What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Looks much more intricate than it is … it is all just 9 Patch blocks.

The night vision part of the title refers to the night I woke up with an idea floating through my brain that the four corners of a 9 Patch block could become a 4 Patch block when the blocks are joined together.

Nice!

Different , and I love it.

The big question is … how would you quilt the outer blocks in the second design? Something very simple, or something very busy …. or something in between. I do think I would use matching thread.

While converting a design with a white background to one with a red background I noticed some of the versions and decided to save each one, then worked out that if I added the new background blocks in a different order I got different designs, and some of them were rather impressive.

I picked out one block to change, but missed one of them, but saved the design anyway.

One on the left is interesting, and I like the one on the right.

The four above are getting more dark background added with some very interesting results!

Getting more interesting ...

If ever I get all the unfinished projects, and the planned projects, finished, I will be making quilts with some low contrast fabrics like the designs in this project file.

Love the second design today.

I remember that a few years ago there was an exhibition of red and white quilts, and it looked absolutely stunning. I have heard that our state guild is issuing a challenge for entries of red and white quilts in the next exhibition, and I woke up this morning with red and white designs going round my mind, so made myself a coffee and turned on the computer and opened electric quilt.

I think these are pretty good designs with a brain fueled with just one cup of coffee. I must have another cup and see what I can do ...

These designs use just one very basic block, the basic Nine Patch, which is simply nine squares stitched together to make a square block. The designs could be made with just two fabrics, or one rather plain light background fabric with contrasting dark scraps.

I love the border of these designs too … simply 5 narrow strips of five different fabrics which includes the dark fabric used in the blocks, with the darkest of the fabrics used as the binding.

This project file is the result of a thought I had at about 3am one morning, when I am at my my creative. However, that was one of those thoughts I actually remembered when I woke up at a more reasonable hour.

The thought was to draft the corners of 9P blocks so that they met other blocks with identical corners to create a pattern independent of the other five squares in the 9P block. The corner designs stand out better in the first of these two designs, but become more a part of the overall design in the second ...

I am fascinated at how these blocks have come together.

The second design is rather boring by comparison. Note that all blocks are basic pieced 9 patch blocks.

 As I await a few more of the Churn Dash blocks to arrive, I have been focusing on some low hanging fruit to fill the demand for Compassion Quilts.  Some easy finishes are grabbing one of the tops that have been donated, finding a backing fabric and quilting it up.

Starry night, even though there are just five star blocks!

I should start a new project file with the same fabric choices as this one, but with all star blocks.

A very interesting design.

I opened this project file after letting it rest in peace for several years as I recently noticed a reference to the red and white exhibition of quilts several years ago.

I am not as impressed by the second design.

 This week just really flew by!  

Most of the things I worked on, you will have to wait a few days to see. 

I didn't sew all the blocks ...

I like it a lot.

Also like the second one a lot, especially the light background area against the darker space.

There are some interesting shapes created by the background blocks.

Different. Very different in fact.

I am trying to break away from pink, purple and green!

This project file has been sitting around being ignored for two years, probably because it is in colors I wouldn’t want to live with. However, strong colours in a dull environment can liven up the surroundings.

I love the second design, but I admit that it would lose a lot of impact if it was in my preferred colour range.

Interesting!

Love the second design.

The blocks in this series have a lot of pieces, but there are no set in pieces, but there are some sharp points.

Love it!

I particularly love using borders as a big part of the overall design, rather then just a frame to hold a design together.

Love the second one too, even though the outer borders are not identical!

Lots of quilting in the first design!

Lots of piecing in the second design.

I love the low contrast blocks in the corners of the first design and the way the pieced blocks link up too.

Nicer borders on the second designs though.

I don’t design many quilts with just one block repeated, but in this project file I have tried many of the blocks by themselves so that I see the way the corners of the blocks come together to form there own part of the pattern.

After a look at the way the corners look I go on to play with other blocks with the same corner design added to the mix. It is always interesting, and also fun.