This post is about blocks that I made for the Paintbox Quilt-Along. You can read more about it here.
Moving on to yellow-greens this week!
I picked the fabrics out a few weeks ago and, when i sewed them together today, I wasn't crazy about some of the combos I'd picked out.
It's a scrappy quilt though, so i think they'll end up looking okay when they're all together.
As always, please refer to Flickr for fabric information.
And here are this week's variation blocks.
Halfway there!
Did you know that the Modern Quilt Guild is up to 38 branches all over the world? Wow! With that many quilters involved, there are bound to be many different perspectives on what, exactly "modern quilting" means.
Even if you haven't yet joined the guild, we'd love to hear what "modern quilting" means to you. Find out more about our blog meme here. You can read my response here, and stay tuned to the MQG blog for more answers from our Planning Committee Members as the week progresses.
Did you notice that the total number of blocks required for the Nine-Patch Lattice Quilt is a multiple of 9? That means it can easily be made with Crazy Nine-Patch blocks instead of regular ones!
Sets of 9 Crazy Nine-Patch Blocks are made with 9 different squares of fabric so, to make a quilt using the layout of the Nine-Patch Lattice Quilt, you would need 3 sets of 9 blocks (27 total). You could make 3 identical sets or, like I've done here, make a scrappy version using 27 different fabric squares.
My sets of blocks each included 7 light to deep orange prints, 1 gray print and 1 orange solid (Kona School Bus, Orange and Tangerine). The white is Essex cotton/linen and the binding is Kona coal.
If you want to make something similar and need some orange and gray prints to get your started, Fabricworm has a fat quarter set here.
How to Make Crazy Nine-Patch Blocks:
Instructions contemplate a 1/4" seam allowance, with all seams pressed open.
Start with 9 squares that are 2" larger than the size your want your finished blocks. If you're making blocks to use with the Nine-Patch Lattice pattern, you'll want to use 9 1/2" squares (for 7 1/2" finished blocks) but you can use the same basic technique to make any size blocks you want.
Stack the 9 squares on your cutting table and make a wonky cut, about a third of the way in from the left side, creating 2 stacks.
Remove one cut piece from the top of the stack on the left and move it to the bottom of the stack.
Sew the squares back together along the wonky-cut edge, matching pieces that are in the same position in their respective stacks. So the striped piece and the tulip piece shown in the above photo get sewn together. The two pieces that are under them get sewn together, and so on, until you again have nine squares, each made up of 2 different fabrics.
Note: If you want to end up with all 9 fabrics showing in each block, it's important to keep the blocks in the same order as you work.
Restack your squares, aligning the seams you've just sewn. Make a second wonky cut, this one about a third of the way in from the right side.
Remove two cut pieces from the top of the stack on the right and place them at the bottom of the stack. Use the same process from the last step to sew the squares back together, along the wonky-cut edges.
Once again, stack the squares on your cutting mat, matching seam allowances as best you can. (You have a little lee-way, so don't stress over it too much.) Turn the stack 90 degrees to the right.
Make another wonky cut, similar to the one you made when you first cut into the stack of squares, creating 2 stacks. If your cutter can't quite make it, finish the job with scissors. Try to make the cut as clean as possible, but don't stress if it's not perfect. This is a very forgiving block!
This time, move three pieces from the top to the bottom of the stack on the left and, again, sew the squares back together.
Restack your blocks and make one final wonky cut, creating 2 stacks.
Move six pieces from the top to the bottom of the stack on the right and, again, sew the pieces back together along the wonky-cut edge.
If you kept your squares in the same order during each step, you should now have 9 blocks that each include a little piece of each of the 9 fabrics.
Square up your blocks to be 1/2" larger than their finished size. If you're making blocks to use with the Nine Patch Lattice Pattern, you'll want them to be squared up to 8" x 8".
Now it's time to admire your pretty blocks! If you want to use crazy blocks to make the Nine-Patch Lattice quilt, just make three sets (27 total) and substitute them for the blocks described in the pattern. All other instructions and fabric requirements remain the same.
If you make your wonky cuts similarly to mine, you'll notice that your finished blocks have two overlapping megaphone-like shapes. When I laid out my blocks before sewing them together, I positioned them so that the small or large ends of the "megaphones" matched where the blocks intersected. I think that helped to add some movement to the quilt top.
As always, if you make something with one of my tutorials, I'd love to see a photo in the Flickr Group.
ETA in response to comments: Yes! The crazy nine-patch is an excellent "first wonky block." If you're nervous about trying a wonky block, this is a very low-commitment one to try. (Plus you end up making 9 at a time, which means the quilt comes together fast.)
