Scrappy Nine-Patch blocks, $5 Friday Patterns, and Barry-the-Baza
Hello lovely quilters, I hope you've had a great week and have managed to find some time to get creative and crafty. I managed to scrape a few half hours here and there to sew some scrappy nine-patch blocks.
Nine-patch blocks are extremely versatile and are easy to make. I've made my nine-patch blocks from 1 1/2" squares cut from scraps. When I'm sewing I become hyper-focused so I throw all of my scraps into a giant tub for later sorting - to save or bin.
Recently I've been trying to cut 1 1/2" squares from the smallest scraps, thus saving even more fabric. These little 3" blocks are the result.
To sew a nine-patch block, sew your squares together to make (3) separate rows, then sew the rows together to make the nine-patch block. Always press the seams in the direction that will allow them to butt together.
I'd love for you to join me, saving your scraps and making nine-patch blocks. Perhaps we can share our scrappy blocks on the group page (Facebook)?
I've been sketching a nine-patch quilt design, except it's not actually made up of nine-patch blocks - it's made up of diagonal rows, each row two squares wide. Looks like I'll be making two quilts!
It's winter here in Australia, and here in Brisbane it's been wet. Winter here is normally dry and cool, with gloriously blue skies. Instead it's been wet, soggy, drizzly, muddy and gloomy. The only redeeming feature has been the fog (which I love).
It's great weather for cozy crafts like crocheting, knitting and quilting, but Lordy it's trying my patience. I normally love rainy weather, but it's outstayed it's welcome. Even the garden has had enough, root rot is setting in and the grass is sliding off the mud.
Spud-the-cat is still with us. The vet came out last Saturday to assess whether he needed a little help crossing the sky-bridge, declared he could 'go' at any minute, and gave him a diuretic to keep him comfortable. We cried... a lot.
Low and behold it worked so well, he's up and about and seems to have gone back a stage in his illness. He's stropping his claws on scratching posts (and my lounge), is meowing his little lungs out, eating like a horse, and generally being a bossy little bugger.
We're now giving him injections every couple of days to see how he goes. Lord only knows with Spuddie, he's a law unto himself!
Barry-the-Pacific Baza is back and he's brought a girlfriend with him! Barry is a hawk, he has a cute little top-notch, tries to look fierce, and has a high pitched squeak and call. We're ecstatic to find we now have a breeding pair in the area.
This week's $5 Friday patterns (there's two) are Untamed Garden and The Tuileries.
Untamed Garden has been updated and has easier to follow instructions, foundation piecing templates for the flower and leaf blocks (if you prefer to use them), plus a colour planning guide.
It measures 63" x 73" (162cm x 187cm) and is a great stash busting quilt. You'll need intermediate quilting skills for this one, the piecing isn't difficult but you'll need the confidence to take the lead when it comes to colour and fabric choices.
Lord this quilt was a nightmare to write the pattern for - I had to keep track of so many pieces of named fabric and I was working from digital images. When I finally received samples of the fabric months later, I found the colours of the digital images were different to the actual fabrics. The kind of stuff quilting nightmares are made of.
The Tuileries quilt pattern is in the old format, but includes the instructions for both colour-ways. Both quilts measure 73" x 73" (187cm x 187cm) and are suited to intermediate quilters.
The discounts will be applied at the checkout, they won't appear on the product page. You don't need to purchase both patterns to receive the discount. Offer ends Tuesday, 16th June, 2026 AEST.
Nite everyone, it's heading for 11pm and it's time to wind down for the night. Have a wonderful weekend, toni xx