Tag: Nine Patch

FRENCH COUNTRY LIFE

I pieced French Country Life in early 2013. I collect toile fabrics but can’t bare to cut them up for piecing. Plus they are so busy it is hard to work larger pieces of them into a quilt. So I decided to be “brave” and just cut up a piece of toile to go in this quilt.

Blue and yellow French Country Life

Many of the yellow and blue fabrics of the nine patches are reproductions of historic prints. Combined with the toile, I thought it would make a really historic looking quilt, especially if I hand quilted it.

I am going to admit that I didn’t measure correctly (a good reminder to measure twice and cut once) and the quilt ended up to big for my hand quilting frame.

The flip side of it being to big for my hand quilting frame is that I simply love the colors. It has a real “old world” feel and look to it. I can and have put it on the bed back side up for a different look.

French Country Life was machine quilted in an all-over wave design by RLM in May 2013, and it took me until Dec. 2013 to get the binding and tag done.

I made the binding from left over pieces of blue and yellow bindings from previous quilts.

The top is cottons, it has a poly batting and a blue/cream floral backing.

Backing and quilting design

The finished size is 102″ square.

Even if there are mistakes in your quilts, finish them. If you are happy with the end product – enjoy the quilt, show if off, and tell it’s story. If you are not happy with it, complete and give to a family member who does like it. Or donate it within your community. Quilts are comforting and snuggly even with mistakes.

More ideas for nine patch quilts. Also toile fabric:

https://indianaquilter40.blogspot.com/2011/12/nine-patch.html

https://indianaquilter40.blogspot.com/2011/12/nine-patch_17.html

https://indianaquilter40.com/collecting-toile-fabric-how-i-use-them-in-quilts/

BASKET WEAVE NINE PATCH

Scrap quilt - Basketweave Nine Patch with back sashing.

Waste not, want not or so we are told. The Basket Weave Nine Patch is a classic example of not wasting those pesky scraps that keep filling up a tub in my sewing room. This is a super easy pattern to do and can be adjusted for any size quilt. If you have not made a quilt from this pattern, let me encourage you to do so. It is easy to make and can be adjusted to any size strips you want to use.

I saw this pattern in some quilting magazine back in the mid to late 1980’s while living and working in West Germany. I thought yippee!! A great way to use up some of these scraps.

Obviously even then, I had a real problem with scraps!

Various colored fabric scraps in a pile.
Oh those scraps……..

I understand that rotary cutters were available by this time, but I had not seen one yet, so I actually cut all those pieces out by hand with scissors! It made for sore hands. Plus the issue of keeping those sharp scissors out of the little folks reach since I generally sat at on the floor to cut my fabric and they were playing around me.

clip art - bolts of fabric and scissors.

So I eventually cut enough rectangles out for four queen size Basket Weave Nine Patch quilts that were completed over several years. It’s ok, you can say and think that this poor woman had a serious problem with fabric addiction. You would be sooooo correct.

In the first photo, the quilt has blocks made of 9 “Roman Stripe” patches. I don’t remember the exact size but the three strips sewn together were the same length and width. Just alternate them as shown in the clip art below when sewing together.

Clip art - Roman Stripe quilt drawing.

The next step was simply adding solid black sashing between the Nine Patch blocks. The post was a square the same size as the width of the sashing. I believe the sashing was 4″ wide, which would mean the posts were 4″ square – obviously this was a personal choice size wise and could easily be adjusted to fit any size quilt.

The top was finally put together in early 2007 and machine quilted by RLM the same year. It was given to our son M. for Christmas.

The same pattern, but totally different fabric choices and way blocks are put together can be seen here: https://indianaquilter40.blogspot.com/2009/10/roman-stripe-table-runner.html and https://indianaquilter40.blogspot.com/2011/11/roman-stripe-charm-quilt.html