AJ's Antics

Back blogging....12th November 2012 My little sister has been asking and asking me to teach her to quilt....she has big plans! But I convinced her to start out with a simple pattern and get a few techniques behind her before getting too adventurous. So on Monday while we all had the day off work, Mum, Cee and I got quilting....while I didn't do anything execpt cut fabric for Mum, but we made some progress.   Cee learning to use the rotary cutter! She did really well and ended up with a nice pile of squares ready to join. The colours are not something I would have choosen myself but they work really well together. She started joining squares and I showed her how to join them into 9-patches and chop them apart again! I gave her some homework and I wonder how far along she is?? She has a blog...maybe she can blog her progress!     Mum on the other hand was up for some bunting...over 8 metres worth of fabric for her bunting...I'll show it to you when we ...

I'm just back blogging.... 19th May Inspired to make something that reminded me of 'rainy days' I pulled out a stack of aqua, blue, white (and a smidgen of green) fabrics from my stash. Some of these have been sitting in the cupboards since February 2008 when I bought them to make a nappy bag. Hubby didn't like them then so we picked something else. Teamed with some recently bought DS spots and some aqua spots/diamonds and some tone-on-tone white from Spotlight. I wanted something simple so I could enjoy the process of making a quilt with no pressure. I decided on a Disappearing 9-patch ( tutorial here ) at 2:30pm and by 3:30pm I had all the squares cut out ready to sew together. I was a bit undecided about the dark blue fabric but now I'm really glad I included it. 1st Block   20th May The finished quilt top. 26 May A little quilting help from my friend.... Double loop quilting in a light aqua thread.....I thought they look...

This quilt has been a while in the making... First I did a fabric charm square swap with some friends in August 2007. Then I used them to do a Disappearing 9-patch tutorial . Progress was made in August 2007 The left over blocks made this sweet little doll quilt in September 2007 Then progress was stalled...It got put away for a loooooong while...then a friend had a little girl and since I made her sister a quilt she needed to have one too. I added the three borders and then it kept getting moved to the bottom of the WIP pile...I was stuck! Then Emma was looking for a quit top to practice her new quilting skills...I very generously offered her the top to do what she liked...and like she did ! (photos from Emma's Blog) Then I saw the intended recipient's Mum last Saturday and she actually asked about the quilt (I started the quilt conversation...she wasn't being rude) which reminded me that that I added the binding last month and it was just sitting on the shelf. Then with t...

I thought this was what I wanted it to look like....but now I'm not so sure....I have a orange/pink/yellow stripe for the binding and possibly the backing if I have enough...

So much fun to make....I ended up with 16 9-patches, in a 4 x 4 layout...so a square quilt it will be...measuring 34 inches square .... now for some borders....I'm thinking a triple border like the picture...with each border getting wider....but which order....I'm liking the order I have here....orange yellow pink...and then a name on the pink border....hummm.....off to the fabric shop i go again!! (Yeah!!) And course the customary nap test...it was only on the floor are a few minutes....

This block is very simple to make and very effective!! Essentially it is a 9-patch block chopped up and put back together!! There are lots of different ways to arrange them depending on the material you use....These photos show material from an EB Quilters Swap. 3 1/2 " squares - I've chosen 3 colours for this quilt - pink, orange and yellow - cut as many as you'll need to make a quilt the size you want Lay them out into your 9-patch block - because mine will be random this step isn't necessary but it can give you light/med/dark fabric placings Join the squares together into sets of 3 - I have 1 of each of my 3 colours in each row Chain Piecing the squares makes tit quicker and saves thread - simply leave the foot down and feed the next set of squares into the machine Once you've joined 3 sets of 3 together you have a flat 9-patch block - now it is time to make them disappear!! LOL (Some people choose to trim the blocks at this stage - I don't - I find they wor...

I just couldn't help myself....had to see what I was getting myself in for!! Looking good so far!! Play Play Play.....