Completed D9P Baby Quilt

I sewed on the binding on the back of the quilt again because I like the finished look of stitching it down on the front...

....and no quilt is truly finish unless it's washed and crinkly soft!

I love checking things off my "to do" list....

Quilting the Baby D9P

I got the layers sandwiched and pinned...

...then it was off to start the quilting!   I decided on my loopy quilting but this time... 

...instead of quilting the loops in straight lines across the quilt, I tried meandering with the loops.  That was quite a challenge but I made it up as I went along...  

I have lots of room for improvement but I'm getting there...

...photo looks dark because I was trying to get shadows to show up the quilting.

Marathon Sewing

With a 3-day weekend, the drive to finish up the baby quilt is strong within me.   I had the top assembled yesterday morning...

...and pieced the backing in the afternoon.

I only had so much of the green solid and needed to save some for binding, so I used the leftover blocks and two strips of the leaf fabrics.    This is the Year of the Stash!

D9P QAL Flickr Group

I've set up a Flickr group for the D9P QAL and have invited folks whom I believe are going to participate... at least, those for whom I have an email address.   If I missed someone, I apologize... 

If you are not participating but would like to join the group, you are more than welcome!   I believe you can join directly from the Flickr group page (D9P QAL) or contact me and I'll send you an invite!

 

No sewing here since Monday afternoon...  just too tired out by the time I get home!   But... there is an upcoming three-day weekend!

Beginning the D9P Project

I was good... I finished my nephew's quilt yesterday.   After such self-discipline, I rewarded myself by making a couple of nine-patches.

After sewing 5" fabric squares together, next comes the test of your 1/4" seams!   Measure between both of the two parallel seams, horizontal and vertical.  You should have a width of 4.5".   I am pleased to say that I did get that exact measurement...   I don't want to tell you how bad I was at 1/4" seams with my first disappearing nine-patch quilt.   I was able to fudge it when I pieced the blocks together but it was not fun.

Next, we are going to cut our nine-patches into four blocks, cutting along the dotted lines shown in this photo.

To do this, place your ruler with the 2 1/4" line on the left vertical seam.  Cut.  

Next, without moving the two cut pieces, place your ruler with the 2 1/4" line on the bottom horizontal seam.  Cut.

Now, you have four blocks!   Ta da!

 Next, we will make that nine-patch disappear by turning three of the blocks to this orientation.

Orienting your blocks this way will result in a quilt top that looks like this:

Photo from Jo's Country Junction

...or this:

If you prefer a different look, turn your blocks to this orientation.  I believe this is referred to as the "no seams match" arrangement...  none of the seams in the smaller blocks line up with any of the seams in the adjacent blocks.

And your quilt will look like this one:

Photo from Helen on Quilters Club of America 

And... just to prove I really did finish my nephew's quilt:

 

D9P Fun!

I've made one D9P quilt for a friend's new baby using a charm pack and some yardage from the same line...

...and, if you've made a D9P before, you know that fabric selection, layout of the nine-patches, and block arrangement can make a difference in the end product.  Using the 5" squares from one charm pack, Kelly's quilt has a scrappy look.  However, if you use fewer fabrics...

Photo from Lori Blog

...and pay attention to the layout of the subcut blocks, you can end up with a quilt looking like this one:

Photo from Helen on Quilters Club of America

I'm planning on yet another D9P arrangement for a quilt that ends up looking like this one:

Photo from Jo's Country Junction

I think a scrappy quilt in this arrangement would look cool...

Photo from Obsessively Stitching

...and you don't have to have the consistent cornerstones/center squares.


So many options but I know where I'm heading... once I get my baby back!

 

Layout

I've not gotten to the LQS yet...  pesky work... gets in the way of all the stuff I want to do!    But here is the 5" fabric squares layout for the D9P QAL...

The corner fabrics are from the "Penelope" charm packs and the center square will be a constant.  (The white squares are the cardboard backing from the charm packs... haven't gotten the solid/neutral yet.)  I'm not going to worry about two damasks per 9-patch...  'cause I have the big picture in mind.  

There is no reason you can't have five different prints per 9-patch...  I think scrappy would look great as well.

Staying Busy

Kinda tough without a sewing machine but I'm managing to do at least one thing in my sewing room every day.  Besides cleaning, straightening, and putting away piles o' stuff that have accumulated over the last 3-4 months, yesterday I cut out the 5" squares for the D9P QAL.

I also opened the charm packs and learned something else!   There isn't two of the rosy red damask squares but just one... the other is a more rusty red...   interesting!

While there are a lot of browns in the Penelope line, there are also some dusty teal greens as well.

I like the teals so much that I found a shop on Etsy that still has some yardage of "Penelope" and ordered a yard of one of the teals so I can have a few more squares of that in the mix.... and to add a narrow teal border as well as the brown and rosy damask.   Still need to make a run to my LQS for the solid/neutral.... but no hurry!

Rules

One of our D9P QAL participants emailed me to inquire about the rules...  and I suppose I should give some thought to those.

Start date:   I plan to start when my baby is repaired and home again, which I HOPE will be by the end of January.  However, I do not plan to make anyone wait on that happening.   Start when you're ready.

Do I have to sew so many blocks per day/week?    Nope.  Make progress towards your finish at your own pace.

End date:  The goal of this QAL is to have a finished quilt.   Life happens to all of us.   The end date will be when you finish.   

So the "rules" for this QAL are: 

• we're making the same quilt (disappearing 9 patch),
• we share photos of our progress,
• we offer encouragement and support to others in the QAL,
• we all end up with cool quilts, and
• we have fun!   

Work for you?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you're thinking about joining in the QAL and are in the market for charm packs, Crazyquiltgirl has charm packs ON SALE now thru January 14th!   I've ordered from CQG in the past and have received great service... so she comes highly recommended!