3-D Nine Patch and a fresh look

Posted by: BCQuilter on: 4 July 2012

• In: quilting
• 7 Comments

Do you recall – hmm, seems I have been revisiting several past blog entries.  *giggle*.  I have been wanting to make a quilt using the 3-D NIne Patch blocks as mentioned in this blog entry.  I’ve been working on it, as a leader/ender project, and have now more than enough 3 patch units to start making the 9-patch units.

I don’t know if many of you have organized your scraps… or do you even keep them?  Well, I’ve been making a dent in the 1½” strips and bits I had… err, well, I though it was a dent, but I think they reproduce when we are not looking!

I decided that I was going to count the dark and light 3 patch units I have made thus far.  Are you ready for this. Here are some statistics of this quilt.. even before I have started making the blocks!

• Size of block 8″
• Number of blocks in quilt 80 ( 8 x 10)
• Number of pieces per block 45
• Number of 9-patches required – 240
• Number of dark 3 patch units required – 480
• Number of light 3 patch units required – 240
• Size of each 9-patch unit – 3″
• Size of each 9 patch square – 1″
• Number of pieces for quilt before borders – 3600
• Number of unfinished light and dark 3 patch units – haven’t counted
• Nmber of 1½” strips and bits – too many – hmm… maybe a log-cabin quilt in the future

Sure is a lot of stats for a quilt that has only just begun taking shape!  LOL.  Oh, and before you ask… no I have not kept track of the hours, now wouldn’t that have been an interesting statistic!

I had cut some fabric to make a mock-up of the block, to see how it would look, and possibly to figure out how to put it together.  Okay, the putting it together part didn’t happen at that time.  Here are a few ideas for the mock-up.

And just in case I included the black and white of the above photo:

After I had started piecing light and dark pieces together, the idea occurred to me, that going completely scrappy for each part of the 9patch may be a bit much, so I played with the idea of scrappy, but each block would have all the same dark patches, and all the same light patches.  I did like it, but I liked the scrappiness better!  Who knows, maybe a smaller more planned scrappy quilt may come later. – I don’t think so!  LOL

 

When I was getting close, or at least my zipper plastic bags were getting somewhat fuller, I thought I would stitch up the mock-up, and figure out how to put the thing together.  Little did I know how many set-in seams there were going to be!!!  OH WAIT… another statistic

• Set-in seams per block – 12 (I think)
• Set-in seams for the quilt – 960!! (I must be crazy!)

Don’t look to closely, the small setting triangles are not put on properly.  Something I am going to have to work out!  The set-in seams for the mock-up are far from perfect, but I did figure out how to construct these blocks.  I’m a bit aways before I will be constructing the whole block, but who knows, I may get tired after stitching several hundred 3patch units together, and I may get some blocks going after I have a pile of 9-patch units ready.

You know, I probably should take a break from all this piecing and get some quilts finished, or I’m going to be buried by quilt tops!  To be honest, last week I decided I was going to take a quilt that has been sandwiched for 18 months, and quilt it today at my quilting group.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t very well prepared, and I just grabbed the two totes for the 3D 9-patch quilt.  Okay, I totally forgot about the quilting!  That’s okay, because if I hadn’t taken the 3D 9-patch with me today, I wouldn’t have come up with all those statistcs.  OH!  I may have miscalculated or miscounted, and I’m okay with that.  Maybe I should edit the above statistics to read “Approximate”!  HA!  I’ve just written it here, so if you have read this far, you found a surprise!  *giggle*

-Alice

Food for thought –  Have you changed or updated your blog recently or at any time?  I’ve been wanting to, and well, today I did it.  I’m not sure about the theme I have chosen, but it is good for now.  I’m not too keen, that I cannot include a photo of some of my work in the background.  My DD#2 suggested I should learn JAVA so I can write/design my own page.  If I had the time, to sit down, I could figure it out. (I do have a computer programming background)  Its just having the gumption to do so, and the time to do so.  Tell me your thoughts on this new layout.

Tags: 3D 9 patch, 3D Nine Patch, 9 patch, nine patch, quilt, scrappy