Another 9 Patch

 Its always a struggle to pick fabrics and a pattern for the next quilt so in the decision making progress I pulled out some bags of scraps and leftovers and thought I don't have any boyish baby quilts in any of my stacks.  Low and behold here is a stack of 50 9 patches!  Not only 9 patches but also half square triangles were in the bag.  A quilt kit in a bag! Just for me!  The top pic shows how many pieces were in my kit.  I needed to sew a few more. Then to do some arranging,  I like to line things up, is it an obsessive compulsive thing or just me imagining a little boy with his toy trucks or horses following my lines, roads to him, around the quilt.

 This is the original quilt with 9 patches and half square triangles and how completely different the same components can look.  Back to the sewing room to decide on the next quilt  --Ann--

Sailboats

Recent finish on the top quilt.  These quilts really do have nice square corners but no matter what I do or how  I stand I cannot stand square in front of them to take a picture, always some distortion.  These are all the same Buggy Barn pattern from the book Those Crazy Kids. The bottom quilt was made just like the pattern.  The others I used the full fat quarter and for a quick and colorful baby quilt its perfect.  --Ann--

By the numbers

On a cold and snowy day back in January I started sewing 9 patches 394 to be exact.  I cut 1 3/4 inch wide strips from 44 different fabrics for the 9 ps.
Quilt # 1) I was choosy and used 105 9 ps, the blues didn't make the cut.  I used the same light fabrics for the alternating squares and the sashing.  
Quilt  # 2) I used 100 9 ps and most of the blue 9 ps plus introduced 5 or 6 new dark fabrics.
Quilt # 3) I used 52 9 ps,  the background fabrics were leftover from quilt #1, the stars were made from the darks of quilt # 2 then I added the dark red and black but ran out of each so had to find something suitable from the stash.
Quilt # 4) 130 9 ps and leftovers from previous 3 quilts and a couple more odd bits because they worked and were needed.
There are probably 60 different fabrics in these 4 quilts.  I wish I had kept track of the yardage used but looking at my stash I didn't make much of a dent.   Only 7 nine patches left!  And a short stack of 1 3/4 inch strips.  I might use them in a log cabin quilt but for now they are going back in the closet.  They need to make new friends for the next quilt.  Happily working from my stash --Ann--

9 Patches

Another 9 patch quilt from this stack of leftover 9 patches.  First put all the 9 patches on the design wall then look at the fabrics leftover from the other quilts,  alternating squares, a whole bunch just the right size and even some sashing pieces and a pile of dark squares from 9 patch #2.  Think think think how can I use those? Think think think.  Try rec stars!!! just a few.

All the parts are there now to do some rearranging.  The brown 9 patches are in the center of the double 9 patches.

I paired the 9 patches so there are matching blocks in opposite corners, that way I could make diagonal lines. There are pink 9 ps, red 9 ps, plaid 9 ps, blue 9 ps,  and yellow 9 ps.

Pick a color and follow the 9 patches across and around the quilt.  When I looked at the small photos with my reading glasses and I wasn't sitting the proper distance from the computer screen the triangles rec stars were somewhat blurry and blooming stars popped into my head.  I think that is what I will call this quilt is Blooming Stars or Blooming 9 Patches.  --Ann--

Happy 4th of July

God Bless America

Sailboats

 I love sewing these Buggy Barn Sailboats they are so quick and so fun to pick the fabrics and always a surprise to see how the fabrics pair up when you shuffle the stack.  The only thing left is the binding and the label but I will wait with the label until the baby has been born and that is a few weeks away. Sailboats in the summer and another quilt entirely from my stash  --Ann--

Friday Knitting

      Set camera on stacked kitchen stools, set timer and burst mode, head up, stretch neck to get rid of the wrinkles, look at pictures and make an appointment for a haircut. My sweater is finished and believe it or not it has been cool enough to wear it.  The warm days of June have been a little cool.

 Slow progress on socks, the footies are a little long on my foot but I'm sure they will fit darling daughter.  I made that pattern a couple years ago and ripped because they were too short so I added a few rows maybe too many. I'm not good a gauging where to start the heel when there is no gusset.  It may take some tweaking to get them right.

I've been busy with company and strawberries, the great nephews and niece helped pick berries Wednesday "these are the best strawberries ever" amazing the difference in a five mile drive to the patch or a thousand some miles in a refrigerated truck does to a strawberry.  And the sweet smell when we opened the back of the car..........heavenly.   --Ann--