Slice and Dice Nine Patch

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Slice and Dice 9 Patch
and a few tips thrown in along the way.
This is a picture of a quilt I was going to make. It features the Wee Woodland collection from Moda.
 I have always loved the Slice and Dice 9 patch technique. BUT once I was ready to sit and sew, I realized I had already used one of the layer cakes for another project. So I moved on to
PLAN B:  I also love the red cross block exchanges that are all over the world wide web. Once I  think about red, it makes me start thinking of aqua. Digging around in my stash I found the perfect reds, whites and aquas to make my own interputation of the slice and dice 9 patch. Variations of this pattern are all over the place, so the following info is not a complete tutorial. There is a pattern attached at the end for the complete instructions. I wanted to give you some time saving tips that work on this or any other quilt.
One more short story: Many years ago, a friend of mine (Hi Kara!) came by my house to drop something off.  I was not going to be there so I left the door open for her. Later, she called and couldn’t believe that there was a project in the works at my machine. I think I had even left the pieces chain stitched laying on the throat plate of my sewing machine.  I had just up and left it just as it was. She told me she could never do that. She couldn’t even start something unless she had a block of time set aside to work on it. This event has stuck with me for over 20 years.
Some of the suggestions listed below are things I have learned to be able to have mindless sewing time, whether it is 15 minutes or 3 hours.
SLICE AND DICE 9 PATCH
Lay out 2 -10″ squares right side up. Make 2 cuts using a variety of cuts divisible by 10.
 (see complete pattern for chart)
EXCERPT from moda’s project sheet.
These whimsical Nine Patches are made by cutting 10″ squares into strips following these guidelines:

– make 2 cuts resulting in 3 strips
– cut the strips at least 2″wide
– the total of the width of the 3 strips equals 10″

I do not what your “sewing time” is like but I have had to learn to sew with interruptions. Sitting down to sew a few seams while the rolls are cooking. This gives me 10 more minutes of stitching before dinner goes on the table. I do have a reputation for a wonderful dinner and sometimes burnt rolls. Sometimes sewing for just 10 minutes is tough and I can’t STOP! The following tips help me keep my projects in order for when I do return to them.

Very systematically, I cut the sections and layer them in one stack. The above pieces are cut from 10″ squares so I placed the cut pieces on a layer cake cardboard. This makes the stack easy to move as needed.

I sew on an old school teachers desk so I have these great pull outs on 2 sides to hold my fabrics. And a diet cherry limeade from sonic is a must.

I start chain sewing working in the following order:
 Join row 1, piece 1 to row 1, piece 2.
Then row 2, piece 1 to row 2, piece2.
Then row 3, piece 1 to row 3, piece 2.
This basically gives you the first 2 vertical rows chain sewn together. Do not cut the threads between the rows. The threads are what help keep the rows in order.

The above picture is what the stack looks like as I worked my way done the rows. It is easy to come back and pick up right where I left off………….. if I have to turn off the smoke alarm
 from the burning rolls!
Repeat this process until all of the first 2 sections of the nine patches are done. You will be left with a nice tidy stack in the correct order to add to the other sections.

Then repeat the process with the third row pieces. Starting at the beginning section of your chain, add the 3rd piece to each of the pieces as shown below. Notice how the threads are not cut and the chain sewing keeps feeding the next section?

See how the thread or “chain” keeps the pieces in order if you have to tend to other things.
Chain pieced sections are tough to press and keep the blocks joined by the threads. When sewing the sections together I “force” the seams allowances in the direction I want them to go. When keeping the sections chain sewn together like this, I rarely ever have to pin the pieces together. I wait to press
until the block is completed.
This looks like a big mess but it is actually all the rows in order.

The chain can be cut after every 3rd section. This keeps each block together and ready to sew together.

No pinning! Just SEW!

 Each set of 2 squares makes a positive / negative block.

Arrange the blocks in a pleasing order and join into rows. I made 2 baby quilt tops
 4 rows by 5 rows long. (36″ x 45″)
Have I told you how many people I know are expecting babies in November and December? A LOT!!No twins boys that I know of  but I have the quilt tops ready just in case.
What are some of your time saving sewing tips?
For a print out of the complete Wee Woodland pattern, Click here:

Fall TV Season

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Let The Fun Begin!!
I am so excited to have the new line up of television shows including
Dancing with the Stars and Glee! I am a bit tired of my husbands
reruns of SWORDS.
Good television also gives me a chance to catch up on my periodicals!
Periodical, is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule,
in other words, magazines.
I also have a very special book in my stack.
I am the proud owner of my own autographed copy of
Camille’s book,
Simplify, Quilts for the Modern Home. Don’t walk,
run to your favorite store and get one.(October)
(STASH books was kind enough to air in books for Camille to have during her classes
at The Creative Connection last week.)
The new issue of Quiltmania (I love this magazine!) has an article about my (our) illustrious
leader, Mark Dunn. He is such a fascinating man.
I must confess I have learned everything from my mom, my dad
and my boss. Is there a t-shirt that says,
“All I know, I learned from my Boss?”.
Let me know if you see one anywhere,
I should probably buy it.
Yes, that is him tucked between his
collection of vintage quilts.

Quilting Arts, STITCH magazine has a great
article about Liesl Gibson of Oliver + S. 

And magically, look at the ad on the back cover. Boy, that marketing person over at MODA is a genius.
She must have learned it all from her boss.

And of course, one of my all time favorite ads popped up.  I think some of the MODA designers are “scared” to go to market because every time I MAKE them do some silly picture. 
Don’t you think this ad is great
 as a Brady Bunch tribute? 
(perfect timing, how did the marketing person know?)
After all, Florence Henderson is a shoe in to win DWTS
in the senior division. Thank you to Camille for the great photography!
I am conjuring up the next ad concept for
Fall Quilt Market. Any ideas?
Hmmm, Just thinking…
Dancing with the Quilters??

JUNK BONANZA

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 The word “junk” is a funny word. It is relative. My husband likes to call all our stuff junk, I call it treasures. The Junk Bonanza had many artisans that have taken found things and have created works of art. Jewelry, yard art, reclaimed furniture were just a few of the things that could be found here. The feast for the junk senses made it hard to take pictures and “shop” at the same time.

I was glad to see the familiar face of Amy Barickman from Indygo Junction. She was signing her newest book.

 Many of you know that I have a love of the quirky, unusual and unique. (I think I just described my husband and kids!)I am under going counseling for this sickness but you sometimes have to bear with me on my pics.

How cool is this? They had made corsages from old baseballs and softballs along with a cluster of antique buttons in the center. I can’t begin to tell you hany many baseballs I have gone through having 4 boys playing ball! If I had only thought of this I would be rich OR have alot of corsages!

Feed Sack pillows stacked as high as you could see. The soft aged color on these pillows take on a life of their own.

 Rows and rows of crocks, vintage dishes, jars of buttons, dominios, and dice. Bingo Cards, optical lenses, glasses, iron work, wool blankets, license plates, typewriter keys, bed spring coils, bowling pins,

 Living in Texas our seasons are often very short. Halloween is my favorite season. Do you not call Halloween a season? It isthe official beginning of THE EATING SEASON. It all begins with halloween candy, carmel apples, and carmel popcorn. The season does not end until after Christmas! THE DIET SEASON begins January 1st, but more on that later.

 Bins of Maps. I love the color and feel of these maps.

I also found a gift for my friend, Ducky.

Becasue I did more shopping than taking pics, here is a list of the 100 vendors for you to roam off and kill a couple hours of time.

The Handmade Market

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THE HANDMADE MARKET
There were so many delightful artists that were teaching classes at The Creative Connection. Many of them also had a booth selling their wares. The following pics are just a few of the vendors. Remember I am a textile junkie, so my choice of pictures may be skewed to what I love. Sorry?!

 Tinsel Trading’s booth was full of trinkets and treasures. Their whole booth “glittered”.

 Earth Angels featured several artists making their booth hard to ever leave. I sat by her at breakfast one morning and she is a “hoot.” Read her blog and I think you will agree.

More Earth Angels booth…

Oops, more Earth Angels. Aren’t these cool wool rings?

 More… Who could resist this little pumpkin guy?

 Tiffany from Fancy Farm Girl is adorable.  Please go her site just to see the prettiest chicken coop ever!! Yes, I know “pretty” and “chicken coop” are words that should NOT be used in the same sentence, but trust me…
She will also be part of Ruffles and Rust show. (What a great name for a show!)
When: October 22 and 23, 2010
Where: Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe Washington-The Display Hall
Some of the best vendors from around the Pacific Northwest

Another cool artist was Sparrow Reed Gallery.

This makes me smile. How cute are those guys in the fabulously retro suitcase?

Pillows everywhere!

Wool pins and jewelry!

I meet two cute sisters from Anthology in Chicago. They both were wearing
patched skirts that were so cute. There booth and products were just as
cute as they were.
And honey, if you are reading this post I would take any jewelry from Bittersweet Designs.

The Creative Connection- Day 1

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I have squeezed in a few minutes to make a blog post about this event. The day so far, classes, shopping the booths at THE HANDMADE MARKET and a nice intimate lunch with Ree Drummond of Pioneer Woman fame and 500 other people.  Each meal is sponsored by a different company. This was the place setting for Ree’s luncheon. A wonderful notepad tied with ribbon and a silver fork from CAKE vintage table & home. We each had a mustache on a stick. If you are a follower of The Pioneer Woman you know she calls her husband the Marlboro Man, hence the mustache on a stick. Also we were allowed to east dessert first- (did I tempt you also with the snippet of the yummy red velvet cake sitting in the corner of this pic?)

 Here is a pic of Ree with her own Marlboro Man mustache drawn on the pic!
Jo Packman introduced Ree as the key note speaker for the luncheon. Ree spoke and entertained us with her light hearted humor.  The luncheon also served Ree’s own Asian Chicken Salad. Delicious! As if this was not enough, Jo and Ree set down on “cozy couch like chairs” on the stage and opened the floor for questions. People were tongue tied to stand up and talk. You have got to understand Jo said you could ask anything you want. I could think of a hundred questions but did not stand up either. One by one the questions started pouring out. We talked about everything from the difference between a hefer and a hereford. We talked about SPANX. We talked about Ethel Merman and Brittany Spears. We laughed and I was amazed at the “realness” of Ree.

The afternoon was full of more classes from jewelry making to wool ornaments and more shopping.
I caught up with Kaari Meng from French General doing a make it and take it project. (her class was sold out so I didn’t do that) My fav Connie and Mary from Country Threads are here with a booth full of pumpkins and all kinds of goodies.

I’ve got to run get ready for dinner with Amy Butler and Mary Jane Butters. I hope to share pictures soon. This is tough work!
Look for the premiere issue (December) of Where Women Cook with the Pioneer Woman on the cover.

The Creative Connection

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Moda Fabrics is one of the sponsors of The Creative Connection happening next week in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 3 of the moda designers will be there teaching classes. Camille Roskelley from Thimbleblossoms will be teaching A Retro Kitchen. Do you think she would mind if I call her Baby Mama during her class? Joanna Figueroa from Fig Tree & Co will be teaching Sugar Pumpkin or Owl Scarflette. Wait there is more….. Karri Meng from French General will be teaching a jewelry class. I have the very daunting task of going to this event. Some one had to do it so I do not mind taking one for the team. I am just that kind of gal. Wait until you see how great the goody bags are. Kuddos to the entire team for putting on such a great event for women.
To see the complete list of teachers that will be there, click here. All the greatness from so many different industries will be the coolest thing ever. Names like Amy Butler, Jo Packham, MaryJane Butters, Nancy Soriano and of course the pioneer woman herself, Ree Drummond.

If you can get there, please do.
If you are coming, I hope to meet you.
I will be earning my keep by helping in any way I can. I told them to put me to work taking tickets or something.
Look for me.
You will easily recognize me because I will be the one 
grinning from ear to ear.

How can you “bling” a sewing tin?

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 Who  has seen Eat, Pray, Love? I have not seen the movie but I have read the book. It is not in my life’s plan right now to run off and find myself. But what is in my life’s plan is to  EAT, SLEEP, SEW. (Not in that particular order!) I had to make this sewing tin that Laurie Simpson had made and posted the
instruction’s HERE. It did make me start thinking about what if?  What if the next big Hollywood blockbuster was EAT, SLEEP, SEW? Who would play the Julie Roberts role?  Heidi Klum could star. She certainly could fit it in after Project Runway. Maybe one of the REAL housewives from New Jersey? A reality show of quilters? How about a bunch of quilters in the same room with only 1 spool of thread? They could have cat fights over jelly rolls? I am so sorry, I must have dozed off into some crazed dream. Market is coming is my only excuse. Back on topic!

 I just love love love this tin. What quilter, sewer, crafter wouldn’t? Using Laurie’s instructions I made my own version in 15 minutes. I then gathered all my hexagon’s and supplies and proudly put them in my new organizational tin. I also added a magnetic strip to the inside which will come in handy. How would you “Bling” a sewing tin? What would you add? What notion can you not live without?
You may remember my blog post about hexagons. I blogged about them HERE. I was sewing them together by machine because I thought I would be bored doing so much handwork. I quickly had all my hex’s sewn together and had to make more. Then,  I got stumped when it came time to turn the corner and actually  had to create the horizontal and vertical rows. The rows would not meet until…..
PICTURE ABOVE: Machine embroidery the hexagons into rows
HALF HEX’S
This is how to make a half hexagon. Sew 2 fabrics together. Press open the seams and trim away excess bulk in the seam allowances. Lay the paper hexagon making sure to line up the seam with the point of the hexagon.
Baste the fabric in place and magically you have a half hexagon

I show you this for a couple of reasons.
I am getting closer to finishing my borders. I just have to make about 300 half hexs.
I am so inspired by all the hexagon bloggers out there that I am dying to start another colorway.
Jaybird is doing it.
I am dying to make some of these from Sew Mama Sew.
You could make a charm hexagon quilt where no two fabrics are the same. Read about it HERE.
I use English Paper Pieces for my hexagons. They have all kinds of info on their website.
Paper Pieces are available at all the quilt stores. Remember when buying the size you want to measure 1 side of the hexagon to determine the size. They range in size from 1/4″ papers to 3″ papers.
You can cut a moda charm pack into 4ths and have tons of fabric ready to baste in place.
I am obsessed by all the possibilities of such a simple shape. I would like to give Laurie credit because now I have a new tin to fill full of hexagons.  Maybe I will rent Eat, Pray & Love when it comes out on DVD, invite Laurie over and sit and make hexagons!
 Let me know if you are hexagon-ing?

and the winner is….

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 Only because I can laugh at myself, I will post one pic from SI. The tag line for this picture says something like,  this is not a mirage, etc etc. I told my husband,  I get it, you were thinking it WAS a mirage. That is why you did not see my head plastered on the swimsuit model sitting on a camel in the desert.

  In  all fairness to my husband and his friend, they did not notice that I had also put my pic on the largest sumo wrestler ever, weighing in at 491 pounds. Remember, I was pregnant at the time.

The shoebox is packed full to the brim with brights, darks, and light strips of all different lengths. Several of the strips are folded and rolled to fit into every crevice of the box, weighing in at a whooping 7 lbs. That may not seem like much if you compare it to sumo weight but I think you will be thrilled with how many strips I was able to squeeze into the box.

Thank you to all for commenting. I had my associate (her nickname is Stiffy) in the office across the hall drawing the winning name.
Congrats! Renae.  Send me your mailing address.
I have been so full of myself that I completely forgot to give a shout out to Maggi Honeyman. She is the master quilter that performed her magic on my quilt. Thank you, Maggi.