I have a realtor friend who stopped for tea and brought me this quilt top. Someone was selling her house and fallen on hard times; had to get rid of stuff. This is all finished, king-size, with about 6 yards of fabric for backing, and batting. Not necessarily my colors, but I think it will work (if I can keep the dogs off it). It is beautifully sewed.

love the technique and pattern. would love to make something like that. If only i had the kind of skill! it is georgous! nice score!

wow there's a ton of work that went into that!! enjoy it!

Wow! It's really nice. Enjoy!!

How sad that must have made the owner!! I'll bet she would be glad to know her lovely quilt has found a new home where it'll be loved.

Those are definitely my colors. It certainly looks spring and very unique.

Grann, by the time you finish this I bet you will fall in love with it!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's gorgeous :D:D

What a beauty!

Well, I already am very fond of it. It actually looks pretty good in my sunny yellow room. I know someone had to be devastated to get rid of it after putting so much work into it. When I get it finished I will give my friend a picture, that maybe she can give to the lady that made it. I understand it is called "Blooming 9-patch".

It's a Blooming 9 Patch, from Traditions with A Twist, by Blanche DeYoung.

I've made over a dozen of them, and helped friends pick out fabric for even more. It's a fabulous pattern. Tons of piecing, but you learn a lot. The fabric is really the star in a quilt like this, and the ability to blend them from one to the next.

Yes--that's just what I was going to say. gaigai just did her Lilacs with this pattern. I can't wait to make one.

Yes, the more I look at it, the more I see. I sure do appreciate the amount of work that she put into it. I can't wait to get it finished. I am not too crazy about the outside part, but the rest of it is lovely. She did a wonderful job picking the fabrics. And it all goes so well together.

wow, score!

I have never seen a quilt like that. What a beaufiul gift. Enjoy.

What a beautiful gift for you to finish. Have fun!

Grann, I know what you mean. To have to give it up d/t hard times is so sad :(
At least it's in your good hands. Now how to keep Gus and Heidi off?? lol :D

The top is very pretty! Not so sure about the back but for Free your so Lucky 8-)

It will be easy for the next 2 months, since we are still on the air mattress. I think I will leave it on the bed for a while with some Febreeze on it. It smells stale, not musty, just stale from being in a bag. And I don't know how long it has been riding in my friend's trunk. As long as the gate is still up, it is safe.

I agree, itis a little dull, but I guess it makes a good accent for the top. The border is the same fabric. At least I don't have to buy any fabric for it.

Wow, very pretty...

The color? Or the blend?

Depending on what kind of shop one is in when choosing the fabrics, you sometimes have to make compromises.
This quilt looks like it has 8 fabrics, which is how the pattern is written in the book.

I like to start with the #4 or #5 fabric and work my up and down. That way you can kind of control some of the colors in the quilt.

But there are times even those have to be swapped out because they don't work anymore with the other fabrics you've chosen. It is not a 15 minute process, by any means, even in a huge store with thousands of bolts (although that allows more options).

In my first one, I had picked the 8 fabrics (even cut some of them), and it was a really good "bloom." But I wasn't thrilled when I started putting them together, and ended up swapping out 4 of them.

The challenge is to make the 9-patches disappear.

You do enough of them :roll: and you can easily spot what will work and what won't, and why.

OMG!!
She really has a lovely heart to think of you and give when her world is so shaky.
All that being said, WOw What a beauty!

Yes, there are 8 fabrics, actually 10 counting the border. I guess the part I'm not too crazy about is that last large print with the black background. The 2 outside prints are a grey-blue and so the black background to me doesn't really go with it. But I know how hard it is to find the right colors. When she first showed it to me I didn't realize it was a 9-patch. Then this morning I got it out and really looked at it and said to myself, "WOW!" Thanks for all the information about how you do it. I know I would never have that much patience.

Absolutely beautiful. Good for you to get it.

Pretty.

:thumbup:

That was no quilt in a week project...just gorgeous!

reminds me of "Blooming nine patch" It's great

Wow! That is beautiful!

So now I have looked more closely at the quilt top and measured the backing fabric. I now find there are issues to be dealt with before I can finish it. All 4 corners are the same way, and some of the side triangles need to be replaced with a larger triangle so there is a 1/4" seam allowance. The real problem is this....there are 5 1/3 yards of backing fabric, which is also the border fabric. If I replace some of the triangles and add 2" borders, I am not going to have enough fabric for the backing. I just spent 2 hours searching for this fabric with no luck. It has been discontinued. Any suggestions would be most appreciated. I really WANT to finish this lovely quilt. Oh, the measurements are 76"x88" without the borders. I need at least 2" all around to make it fit my bed.

way to go. its beautiful

[quote=MTS]It's a Blooming 9 Patch, from Traditions with A Twist, by Blanche DeYoung.

Yes, that was what I was going to post too! I have 1 in my UFO pile right now, LOL.

Who cares about the backing fabric? I'm not saying use some crappy fugly fabric, but just find another fabric that goes with the backing fabric. The only time anyone sees the back is when they're lying under it and they have, what, 15 inches turned back at the top. Don't even worry about that.

Most of my backs are pieced, and I only ever worry about the top 20" showing.

As to the problem with the corners, that is a pretty common with the quilt.

Since there are SO many 9-patches, that unless you sew a PERFECT seam allowance throughout the entire quilt, and your cutting is to the thread, you're going to have distortions. Also, the blocks are set on point, the rows are very long, and the setting triangles are QST, so things do get stretched out a bit.

Another big mistake made is that the solid squares are cut at the beginning. So even if the 9 patches were done and they all turn out to be 4 3/8 or 4 1/16 (they're supposed to be 4 1/4) the entire quilt is matching the two sizes together. That's a lot of easing that will also cause problems.

When I was teaching this quilt at a LQS, I ended up having 2 lucite square rulers cut for 4.25" and 4" (this was before they came out with the 4) so the students could trim up all the 9 patches - if they were too small. Painful, yes. But then when they cut the squares to whatever THAT measurement was, the quilt went together very easily.

One of the things I discovered (around my 4th one :roll: :roll: ) was to make oversize setting triangles, so the previous blocks float. That way, you don't have to worry about having the a less than perfect 1/4 left over, or having it distort during quilting, and then having it get trimmed off in the squaring. And I like the look better, especially if you want to add more of that last fabric as a border.

Sorry to go off on a tangent. I just really, really enjoy this pattern.

In your case, since you want it bigger anyway, I woould add borders (3"? or more - that should add more than enough for you) around the whole thing, using that same fabric.

You don't want to mess with 1" borders - because I'm sure the quilt is not square and you'll probably lose some it in the squaring up anyway. This way you can preserve some of the points, and the squaring/straightening will be less noticeable on the border fabric.

My, what a help you are!!! Thanks! I was kinda thinking along your lines. What I may do for the backing is see if I can find a marble in roughly those border colors. You are so right about the backing. I could actually use a muslin, as far as that goes. Then just use what I have to make borders and binding. I do notice there is a lot of easing going on in the dark corner 9 patches. So what you say is exactly what happened to her. She probably got frustrated, put it away, and then couldn't get back to it. I plan to keep it as pristine as I can, just replace those corner triangles with larger ones and a couple of the side ones that will cause me to cut off points if I sew them as is. I so appreciate your insight; as I have never done one of these (and probably never will), but I certainly understand all the work that went into it.

It is beautiful!!!

:-D If you ever do decide to take the plunge, PM me. I have a folder full of tips and handouts to make it easier. ;)

Thanks for that. I doubt that I will, especially after I work on this. I think the first thing I will do is press it and starch it before I start measuring for border. I figure I can get to know it that way too. Then I will start measuring. I then remembered I have a quilt backing in the basement that is 108" wide and a tan marble; I'll see how that looks with it. The batting included with it is Quilters Dream Poly extra thin, so I am concerned about a dark fabric shadowing through in the center light part. And thanks for all you help.

It's gorgeous. I'm going to have to get that book.

Your so lucky to have received this.