WIP Wednesday - Shaded Ninepatch

On the weekend, I laid out the Yellow/Green panels of what I am calling my Shaded Ninepatch Quilt. Since I don't have a detailed plan for my quilt (I only knew I needed a WHOLE bunch of yellow, green and blue ninepatches), I need to layout and play with the blocks for each panel.

As a result of this process I needed to make some more green blocks. I had enough, but by the fourth panel, too many blocks with similar fabric were in evidence.So I've made more blocks and we re-layout the panels again to get a bit more random in! Here are the new blocks:

Here is the yellow  and green panel laid out. It isn't sewn up yet as I am still working on the placement.

An invaluable tool in this process was a $3 peep hole from the hardware shop. As I was working inside, I didn't really have the distance to see the full effect of the blocks together. As soon as I looked at the blocks with the peep hole, a couple of "dead zones" immediately jumped out.

This design also requires the use of alot of half blocks, essentially nine patches cut in half. I have alot of these left over. But the beauty of patchwork is that they won't go to waste. I plan on trimming them slightly and adding a triangle in a matching solid. I have so many of these there should be plenty for a decent sized project.

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Blockbuster Thursday

So I am testing out a new thing on my blog today. I'm calling it Blockbuster Thursday, not terribly original, but hey, I'm a quilter, not a poet! The idea is for you to link to a picture of a block you have created (preferably one you've made this week, but I'm flexible on that!).

Below you will see text which says: "You are next..Click Here to Add A link". Click on the link, fill in the form, pick an image of your block, submit!! Below, a list of pictures and links to blocks will grow. A great way to let people know what you are working on and also see what others are doing.

Sea of Crisis from Jinny Beyer Moonglow Quilt

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Amish Inspiration

Did a bit of shopping on the weekend. They had a special on solids, so I stocked up. Been wanting to get some stuff in hand for an Amish project. Haven't decided on a pattern yet, but I think I will go with these colours. They are a little washed out but you get the idea.

I am also thinking of redoing a quilt I made for my Dad. All hand made, but done in polypop because a) I didn't know any better and b) I couldn't afford cotton. I think I might do a lap size quilt, cause I really do love the colour combination. Maybe just in pinwheel variations?

So does anyone have any links to Amish quilts that might offer me inspiration for the above fabrics? I'd prefer historical quilts but modern patterns are good too!! Maybe something a bit unexpected?

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Baby Disappearing Nine Patches Progress

So I decided to go with the Disappearing Nine Patch for the left over strips I had. The blocks are quite small and I won't get a very big project if I don't add some more fabric. At this stage, I am thinking of making bigger blocks, using a solid blender fabric.

In the mean time, here are the strips once I sewed them into nine patches.

I tried to get as much contrast as I could but there was an uneven number of contrasting strips. But I figure once they are cut up and sewn back together, it won't really matter too much.

This is what one of the blocks looked like after it had been quartered.

And here it is with a bit of a rearrange. I think this is my favourite orientation for this technique.

This is the little bitty pile of blocks once the 15 or so nine patches were cut up.

And here is the original pile of nine patches which produced the left overs. Sort of a Mumma pile and baby pile! Aren't they cute?

So no further on this project yet, but I hope to sort out the nine patches on Sunday, so I can start getting that top together. The baby patches will be a when I can't be bothered working on anything else project.

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Disappearing Nine Patch - Awesome!

Do you ever have one of those moments where you just discover the best thing and wondering why it took you so long? I had one of those moments yesterday. I had lots of great feedback on what to do with my left over Nine Patch Strips. One of the suggestions was to work up the spares using the Disappearing Nine Patch technique. It was such an inspiration I went home and worked up a heap of blocks so I could play with them (not using the left over strips of course, that would be too sensible!). Anyway, I made up eight 12 1/2" blocks using pink and green. I've been wanting to do something in this combo for a while, to use up some of the large number of pink fabrics I've managed to collect. An example is just below:

 

For those not familiar with the technique, you make nine patch blocks and then cut them in four sections. Then you can play. Here is the layout that I first saw the idea used in. A great way to get a sashed quilt without messing with sashing and setting squares! 

 

Or another block, which I think I will use these demo blocks for, is this one: 

 

So, eight blocks isn't quite enough to work with. So I might do another eight tonight, as they only took about an hour all up to do.

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Nine Patch Leftovers - Help!

So, I have a heap of strips left over from the nine patch project I am working on. There should be enough to make something useful from with a little bit of work. What I lack are ideas. I was thinking maybe a couple of strips of plain fabric? But I don't want to buy too much more fabric or deal with having to work out co-ordinating colours. Or maybe one of each colour per block to make a stripy pattern? But that wouldn't give me as many blocks as if I only used one strip per block.

So any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Here are the strips to give an idea of colours.

Also, here is the pile of nine patch blocks ready to be made into the top. It's gonna be huge!!

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Clean Up and Fabric Donation

So I didn't get around to taking any photos of the UFO. But I did manage to clean up my craft space a little bit. I found several bits of fabric I won't use, so I posted to my main quilting group and got a list of people and groups working on quilts for donation to worthy causes. I have sent off two large parcels of quilting fabric which will now be made into quilts for people who really need them. And I hope to send some more once the clean up is complete!

Do YOU have any of that "Oh my God, what was I thinking when I bought that fabric"? Why not see about donating it to a group making quilts or other items for those not having the best of times? If you are in Australia and would like a couple of names let me know!!

In an effort to add some colour, here are the blocks I currently have for the next UFO on the list to complete. I need to make another seven blocks and then just add a border. Should get this additional blocks done this week. A bit more time consuming as they are hand stitched.

 

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