#9 patch

[bluedesignwall]

I made this quilt back in 2008 and it has been in use every day since then. The quilt top is starting to disintegrate so I have decided to patch it. Hopefully these star patches will hold this quilt together until I have a replacement completed. Big quilts take time to make.

[charliecraftsthings]

Planning a back (or front) for my little practice blanket, a project for familiarising myself with patchwork so I can repair my childhood blankie.

I want a soft blankie, but I also want it to be durable.

I decided to test a variety of fabrics, feel how they feel as a blanket, feel how they evolve with washing and wearing. Fabrics include: cotton flannel (flannelette?), Fableism Sprout Woven, Essex (cotton-linen), a quilting cotton, and some Japanese yarn-dyed cottons.

I've been trying to define what I mean by "softness", and I think there are two important and independent qualities: flexibility (pliantness, the bendiness of the fabric) and friction (texture, the surface of the fabric).

My intuition says the flannel will be the softest right away: the most pliant and having the most pleasant surface texture. But I'm worried that it won't be very durable. (Flannel's soft texture is the result of fine fibres sticking out of the fabric. These fibres either come from the loosely-spun yarns used in weaving, or from mechanically brushing the fabric to make them stick out. Either way, choices have been made that result in a less durable cloth.)

I suspect the Essex and Sprout Woven will remain coarse-textured and not-very-bendy for a few washes; the Essex taking longer to become more-bendy. Sprout Woven has little woven X-es, which contribute to a rougher overall texture, but I think it will become more pliant with time (both the overall fabric, and the raised X-es), which will ultimate translate to "softer." But I believe they will be the most durable--especially the Essex with its linen content.

Some of the yarn-dyed fabrics have distinctly woven textures; but even those without have a little coarseness in the weave: maybe the yarns are thicker, or there's more space in the weave; or maybe there's more irregularity in the yarn thickness. So it'll be interesting to see how they evolve.

I only picked one quilting cotton (also Japanese, I believe), because I don't have a of blues stashed; I chose the one I had the most of, that also kinda matched the overall vibe of this blanket side.

For patchwork, I wanted to try making a "disappearing 9 patch", which is made by quartering a 9-patch.

Y'all. It was so hard (emotionally), to slice up my cute little 9-patch!

I also learned that I'm awful at quilt math.

But that's ok. I turned that into some chaotic patchwork practice!

I knew I'd need to add sashing (ie: strips of fabric between these quilt block rows--I think I'm using that term correctly at least), in order to make a the right size of rectangle; but I also mis-calculated the width of that rectangle.

So, yay, more practice!

It's a bit chaotic, but it still has a pleasing amount of symmetry. I kinda really love the "scrappy" look here--I wasn't sure I would before I started, so I'm glad.

This is getting close to the max number of images I can stick in a post so I think I'll call it here.

Next part: attaching the front to the back, trimming, and quilting (sewing through the two layers of fabric).

[whimsy-flags]

Nine Patch Quilt Edits!

Transneutral | Aro | Genderfluid

Free to use!

[betrueinheart]

9-Patch lap quilt

[loveslavandula]

Turquoise Stepping Stones. 65" x 65" by tell tale threads Via Flickr: This is my third leaders and enders quilt using scrappy 1.5” squares. When I have a very small scrap of fabric that I can cut into a 1.5” square, I put it into a tin next to may sewing machine and periodically pair a white and coloured scrap. I sewed the scraps into 9 patches and stored them in a zip lock baggy - they quickly accumulate without me realizing it. Recently, while making a few more, I stored them on my design wall which also happened to have some turquoise scraps on it. I rooted through my scrap collection and found more turquoise and voila – another scrappy quilt. To make it larger, I added the darker turquoise blocks around the edge and put them all on point. All the blocks are 3” finished size.

[bluedesignwall]

I got the green star sewn on tonight. I was over heating a bit sitting under the quilt as I stitched. Hopefully I will get the purple star attached tomorrow I think I will need to add some more smaller stars as I keep finding threadbare patches as I stitch.

[stitchinggeek]

Blocks!

Still not a lot of knitting around here – it’s been too hot. I have been working on some quilt blocks though! Still the simple 9-patch. I think I’m going to need about 12 to make a blanket. And I’ve got some fabric for sashing. But here’s what I’ve got! And my favorite…I call it “Disco Rabbit”

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[stitchinggeek]

A Different Kind of Stitch

A Different Kind of Stitch

Haven’t had much knitting mojo lately – mostly b/c it’s been hot…but I HAVE been getting the urge to sew. I bought a bunch of clothing patterns (who knows if that will ever happen) and I decided to give quilting another shot. Here’s what I did last night! Cut up some quilting fat quarters I’ve had kicking around for several years. I’m hoping to do some 9 patches with them!

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