Tiny Little 9-Patches

My little crop of 9-patch blocks has grown a bit these last couple of days. I have a nice place to sew (new desk - see last post), and an audio book queued up in my earbuds. This combination always results in something!

I mentioned earlier that I was taking the lead from Taryn at @reproquiltlover on Instagram in making the tiny 9-patches. I'd been planning on this kind of sewing even before I learned of her year-long project, so I'm glad to be sorta' tagging along. When I see some of the work the sewists are doing, I see a lot of them organizing the tiny squares. My initial opinion rather poo-pooed that idea. However, I've since done a 180. Organizing the bits makes sense! Duh. How else can you get a good-looking 9-patch if you don't have some sort of plan for the blocks?

So I have given in to organizing these 1.5" squares. Mostly, they are being grouped by color. If I see a big stack of squares all from the same fabric, they get their own stacks, and all the neutrals are sorta' being handled as a group, regardless of design. It doesn't look like there's a system, but I (mostly) know where I've put certain pieces.

I've used the top drawer for a lot of the neutrals, and the reds are stashed here, too. I stop the organizing every now and then and sew a few blocks, especially if I've found five darks and 4 lights that I like together. 

And that is how I've already made 24 little 9-patches! Yippee! It seems to go faster with the colors separated out, and the neutrals at the ready. The three shown here are indicative of how I'm working through this basket of little squares. If I can find 5 matching darks/4 matching lights then I make them that way; the blue block illustrates this. Sometimes, though, I don't have 5 matching darks, so I make 'almost matches' which you see in the pink block and the burgundy block. When these blocks become part of a big quilt, there will be no issue whatsoever with the 'almost' blocks.

The book I'm listening to is Charm City Rocks by Matthew Norman. It is a fun read with a cute storyline - pure entertainment. I love the characters so far, and I am rooting for the happy ending. I learned of it from reading Nicole's frequent book reviews and suggestions on her blog Sister's Choice Quilts. Over the years, I have enjoyed dozens of books gleaned from her recommendations. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!