Hello quilters! I find myself in a bit of a quandry...
I have a TON of 9 patches that were left overs from previous quilts. But not enough to do a full quilt.
What I'm wondering is if it would look really strange and ugly to take them all and turn them into a scrappy DNP quilt? Otherwise I feel like I"m wasting all those lovely blocks...
I know quilts were originally meant to be whatever you had on hand, but I've made afghans with that thought in mind and they ended up looking horrible. So, I was just wondering if anyone had done this and how it turned out.
Thanks for all your help!!
Chicagoland, Illinois
Susie--
IMHO your plan sounds like a win-win solution. I did one DNP with the most "incompatible" fabric patterns and colors you can imagine and it turned out surprisingly well. I called it "Scruggly" when I was working on it (scrap-ugly) because of the wild fabrics, but when it was all pieced together it turned into "Serendipity" and looked quite charming. Sorry I didn't take a picture of it. So I say go for it! What's the worst that could happen?
Kissimmee, FL
What does DNP mean?
In the beautiful Pacific Northwest!
Judy,
Disappearing Nine Patch (DNP or D9P).
Max
I did it, too, and it looked great when it was done. I love scrappy quilts the best.
Hope it works for you.
Thanks Max. I should have known that. I actually have a Disappearing nine patch project in my to do shelf.
Susie,
I find the DNP is a very forgiving pattern. I have used it several times and haven't had one turn out bad. I've hidden some really strange fabric in them. Haven't tried one entirely scrappy yet, but I'm betting it would look wonderful.
If you have lots and lots, then you might make a test small quilt out of nine or twelve blocks and see how you like it.
Also, you might want to think about a Double Disappearing Nine Patch. I did one recently and add more light and soft colors in the second step. Really made a difference.
http://afewscraps.blogspot.com/2011/08/double-disappearing-nine-patch.html
Here is a link to a blog with the tutorial on DDNP.
MaxNTopeka: Also, you might want to think about a Double Disappearing Nine Patch. I did one recently and add more light and soft colors in the second step. Really made a difference. http://afewscraps.blogspot.com/2011/08/double-disappearing-nine-patch.html Here is a link to a blog with the tutorial on DDNP. Max
Max--that is a really cool idea! Depending on what my squares end up looking like after the first step, I may just have to do that. I'm also considering that once I get the 9p cut up, not swapping them out in the same new 4p. I'll have to look at what I have and see how I can make it work. If I can get some twin bed sizes out of the scraps, that would make me feel much better. Cleaning out so I can add new, and making some quilts to donate...win-win in my book :)
Thanks everyone for all your suggestions! I'll post pictures once I get a couple of them ready to mix up.
MaxNTopeka: Also, you might want to think about a Double Disappearing Nine Patch. I did one recently and add more light and soft colors in the second step. Really made a difference. http://afewscraps.blogspot.com/2011/08/double-disappearing-nine-patch.html
Also, you might want to think about a Double Disappearing Nine Patch. I did one recently and add more light and soft colors in the second step. Really made a difference. http://afewscraps.blogspot.com/2011/08/double-disappearing-nine-patch.html
Wow, Max, thanks for posting this. I really like the double patch pattern. I'm going to be making baby quilts at our Leavenworth retreat in October and that will be a perfect pattern.
I like using scrap 9patch blocks with a square in between that is the same to have some consistency with the scraps. It makes a cute quilt. I tried to find an example in my pictures but didn't come up with a 9patch. Found a 4patch to give you an idea. Pretty basic but you could fancy it up a bit.
Or you could put snowballs between them.
Jeanine,
I really like the one with the snowballs! Very cute! I keep forgetting about the Snowball blocks. I should use them more.
I like the snowballs. But I'm still so new at quilting properly it kind of scares me. If my squares are 4" squares, would I mark the snowball at 4" then? I'm only guessing, but whatever size, it would be the same on all four & then the HSTs to square it up, right?
I feel so dumb sometimes. I know what I am trying to ask, but don't know the terms well enough to be able to get my questions out in coherent words. I hope my question makes sense.
Thanks for posting this question. I read these boards everyday and everyday I learn something new. I loved all the suggestions and the pictures. Thank you all for the great information I always find here.
Georgetown, CA I'd Rather Be Quilting
Melissa Halpain: Susie, Thanks for posting this question. I read these boards everyday and everyday I learn something new. I loved all the suggestions and the pictures. Thank you all for the great information I always find here.
Melissa--I'm with you! As I'm learning how to do this, I feel like I have more questions than I ever get answered. But I have found that this group of quilters is always more than willing to share their expertise!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfdD4-WepJo
Above is a link to a video about 5 minutes long that will give you a quick tutorial on Snowball blocks. You can make the beginning square any size you need to match you Nine Patch blocks. Then add the corners in a pleasing size...just so they are the same as each other. The video shows starting with a 10 inch square.
Hope this helps!