excess… but don’t worry the instructions tell you how to join the bias: just run one over the other! That struggle was completely my own making – I should have followed the instruction! Sorry Fiona!

Don’t forget you can get the pattern for FREE if you buy foundation paper or a bundle containing it as well as 10% off using my code: “andsewi”.

Now to the WonderFil Ahrora Thread, that is supposed to glow in the dark. Very disappointingly I couldn’t get it to glow no matter how much I charged it in direct or indirect sunlight for any amount of time.

My intention was to use this as a tub on my bedside table to hide some of the clutter and match my Entropy Quilt which lives on my bed along with the Nomad Cushion I pattern tested – both the work of @squats_and_runningstitches. The mountain outline and hand-quilted stars would offer something to admire during a sleepless night.

After doing some research I discovered they recommend using it in larger areas which to me defeats the point because you could use glow in the dark fabric. The only way I could get the thread to glow was by using a black light torch which I ordered. Once it arrived and I tried it out I realised pure white thread would glow better.

I can however confirm I am very happy with the WonderFil Flash Thread. It very much does flash back when you photograph the quilt. The colour and texture is nice but I have not used it in a project yet. I do have some ideas that I’m very excited to experiment with so if your are interested in this thread keep an eye on my feed.

Helen xxx