Oversized Disappearing Nine Patch Tutorial

Although this quilt is everywhere, and I'm possibly the last quilter on earth to make one, I thought I'd give you a quick overview of how I did it and the size blocks I used.

Recap:  A Disappearing Nine Patch block is a Nine Patch that you cut in half horizontally and vertically and then rearrange the resulting blocks.  There are numerous layouts you can use, although I haven't found one site that lists them all.

Here are some that I love and considered:

Chain

Easy Sashing and Cornerstones

On Point

Twist and Turn

Random

I chose to make the "chain" style (and that's only my name for it, as far as I know).  I wanted it to be a little less random and scrappy looking for this particular quilt.

I liked how the giant Bento Box blocks turned out on my older son's quilt, so I went for the same look here.  After playing with the math, I ended up with twelve 19 1/2" blocks.  This gave me a finished quilt that was 58 1/2" x 78". 

To get these, I chose six green fabrics, six gold fabrics, and one black fabric.  You need 2/3 yard of the black, although I bought a yard so I can use it for the binding as well.  You also need 1/2 yard EACH of the green and gold fabrics if, like me, you found six different ones.  If you only use one of each color, then you will need 2 yards of each.  Plus you need any border or back you choose. 

I cut eight 7" squares from each green and each gold fabric (for a total of forty-eight green and forty-eight gold).
I cut twelve 7" squares from the black fabric.

Before doing any sewing, you need to decide if you want the blocks to be the same (as in, the same green in each corner and the same gold in all four places) or truly scrappy.  I tried to audition them both ways, but it was a little tricky to envision.  If you are unsure, sew them together so they are the same, and try mixing them up after they are cut.

I wanted mine to be as scrappy as possible, but I got a little controlling with making sure that there weren't clumps of the same color.  Here's how I did it:

1.  Lay out the stacks of fabric so that all of the squares in the stack are the same.

2.  Take 2 squares from each green fabric and set them to the side.

3.  Take 2 squares of each gold fabric and sew them to a black square. Press towards the black.

4.  Now you have 6 remaining squares of all 12 fabrics.  Starting with one green stack, pair each one with a different gold square.    Follow this pattern for the remaining five green fabric stacks.  This will use up the remainder of the squares.  Sew these pairs together.  Press all of your pairs towards the green. 

5.  Sew each black/gold pair to a green/gold pair, ensuring that the gold fabrics are different.  Press toward the green/gold pair.  You will have green/gold pairs left over.

6.  Select another green/gold pair that has different fabrics and sew it to these blocks.  Press towards the black.  You will have green/gold pairs left over.

7.  Now take your remaining green/gold pairs and the green squares you set aside in step 2.  Sew a different green to each one.  Press towards the green.

8.  Lay out your blocks to make sure they are as scrappy as possible and sew the bottom row onto your nine patch.  Press toward the center.

You should now have 12 scrappy nine patch blocks.  Cut each one in half both horizontally and vertically.  Now you have 48 ten inch blocks.

Lay the blocks out in whatever way pleases you and sew together.  I prefer the "chunking" method to sewing them in rows.

Add a border if you prefer.  I chose not to.  Press well.  Sandwich for quilting.

Quilt as desired.

Just kidding!  You know that's my pet peeve!  Of course you can quilt it however you'd like.  I chose to use a grid similar to the crosshatch design on my older son's quilt.

If you try this, let me know how the directions might be improved.  I'd love to see pictures of your D9P quilt!



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If It Only Had a Name!

It's done! 

Last night, while The Pit Boss and I sat down to watch the very last episode of Lost (I forgive you for all those hair-tearing cliff-hangers and WTH? moments now), I whipped down the very last stitches on the binding for The Bear's quilt.   It is done.

But not "done done."  Because the label isn't on.  Because I can't think of a name. 

When I made my older son's quilt, it was a Bento Box pattern and he was graduating after nine long years from a school that is, to put it nicely, structured.  Is there an opposite to Waldorf/Montessori/Reggio?  This is it.  The poem, The Hundred Languages of Children, is about this school.

So I called the quilt "Out of the Box." 

The Bear went to the same school for six years until we finally figured out that he was not ever going to thrive in that environment.  We moved him for middle school to a place that encouraged and loved and challenged his marching-to-a-different-drummer personality, where he truly showed what he is capable of and can never be compared to his brother or sister because no one there knows them.  Now he is going off to high school with his older brother, where's he always wanted to go. We are all so excited about the whole new world of opportunities and adventures that await him there.

His quilt is a Disappearing Nine Patch pattern.  I am completely stumped for a name.

For now it is fresh out of the dryer.  It was supposed to be finished by graduation.  You know, in June.  I had to get it done by today so he can sleep under it tonight.  Tomorrow my boy starts high school. 

How is that possible?  This child whose pregnancy and birth were a roller coaster of scares and emotions; who suffered so mightily with true colic that the doctor asked me every few days if I were having thoughts of harming him or myself.  That same doctor assured me that these are the most loving children once they outgrow it, and he was right.  None of my children is as openly affectionate and in tune to my mood, a benefit I chalk up to the hours I held him and walked him and rocked him, back before I knew the words attachment parenting.  This is the child I rode with in the ambulance when he got pneumonia at Disney World; who once sagely asked me at the age of four, "Is it a rule that you have to go to the same school as your brother?"  The one who desperately wants to know how the world works and why and for how long.  The one who loves music and sports and his friends.  The one who won the election for Student Council President when he quoted The Breakfast Club letter in his nomination speech.  My baby. 

Tonight he will sleep under his nameless quilt and tomorrow he will go off to 9th grade and geometry and geography and driver's ed.  Tomorrow I will make him pose again for a picture, holding the sign that says, "First Day of School 2011" just like I have for the past eleven years.  Tomorrow I will smile a lot and laugh a little and let just one tear escape. 

"A parent owes a child two things:  roots and wings."  

Chinese Proverb

Today I will cherish the mundane moments, driving to guitar lessons and team pictures.  I will make conversation and act like nothing is changing. 

But his quilt needs a name.  Suggestions welcome!



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Turn Turn Turn

Although it's only August 5th and it's still well over 90 degrees outside, I can feel the seasons beginning to turn.  That's sounds wrong, doesn't it?  I mean, the official start of fall is a good six weeks away!

But school and football equal fall to me.  Some people are all bent out of shape because school starts pretty early here in the south.  The transplanted Yankees especially are outraged, and like to go on and on about how they never started until after Labor Day. 

That is fine when you live in Michigan or New Jersey or Chicago where the water doesn't get warm until Fourth of July.  But here in HOTlanta, it is plenty warm enough to swim in May.  Sometimes even April. 

June is bliss.  The berries are ripe and the sun is shining.  It would be a sin to sit in a classroom and try to learn algebra.  Going back to school after Labor Day means being stuck there through most of June and completely missing those days when you should just be outside all day, from sunrise to fireflies.

Even though I was never very good at math, I know that 180 days = 180 days and there's no way around it.*  I do not want to spend June in the carpool line or urging my boys to study for exams.  I will not sacrifice June in exchange for the brutal days of August. 

It is so hot right now that no one even wants to go to the pool.  I've quit complaining about excessive xBox, TV, or computer time.  I go to the grocery store before 11 AM or forget it.  The deck is blazing on bare feet, so relaxing out there is out of the question.  All I want is air conditioning and ice water.

In fact, I mentioned today that the perfect school year would be out in time for Mother's Day weekend (what a gift!) and back in late July.  The former Ohioan I was talking to almost came through the phone line to strangle me. 

Don't get me wrong; I'm not "ready" for school to start.  I'd gladly have another month of sleeping late and forgetting what day it is.  But when it comes right down to it, I would gladly trade these last few weeks for the month of May. 

And to fall I say, bring it.

*I know, I know.  Homeschooling has many benefits.



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Quilts of Valor - Presentation Bags

I know it's been months since I got the Quilts of Valor from our guild challenge, and I've only presented two of them.  Like many of my projects, I got bogged down by the details.  Since we decided to donate these quilts locally instead of shipping them off to QOV, I got stuck on the part about finding the vets to give them to.

As with most of the best things in my life, there was serendipity.  I had registered the two quilts donated to Donn and Mark with QOV, so my email address got put on a list somewhere.   Susan Gordon, the recently appointed regional coordinator, contacted me to find out more about our guild and the quilts we made.  She had some great information, including a contact at the Veteran's Hospital in Augusta, Georgia. 

I also realized (after Donn and Mark got their quilts) that they were all supposed to be in a presentation bag/pillowcase.  I was going to just whip up a few out of the many patriotic fabrics in my stash until I found this:

How perfect is that?  I was in JoAnn's to buy my favorite white marking pen while it was 40% off (marking the Bear's quilt took almost a whole one!) and noticed a display of July 4th type fabric marked half off.  I planned to just walk on by since, as I mentioned, I have PLENTY, when I saw these little houses.  There were 8 yards left, about enough to make ten pillowcases from this awesome easy pattern*, so I took it all.

Now they are ready to go to their new homes as soon as I can get them to Augusta! Maybe next week when everyone's back in school. That ought to keep me busy instead of missing them.

*The only things I do differently on this pattern are that a) I left off the accent strip, b) I didn't trim the selvedges before sewing the cuff on; I just trimmed the whole pillowcase after this step,  and c) I sew the side and bottom seams all at the same time, just pivoting around the corner instead of making it 2 separate steps.   Faster/lazier.  It's a fine line.


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The Great Sugar Caper

Life with two dogs is fun.  And by "fun" I mean "twice as much crap to clean up."

Wednesday night the boys had their last summer lacrosse game.  My husband (he really needs a cute nickname) had come straight from work, so we had two cars at the game.  When it was over, I sent him home and offered to wait for the boys in all their stinky glory after a long heartfelt speech by the coaches. 

As soon as we walked in the door, I knew something was wrong. There were little bits of plastic all over the floor, which was sticky, and the dogs had a guilty look.  Big B was trying to figure out exactly what they had gotten into when I realized the only possibility:  the sugar.

I had bought a 2lb bag of brown sugar at the store.  I have a plastic container with this little brown sugar keeper that prevents the sugar from clumping together like a rock.  I had put all the other groceries away, but wanted to clean out the container and re-soak the sugar keeper before adding the new sugar.  So there it sat on the counter, oblivious to its impending doom, because the dogs have never before taken food off the counter.  Especially something still wrapped in plastic from the store! 

But they had.  They had eaten the whole two pounds plus most of the package.  The floor was sticky after mopping, so I mopped again.  And again.  I googled to find out if this was just stomach ache stupidity or poison control territory.  I called the emergency vet.  Opinions varied.

On thing was for sure.  It wasn't going to be pretty.  George's stomach looked like he was about to give birth.  Daisy looked pitifully at me, begging me to make it stop.  We offered them water and spent time in the back yard, hoping to avoid the inevitable explosion in the house.  Nothing.

Finally we decided to stay up with them awhile and watch TV.  We're watching Lost on Netflix which, in my opinion, is the only tolerable way to watch this show.  I couldn't stand the weekly cliffhangers and season finales, so I gave up on it while it was on the air.  But now!  Now we can just click "Play next episode" until we're falling asleep on the couch.  Awesome.

Disclaimer:  I did not take photos of my sick dogs.  This was a cute picture from before.  Not because I think it's morally wrong, but because I didn't want to risk getting dog puke on my iPhone.

Anyway, The Pit Boss had just cued up the next episode, the one where they finally are headed back to LAX after the bomb went off, when the vomiting started.  Poor Daisy.  Even though she's bigger, she is much further removed from eating crappy food.  Every time we'd get it all cleaned up, come in from another extended stay outside, and push "play" she'd vomit again.  Almost like she knew that Jack and Kate couldn't really go back to their lives so easily. 

Just about the time we were sure Daisy was done, we decided we had to get some sleep.  We put George in the crate and trundled off to bed.  I think it was an hour before I heard him.  I'll spare you the gory details except to say that a) I got about two hours of sleep total that night and b) they appear to be fine now and have passed the 3-5 day window when the emergency vet said pancreatitis might set in.  The new bag of brown sugar is safely in its container on a high shelf in the pantry. 

My mother-in-law wonders if they are smart enough to realize that eating the sugar is what made them so sick and, if so, would that stop them from eating off the counter.  Mr. Incredible and I know that that's about as likely as Jack and Kate learning that they can't change the past before Season 6.

Not freaking likely. 



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Going to Guild - Ditty Bags for The Drake House

This month's meeting was our guild's annual work meeting for charity.  In recent years we've been making pillowcases for ConKerr Cancer.  This year we have been collecting a different item each month for The Drake House, a crisis center for homeless women and children.  Items include sewing kits, small travel umbrellas, manicure sets, compact mirrors, etc.

Monday night we made bags for the items to go in. The Ditty Bag is based on the same pattern as the magic pillowcase, but the body is a bit shorter and the top has a casing and drawstring.

Jodi models the ditty bag

These went together in no time, partially because so many of us have made the pillowcases before and partly because we had an excellent turnout of hard workers willing to do any chore from pinning to ironing to threading the ribbon through the casing.

Guild members making up kits from donated fabric

It's not easy to get fifty people to show up for a "work only" meeting in August.  Way to go Stars!

Henry Ford has nothing on these ladies!

Gracie came along with me and brought her sewing machine.  She was really getting that quarter inch down nicely when I came along with 3/4" and 5/8" for this project!   

Can I just say how much I love that she has to sew barefooted like her Mama?

Digging the bare feet and the black crackle nail polish. 

In the end, we finished a bundle of ditty bags for The Drake House, plus a few pillowcases for ConKerr.

It's a little sad that this is Gracie's last guild meeting for the year.  Once school starts, 9:30 or 10 on a Monday night can wreck the whole week.  It was, however, a great way to spend our last summer Monday together before school starts next week.



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July Book List

Another summer month of lazy mornings in the sun room with my book...

The Death of Innocence by John and Patsy Ramsey and JonBenet by Steve Thomas.  I'm not sure why this case never captured my attention, despite the fact that part of the investigation took place literally down the road from us.  Maybe because I had a newborn and a toddler at the time, maybe because my husband was in the middle of changing careers, maybe because I had started quilting.   Whatever the cause, I have seen numerous references comparing JonBenet to Caylee.  Personally I don't see it, but recently have been intrigued enough to go back and read the books. Neither is great literature, not even great crime literature.  Both could justifiably be categorized as fiction, in my humble opinion.  Don't waste your time.

Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones.  This was a recommendation by one of my favorite authors, Jennifer Weiner, when she appeared on The Today Show with another of my favorites, Harlan Coben.  They each have a book out this summer and offered up another four great summer reads.  Part way through Silver Sparrow I realized that I have read another of Jones's books, Leaving Atlanta, which reached out across three decades since the Missing and Murdered Children of Atlanta case.  Perhaps that was the start of my true crime addiction; I remember being ten or eleven and hearing about these cases on the news.  I remember the year Halloween was cancelled, and the curiosity when Wayne Williams was finally arrested. 

I also read one of Harlan Coben's recommendations, Misery Bay by Steve Hamilton.   This was a great summer thriller, an easy read but not a dumb read, if you know what I mean.  Apparently it's the latest of a series that I've never read before, but that didn't affect the storyline.  It makes me want to go back and read the others.

Next, I read another of Frances' recommendations, Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks.   This is a work of historical fiction based on the little known life of the first Native American graduate of Harvard in 1665.  It's written as a journal by a woman who grew up on what is now Martha's Vineyard.  Brooks' descriptions paint a vivid picture contrasting the wild beauty of the island with the crowded, man made drudgery of Cambridge.  Once again, Brooks puts you in a place so deeply that things like "what's for dinner?" and even my latest quilting project are forgotten.

Last, I blasted through Tracy Chevalier's Falling Angels in about 48 hours while my hubby was out of town.   I love her ability to completely submerge the reader in an era, in this case London at the turn of the last century.  It opens on New Year's Day, 1901, and follows two families through their brush with the Sufferage Movement. 

That puts me at thirty-eight books in thirty weeks. I suspect that the start of football practice today and the start of school next Monday will put a damper on my reading, so I'm glad to be a bit ahead.

How are you doing with those New Year's resolutions?



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