I've been making a new quilt this week.  I started cutting out on Saturday night and I've nearly got the top done.  The quilt is another sample for our Quilt Basics class which is running at various dates over the next couple of months. We use the Disappearing Nine Patch for our beginners workshop (which is at our Burwash Manor shop just outside Cambridge).  It's a great block, really straightforward but versatile in it's use.  It enables us to teach some great techniques, such as rotary cutting and chain piecing, and gets people thinking about the way the the prints, patterns and colours play together. So in my making my top it has got me thinking, all over again, about the wonders of quilting and how super-clever-magic the process is.  To document this I have written a very basic 'how to' for the block, which is below, played about with some variations, and set up a Pinterest board to show the versatility. PicMonkey Collage2 Do you have any favourite blocks which you come back to time and again? Disappearing Nine Patch Block: How To ninepatch2
  1. Cut nine squares – we use 6.5” squares for the Quilt Basics class.
  2. Lay out in desired configuration – be aware of directional prints if you will be rotating them at step six
  3. Stitch together: rows of three first and then each row together
  4. Press as you go
  5. Mark and cut nine patch into four new mini-blocks
  6. Reconstruct as desired
  7. Stitch block together in new configuration
  8. Repeat!