moving right along, one day at a time

it's been a very difficult several weeks at our house, and while things have calmed down for now, there is the emotional fallout and many relationship issues that are still here for us to deal with. even though D has angrily rejected us, we are still family, and what he does affects all of us still here at home. we have to deal with the negative impacts of his foolish choices, in ways that he, nor i, could ever have imagined. but enough of that already- I've spent so much time talking, thinking and crying about D, that i want to talk about something different- something that brings me happiness:

QUILTING!

not that i get to do much sewing, mind you, but i do like to buy fabric, and arrange the colors, and think about what i could make with it, if i had the time! well, here is my latest project (sort-of) and my next wanna be project: split 9 patch. i can't take credit for the quilt block design. it's what we did at our last friendship quilter's exchange, and i had so much fun that i made 4 of the blocks, not just one, and bought fabric to make another quilt.

this is so easy, and even if you're not a sewer, you can do this! promise! if you can cut a straight line, and sew relatively straight and even, you're gonna love this, too!

i chose 9 fall colors, with brown being the middle square. that will keep the blocks consistent with each other, and create the pattern in each of the blocks. you'll see.

i cut 4 1/2 inch squares from all 9 fabrics, but you can cut any size square that you want. it will just make your finished block a little bigger. sew the 9 squares of fabric together in any way you want, making sure that the center square is always the same. (brown in this block.) then press, alternating seams so they will all lay flat.

here comes the really cool part- cut the 9 patch square into 4 equal pieces (units)- just like you see here. it's been a while since i did this, so i don't remember the exact measurements. but i know you can figure it out!

now, rotate the top left unit counter clockwise, and the bottom right unit clockwise.

then sew them back together. this particular block turned out a little too much color blocked for me, meaning that all the colors kind of migrated together. it's ok for one block, but i wouldn't want all my blocks to turn out like that.

i had so much fun with the first block, that i decided to make 3 more, even though the exchange only required one.

here they are in progress.

and now the completed 4 split 9 patch blocks. you can see how in some of the blocks the colors are more evenly dispersed, and i like that much better.

now, here's the really exciting part- see all those really COOL fabrics above? the teal, purple, lime green and aqua? I've always wanted to make a quilt out of those colors, and never got around to it. after i made those autumn colored split 9's, i had the epiphany that this would be a perfect application for those bright fabrics that have been calling to me for years. so off i went to joann's, and bought a bunch of their flat quarters. they had a really nice selection, and i chose several different blacks for the centers. the big piece of fabric at the top was an impulse buy- see how the colors PERFECTLY co-ordinate with all the other pieces of fabric? i thought that it would make a nice border, or maybe as the backing.

so, maybe when my life slows down a bit, or I'm not so busy, or they have occupational therapy day at the nursing home that M chose for me, I'll get around to making this REALLY AWESOME quilt. until then, they are sitting on my schoolroom table, and I'll just satisfy myself with drooling on the pile, and fondly caressing the fabric as i walk by.