Thursday, December 31, 2020
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Ninepatch pattern
Renee asked for a pattern for the ninepatch top in the last post. There isn't a commercial pattern, but it's really simple to calculate what's needed for your own quilt.
73" x 73" |
This is my drawing in EQ8. I've made all the sections a different colour so it's easy to see how the blocks are put together.
There are 17 complete double nine-patch blocks, made with five 3.5" nine-patches and four 3.5" squares. (85 nine-patches, 68 3.5" squares)
There are 8 partial double nine-patches, made with three 3.5" nine-patches, three 3.5" squares, and a 3.5" x 9.5" strip. (24 nine-patches, twenty four 3.5" squares, eight 3.5" x 9.5" strips)
The blocks are set with twenty four 9.5" squares.
The borders are 8 strips of fabric 5.5" wide, joined in pairs.
EQ8 says these are the fabric requirements;
Mine is completely scrappy except for the border.
Hopefully this is correct, I'll check it later 'cause I'm rushing to get ready for another family thing. Life doesn't slow down when you get older.....
Read more...Wednesday, December 09, 2020
Brown Ninepatch top
I finished this a while ago; 12th November in fact.
Of course I changed things from the original photo from Pinterest.
I drew it up in EQ8 and then started messing around with it, and decided I really liked it set straight instead.I also like the partial blocks that let the chains join along the edges, and the corners blocks that extend the chains out.
This was so simple to make, and I love the deep colours, it will be a cosy winter quilt. It would also look wonderful in other colour combinations; green with red ninepatches, or pink and green. I will have a play with it in EQ8 and see what I can come up with. The ninepatches are a good leader-ender, and once they're made the quilt goes together really quickly. The 9.5" setting squares used up a lot of small blue remnants in the scrap drawers, so it was a satisfying top to make. Now I just need to get it quilted before next winter.
Read more...Tuesday, December 08, 2020
Christmas is coming
2 months since my last post, that must be some sort of record for me. Real life got in the way of blogging, but maybe things will calm down now. And if I think that Christmas fast approaching is 'calm', you have some idea of what the last two months have been like.
Sunday, October 04, 2020
New projects



Brickwork
I am SO happy with my Brickwork quilt, it turned out just the way I wanted it.
Tuesday, September 29, 2020
Now the blues
Monday, September 28, 2020
A Speedy Finish
I dug through my stash drawers trying to weed out anything that I didn't love, and anything that was so small it got lost amongst the larger pieces. It was slim pickings. I've done this many times over the years, and there wasn't a lot of 'blah' fabric left. I pulled out a few pieces to strip up for the strip drawers, but there was very little that I could use to cut 8.5" squares as I had planned.
I found a big piece of blue that I loved, but it had fade marks all through it, so that was set aside to cut up. Then I found some backing scraps, and a few pieces that I still liked, but was willing to sacrifice, and started cutting. It took a night to cut it, arrange it and sew it in rows, and then another night to assemble it and find a border fabric.
Inside were a heap of 8.5" squares and strips from the quilt I made a few years ago, so I added the new ones, and I have the beginnings of another quilt. I know it's more work to make those blocks, but the squares were a bit boring to sew together. It will be much more entertaining to make the SMM blocks.
Read more...Shaking up the stash
Have you seen Bonnie Hunter's blogposts just lately, showing her stash re-organisation? Here and here. I was inspired to do something about my messy cupboards and stash drawers.

Friday, September 25, 2020
Brickwork quilt
I was doing really well with my leader-ender project. I sewed the bricks in pairs of light and dark, and every so often I'd sew them into rows. It was a fun, easy project with no pressure.
And then I started wanting to lay out all the bricks first, so it took over the design wall.
And then I just wanted it finished so I could have the design wall back, so it was no longer a leader ender. I'm reeeally bad at leader-enders.
So now it's all in one piece, and just needs it's borders. They are cut and ready, but I want to have a play with something else for a while, so they'll have to wait.
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Quick quilts
- Sort out the stash drawers properly, label each one.
- Weed out everything that is a fat eighth or less. Store them in a wire drawer, for cutting into strips or squares whenever I have time.
- Go through all the small containers, file that fabric back in the stash drawers.
- If something needs to be in a small container for a project, label it
- Re fold and stack all the fabric on the shelves
- Find a better home for all the shirt materials.
- Put bolts of fabric back on the shelf neatly.
- Have a maintenance plan so it doesn't get messy again. Excuse me while I have a bit of a laugh over that. I never put stuff away properly, that's why I'm in this mess in the first place. But I can live in hope.
While I'm sorting through the drawers I want to pull out FQs that I don't absolutely love, and make a quick quilt with them. If I cut each into a 16" square, and sewed them 5 x 5, I would have a top that was 80" square. That would be really painless. or I could cut them into 8" squares, and sew them 7 x 9, like the quilt below, which is 70"x 86". Then I can add borders, and get a big length out of the cupboard as well.
Or I could make some pieced backings the way Bonnie does. I did that about 10 years ago, and I really enjoyed those quilts with virtually another quilt on the back. I donated those quilts, and I sometimes wondered if the recipients chose to use them with the back facing up. They were pretty.
Sunday, September 20, 2020
A quick little finish
I was quilting a little quilt for someone else (no photos allowed), and there was a large piece of backing fabric still on the rollers. I grabbed this little baby quilt that I made at the start of the year, added a scrap of batting, and had it finished in no time.
Thursday, September 17, 2020
Finished

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Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Stash enhancement trip
At the very start of August Mereth and I planned a little trip to visit our favourite fabric store in Adelaide, Tricia's. There were some new Covid cases showing up, and we were afraid that there would be another lockdown and we wouldn't be allowed out, so we needed to go while we could.