Nine patch comfort

       I finished the quilt that was given to me as a kit from someone who was passing it on because they know I make comfort quilts. I love the back more than the front. Yesterday, I was able to get it washed, packed up with pocket quilts, CD, book, handmade card, and custom pocket ready and gifted to a friend's brother in law facing a bone marrow transplant in early September. He is very ill and scared I am told. I pray the quilt will give him some measure of comfort. I heard from my friend, that her brother in law took it out of the bag and has been cuddled in it on his couch since he opened it. Can't ask for any better than that for a quilt.

     This the quilt bag and accessories that I send with the newly washed and dried quilt. If anyone has other suggestions what to put in, I would love to know that. I am always looking to upgrade.

Bag with custom pocket, devotional book, handmade card, 2 pocket quilts, instrumental CD

All packed and ready to go in XL ziploc bag and sealed to deliver.

Nine patch combo all done!

      A long while ago, a quilt guild friend gave me a kit someone gave her to use as a comfort quilt. Love to get stuff like that. It was not difficult, but it was not a color combo I like- browns. It doesn't matter what I think, the person receiving the quilt is the point.
     Since the backing was made over a year ago, I was able to throw it on the longarm since I was out of sewn up backings. It was fun to quilt. The finished quilt looks better than when I sewed it. I think it is because I had cataract surgery in May and my vision does not have all that yellow in it. Things look clearer and more vibrant. With me, it is all about color (and value). A friend suggested a flange binding with light blue strip. I know A Left Handed quilter would agree.

The Stripes have it

     A couple of years ago (grimace), a woman at my quilt guild gave me a plastic shoe box filled with 2" scrap stripe squares. She knew I loved stripes (for bindings) and knew I loved scraps. The box was pretty full. I started to sew 9 patch blocks as leader enders. I tried a dark stripe center and then a light stripe center. I oriented all the light blocks in one direction and the dark in another. I chose the light centers. I made a lot of blocks, but had no idea what to do with them. I asked quilters experienced in scraps, but no one had an idea. I tried square in a square blocks with black and white triangles, but it was yucky.
     Then I pulled out my off-white scraps and fooled around with the stripes. I decided to put one square in the middle and frame it. Liked it. Then I combined the 9 patch blocks and the framed blocks, but it was boring on the wall. Then some fell off and tilted to suggest an on point layout. Hmm, sort of liked it.
     When I had eye surgery and could not see well, I started to put blocks on the wall and sew more blocks. I drew a sketch on graph paper and decided to make it 10 nine patches by 11 nine patches alternating rows with the framed blocks. I was obsessed with making them all. Then I was obsessed sewing them together which is a time consuming boring task. I used a stripe fabric for a thinner border and then pieced the outer border using off white with white fabric using square in a square corners.
     I can't believe I finished it all. However, my eyesight has not returned to normal. It is better than it was, but it is still like looking through a sheer curtain that moves. I put off the other eye surgery until this one clears.

Layout

All sewn

A stripe border and off-white border