A Scrap Quickie!

I'm little embarrassed to admit that I've never made a disappearing 9-patch quilt before. To be honest, the block never really appealed much to me. But I made a small D9P for our July scrap-busting project and I have to say, it was a fun, fun quilt to make! I'm now a big fan of this block.

This 39-1/2" X 39-1/2" kid sized quilt was super fast to put together. You could make it this size for a quick shower gift or a great table topper, or add more blocks and make a lap or bed quilt. The blocks finish at 13" and we used only 9 blocks for this one.



As you can see, I have pattern and color separation in mine. But you don't have to do it that way - you could vary the look to be completely scrappy by using all prints and colors randomly, which would also be beautiful.

I used leftovers from charm packs plus scraps from my stash, that I cut to 5" squares. I also chose 9 solids to build each block around and then added white as a "separation" color. Here's how my color selection looked:

(9) 5" squares of solid fabric such as Kona cotton
(36) 5" prints (in 9 color groups of 4 each)
(36) 5" white squares (I used a white on white print)

To make each block, add 4 of the white squares to each color group and form a nine patch, laid out like this:

Sew the squares together and then cut in half vertically and horizontally as show in the photo below:

Once all the blocks are sewn together and cut, lay them out on the table, floor or design wall in the color order that appeals to you:

There are a number of different ways to make the 9-patch "disappear". You can experiment with the layout or go with the one I did. In each color block, I rotated the upper right hand section and the lower left hand section 180 degrees, like this:

Once you're happy with the layout, sew the squares into rows and then sew the rows together to complete the quilt top. Add batting and backing, quilt and bind.

I chose to bind with a dark yellow/gold because I had yellow in the center block. (I considered navy blue, a colorful stripe and a black and white binding before settling on the yellow.) I quilted all over, using a free-motion loop pattern.

Seriously, this really was fun! The fact that it's also a one day project is just icing on the cake!

I'm going to try another one that's all scrappy very soon.  :)