Fun with Disappearing 9 patch

I really enjoy making 9 patches they are so easy to do, and so versatile. there has been much talk about disappearing 9 patches and there seems to be so many versions. So I thought Id give it a go as well. This version works well with 3 1/2 " strips you cant go much smaller, but you can go as large a size as you want. My second version I used 4" strips and oh boy had I fun with those but first the easy versions.

Again so versatile but for the simple version you will need 3 fabrics accent fabric, a background fabric and a dark fabric. To make a half decent size I cut four strips the width of the fabric of my accent fabric (the orange) into 31/2 " strips, I then cut four strips the width of my fabric in my background fabric (the green) into 31/2 " strips and one strip of my dark (the purple) into 31/2 " strip.

These I then stitched with 1/4" seam allowance

accent, background, accent

background, dark, background

accent, background, accent

Press each set and cut into 31/2" strips.

I generally press to the dark side this will give a nice butt join, where the fabric just locks in, and there is less bulk at the seams

As you see the layout for a regular nine patch.

Join the sections.

Now we chop our 9 patch up.

Line your ruler up with the edge of your accent colour and cut horizontally and vertically through the background and dark fabric. Your centre section should measure 3" so half of that is 11/2 so make cut through the centre.

Chopped up. Now the creative bits start

This is the simple version or idea

You will have to add on sashing on one side and on the top. to do this you need to sew a 13/4 " wide dark strip to 3 1/2 " background strip. press towards the dark.

Then cut at 1 3/4 " wide intervals ( depending on how many block you have for example if your blocks are 7 x 8 you will need to cut 15 pieces)

You get the idea here

Have fun tomorrow I will try the layout on the right with only 2 colours. But first i have to finish these.

Lots of frog stitchin

Heres a photo of my other helper my beautiful poppy, I found her at the cat rescue as a 3 month old kitten.

I bought the frame a Little Grace 11 and the Pfaff grand quilter a year ago and loaded this quilt on it.. I would love to say it was now finished but alas not, Poppy has made it her permanent hammock!!! I think she will be so disgusted if i ever finish it. Im meandering in the white bits just to kill all the white. The fabrics used were 1930 fabrics from a 9 patchw swap with the quilting sisters group. I had enough 9 patches to finish 2 quilts,

I did finish this one and it is now in Australia I was pleased with it but the binding was a pig to do.

The next part of this mystery is a hundred 9 patches, now i can do these in my sleep, dear knows how many i have made over the years!!

MMM but this was different I made around fifty and decided to start to press and trim them, so far so good, then what is this before my eyes, the wrong combinations, some too small, some skew whiff, some so far wrong nothing was gonna fix. So I frog stitched and then restitched.

Dear heavens I don't believe it more frogging, Three days later I have them done! The duds are in the bin

The Helpers

Here they are... the helpers Bailey is the golden cocker and Sapphire (known as Saphy) the black cocker , she doesn't photo so well.

I managed to find my old camera and was able to put a photo up of my railfence. For the life of me I can't find the new camera, bet one of the Helpers has it hidden its them or the fairies for sure.

Hopefully I will pick out the fabrics for the hundred 9 patch blocks, the next part of Bonnies mystery, thats the hardest part the sewing is easy.

Bite the bullet

Well this is it I have joined the masses and started a blog. Im sure I will never have time to put something on everyday, I will do my best.

Recently I joined Bonnie Hunters mystery quilt on Quiltville. I just love mystery quilts even though I have been known to wait till the end before I start so I can peek at what it should turn out like!! easy to choose colours that way lol.

This time I'm gonna do it right. So let the fun begin

Having gone through the angst everyone else has done over the choice of colourways .... oh and having tossed all strips!! well as far as I was concerned I already have a heap of scraps cut in various sizes of squares and Im having trouble using those up. I figured I'll never make a string quilt so lets just get rid of the strips... bad move ! So here I am musing and muttering ohhhhhhh what will i do shall i do this shall i do that.

So after a long day at work I came home walked my 2 ' cocker spaniel pups' i thought OK make the descion and went to my stash ... ohhh boy did i ever make a boo boo.

I went to the scrap boxes and emptied them all on the floor the puppies thought......oh wowwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeee lets play mum is making a mess...... (twas mess in their eyes) as i was trying decide scrappy, green , blue, purple etc ( where did all these bits come from ) the pups were grabbing bits and taking off!! oh boy who needs this after a days work? so now all scraps on floor and nothing was pushing the right buttons so i decide to look at the Fq's. Boy how does fabric grow so much? Have I really bought all this?

I put FQ's i think might work on floor and stand and look then the pups take off with them, tearing up and down stairs, tumbling and generally having a ball but by now I'm screaming and hyperventilating and the pups give a *************

But I look at what the pups have run of ..........dang u know it might work so am or will use these.

I worked out what I would need and yes one piece will get me enough for the centre strip for 100 rail fence blocks.

Boy do my pups ever want to learn to sew! Having 'helped'me choose fabric they watched as I cut when i went into the sewing room and sat at the machine both sat at my feet till the machine started, Bailey decides this looks like fun I'll just put my feet on the table and watch, so he watched Sapphire decided she didnt like the machine and put her head on my lap.

Of course being distracted I managed to sew a few strips on the wrong side of the fabric, so i rip , as i am ripping Bailely decides this must be a new game and starts tugging on the other end, so ripping took longer than it should since I had to chase him to retrieve the bit that fell on the floor.
Then it was time to press the strips, and there is the brown nose again having a nosey at what is going on ... time to cut into squares and didnt the darn cat land on the cutting mat to see what all the commotion was about... I had to stop cutting .... till everyone settled down then back to cutting and counting.... and I count and recount and mutter and recount and count singly and mutter some more.. I have only 78 blocks. I was using the same green for the centre and I have the smallest scrap of it left (thank heavens I didnt do my usual trick of cutting the scrap into squares)

Now by this time not only have I yelled at the dogs I am now grrrrrrrrrr ing rather loudly and the dogs decide this is a new game and they join in with lots of barking. Time to stop.

This morning before work it was a case of back to the cutting mat to cut strips and sew again. All I have to do tonight is press my bits and cut and just hope I have 22 bits if not I'll have to sew another 50 to tone in.