I always thought a 9 patch was too easy and a 'beginner's block' (so in my infinite wisdom, I was 'beyond that' - talk about snooty!!!!!) and to a certain extent it doesn't allow you a lot of creativity. What I like about the D9P is that you can get some neat effects simply by changing up the colors, rotating the blocks - either the big one or the little ones - so it gives you a lot of variety (I get bored easy, can you tell?). It also refreshes your skills at strip piecing and seam matching and its fast, fun and produces some nifty results. When I was playing with the baby quilt blocks I was fascinated by how the medallions floated up (even though I ultimately didn't do the quilt that way).
Hey Patrice - maybe thats the next quilt challenge - get everyone to do a D9P - any size - and lets see what we come up with?