Disappearing Nine Patch 04: triangle variation

Nine Patch

Cut into quarters and left in place.

Sew 1/4" on either side of the drawn line

This photo shows sewn units cut along the drawn line to give two different quarter blocks.which can be arrange

My source for this is Nancy Brenan Daniel's "Slice 'em Dice 'em Quilts"  now out of print.
Start as before sewing  a nine patch and cutting it in half vertically and horizontally.I used 5" squares as this is an economical size. Don't turn the pieces but leave in place. Each quarter section measures 7" so I took four seven inch squares which could be all the same but I used two different fabrics. Draw a diagonal line corner to corner on the wrong sides and place on the quarter sections so the drawn lines form a diamond or square on point.. Sew on either side of the drawn line and cut apart on the line. Now you have eight "quarter" four with tiny triangles

and four with corner squares, enough for two 13" blocks.

They can be arranged like any HST or log cabin blocks and I show various possibilities but further arrangements combing the different elements are also possible. Once you have made several units you could go for a medallion arrangement.

Day Out

Surveying student handiwork

I.  spent the last week recovering from flu and watching loads of TV so yesterday it was good to get out to host a Quilters' Guild workshop which involved opening up the hall and providing tea coffee and cakes Judi Kirk was teaching machine sewn hexagons and the students produced some impressive work. It's always interesting to check out the different fabric choices. Meanwhile I set myself up in a side room with a couple of convection heaters and made samples for the U3A class on Monday, my first sewing machine session or over a week. It was good to get back.to it.

My set up

Basic Disappearing Nine Patch 3: some design strategies.

Basic style with just three colours.
This quilt has now been donated to Linus

Scrappy but similar corner and side squares with consistent centres. The cut apart ubits were the rearranged in an overall
layout before being sewn into blocks and rows..

Each nine patch had a different set of side squares to create a figure of eight pattern.
The centre square was the same as the corner squares

Here the corner squares were white and the side squares red giving a different emphasis to the pattern. I presseed the
nine patches towards the red squares and the black centres.

Castle Wall blocks with the sides having the same background colour as the cormer squares
making for a less defined pattern apart from the tone one one blue centre squares.

Castle Wall blocks with warm and cool  batiks placed consistently in the ninepatch corners and different cool batiks i each one, likewise different black centres.

Basic Disappearing Nine Patch Part 2

Having  split the ninepatch, turn diagonally opposite corners around to make a Patience Corner type block. If making  blocks for a quilt always turn the same corners.
If your 9-Patch had your feature fabric in the corners, turn the top right and bottom left cut units. Press towads the turned units and the join. If you are left handed turn the alternate sections instead.
Once sewn turn over to the back and undo the stitches in the seam allowance on each side of the long seam seam. Now you can press the seams all rotating in the same way making for a flat finish and ALL your blocks can be sewn together with nesting seams. The right handed block seams will rotate clockwise on the back anti-clockwise on the front. blocks made by left handers will be vice versa and this will be a more natural pressing direction for them.

Nice flat finish: this is a left handed one!

Becacase of the black thread you can clearly see the stitches in the seam allowance where the long seam crosses
which need to be taken out. This block is for right handers.

Basic Disappearing 9-Patch Step one

To make the basic version make a none patch block using four squares of one fabric for the corners,  four squares of a contrast fabric for the side pieces and a single piece of a third fabric for the centre. How you press the seams doesn't matter as they don't have to match up when the blocks meet. However I like to press to whichever fabric I want to highlight and this becomes slightly raised and the other only slightly receded, a subliminal effect.Here I pressed towards the leafy corners and the centre square.

Stripes at right angles to centre square

Stripes parallel to centre square

Note how the stripes are aligned in relation to the centre square, either all parallel or at right angles.
  Next cut the block in half vertically and horizontally. Try not to let it shift between cuts. To ensure my cuts are are even I like to use two rulers to measure from both sides at once then move one ruler away in order to make the  cut.
.

Block cut in half vertically and horizontally

Two rulers enable an even cut

Workshop

Add caption

Pleased with their handiwork

I spent a day with Castle Wall exploring the possibilities of disappearing nine patches. I took several examples and further experimented with side squares with the same white background as the chickens and butterfly  feature fabrics in the corners. Then warm and cool batiks were place in consistent corners with black in the centre and pale ones at the sides. We didn't have as much time as I should have liked to explore the triangle variation.

Feeling smug

I'm very pleased with myself today as I've attached the two side borders to my Three Score Years and Ten quilt, quilt as you go,  a job I've been putting off. In the end it went quite smoothly. Now to sew up the open seams on the back but that's no hardship. I'm still appliqueing the final border but it's well advanced.

A Piece o' Cake pattern

U3A first New Year meeting

We met to make a disappearing nine patch block but more of this in a later blog.. First there was show and tell of previous work including convergence pieces, diappearing four four patches and a wonderful quilt finish from Bid.

Linda's Convergence cushion

D4P

D4P using a Laura Ashley print

I know this was Pam's

And this Rosemary's

Bid's wonderful sew-a-row quilt for a grandson and reflecting aspects of his life.

Farnham

It was the time for the annual trip to Farnham when traders sell off surplus stock more cheaply. I was pleased to acquire some woven checks from a stash sale stall at a good price and one or two supplies such as flower head pins but my main focus was the upstairs quilt displays and demonstrations by local groups.

Amalgamation by Coral Smith from Katharine
Guerrier stars workshop and Carolyn Forster Quilt as
You go workshop

Christine Vlietsta: Purples in Africa.
There several examples of her beautiful work
all with brilliant use of handstitching.

Neel Williams: Maldives
I have photographed this quilt before admiring the hand dyed fabrics and effective use of
inserts

A detail

Wall hanging version

Fiona Moss: Trip Around the World using Kaffe Fassett fabrics

Bright Stars by Claire Morris, another result of Katharine Guerrier's workshop

A lovely mosaic quilt hanging behind the demonstrators

More group work

Heart cushions

Fabric choices

Quay Quilters made lots of heart cushions for breast cancer patients last night. I have them in my house to deliver to the group member who organises this project as she was ill for the meeting. Lots of people are going down with bad flu at the moment. We also did a fabric sorting exercise. On my own account I finished my quilt from the Skopolos quilt leftovers but now wish I hadn't included the block which is a blot!

My quilt

Dizzy Daisy

I belong to a charity sewing bee and we are each taking turns to choose a block for the others to send in. This is the January one and Gillian requested a pink and a purple one with yellow centres. I enjoyed making them - they were very quick - and look forward to what the next person comes up with.

Completed blocks

Blocks in the making

And on the second day . .

I added the final touches to my Space DNP variation example also possibly destined for Linus though I may put this on my goup sales table as I need to fund my Linus habit. I was very bold and quilted round the seams with a curved line using my quilting hoop as template. I used to do this sort of thing  all the time but lost my nerve as I went on.

Backing

The quilting paatern shows up more on the back.

If it doesn't sell I shall donate it..

Flying Start with Dinosaurs on the back

Faced with dinosaurs on the back

Final Linus Picture play quilt

I had such a big pile of Linus tops and blocks to assemble, sandwich and quilt it was quite daunting. It was very worthwhile but I am glad to have completed th final one, tidying the corners of the facing by hand on New Years Day.

New Year tidy up

Left hand cupboards full of fabric!!!

Horn cabinet folded up

I was getting a lot of bags and boxes piled up which were starting to get me down. I have managed to find places for this stuff and it's lovely to free up floor space.
I've folded up my Horn cabinet and hope someone out there will take it off my hands as I need something more flexible. Meanwhile I'll use a fold up table.  The wonderful table at the far end is staying - it goes up and down at the push of a button so it is good for cutting or for sitting at. a worthwile investment.
I also plan a sewing machine shakeout. I have two trips to come and once I know how my finances are after those I'll start to replace items as I can afford them.

The tall cupboard is crammed with UFO's