It started with a 9 patch

 

I really couldn't help it.  That parcel of scrap fabrics from Art Gallery Fabrics was just too irresistible.  

A lovely mix of warm colours, combined with assorted low volume prints set me in motion to stitch up some new scrappy blocks to add to the handful I had sewn last winter. Those first blocks were an experiment of sorts, a bit of trying out an idea in between other projects, as a means to use up leftovers.  I knew that I wanted to sew more of these blocks, with their simple 9 patch centers.

The arrival of those scraps, meant that I not only could I continue my block making, but I would be using fabrics that I had not curated for my stash.  What fun!

To sew these blocks, I started by pairing a coloured print with a low volume print.  These two fabrics would become the centers of the block in a nine patch arrangement. Fortunately, there was enough of each fabric scrap to sew two sets of nine patch blocks from each pairing, so I could alter the placement of light and dark in my quilt blocks.

 

Once I had made the nine patch centers, I selected a new mix of colour and print from the scraps, to sew the rest of the block design, so that each block would be different.

As each new combination came together, I was excited to try another!

Being subtle with some of the print and colour combinations was as satisfying as the bold and busy choices I mixed in other blocks.

Directional prints definitely add some extra visual interest to the repetitiveness of the block.

There's even a good mix of low volume fabrics, at least three per block, but sometimes more, as I used up scraps. It is so satisfying to make use of every bit of fabric!

Some of my combinations are eyeball grabbers, to be sure.  My intention was to use what I had on hand and have FUN, which I accomplished on both counts. Yay!

What's next for these blocks?  I am going to enlarge them (they are 12" finished), after I make a trip to storage, to find fabrics in my boxed up stash, that would help me turn these scrappy blocks into a quilt top!

 Would you like to sew some of these blocks, too?

 To help you get started, please click this link to a wonderful block tutorial, by the talented and generous designer, Sharon Holland.

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Interested in seeing the quilt I completed from these blocks?

Click here!