9 patch swap

The 9 patch swap that I did with Indiana quilters was for 17 9 patches. Due to someone not being able to participate, I received an extra one of my blocks back. I had already made one to keep so now I had 3 identical 9 patches and 15 that were all different and unique. What to do? I decided that no matter what I did with them, I wanted to make disappearing 9 patches so I cut each 9 patch in half vertically and horizontally thus giving me 4 smaller pieces which I stitches back together after turning some of them.


I wanted to use all of the blocks but 17 or 18 is a bit of a challenge so I then made 3 more blocks so that I'd have 21. My thought was 2 baby quilts, a 3 block square and a 3 x 4 block quilt. Now for the fun part - arranging the blocks and stitching them into a quilt. I first put 12 of the blocks together, making a small quilt (36 x 48") that will make a cute baby quilt. That left 9 blocks, one of which was a novelty print with spools of thread on it. I decided to put that block in the center as it seemed quite different that the rest of the blocks. Sashing would make this quilt look different from the first one so I went to my fabric cabinet and found a small yellow print I thought would work. I then found a green novelty with buttons on it (cornerstones) and a green novelty print with spools of thread and ribbon (outer borders). Now I have a sewing theme for this quilt. Wanting it to be larger than the 9 blocks, I added top and bottom borders of 3" 9 patches that I had from another swap. This little quilt now measures approx. 45 x 60". I really like this one and may keep it for my sewing room. Anyone want to suggest a name? I hope to have both of these quilts sandwiched, quilted and finished by the time school starts in August.


Things I learned: I can use yellow, small prints work for sashing, and the biggest lesson of all - think and do the math! When one cuts apart a 12" block then resews it back together, it is no longer a 12" block. I forgot about that and cut my sashing strips 12 1/2" just as I would for a 12" block. Oops ! 1/2" had to be cut off as my blocks were no longer 12" finished but 11.5". Planning the small 9 patch borders also took a bit of math as they needed to be equally spaced and with the same amount of space between them.