Friday, March 30, 2012

Quarter of Nine #9

What If You Made

 

A Friendship Star...




...Then Cut It Into

 Quarters?







The result is 4 Quarter of Nine blocks that are really quite strange.


When we cut up a Nine Patch block three days ago we got Quarter of Nine blocks that were symmetrical. Two days ago the Quarter of Nine blocks from a Shoo Fly block were also symmetrical. As were those yesterday from a Churn Dash block.

But these Quarter of Nine blocks are not symmetrical which is why they look strange. But that's not bad, because being asymmetrical means that they have more potential than other blocks.


If we simply put a Friendship Star back together, some fabric is lost to the new seams and we get this slightly different Friendship Star.

Because it is more detailed than the original I find this block more interesting.


When the Quarter of Nine blocks are assembled like this, it becomes apparent just how much of a Friendship Star block is just empty space.

As it stands this block is not the most exciting. However, with some decorative quilting it could become something wonderful.


There is still a lot of room for quilting in this version. Or perhaps some applique.
The empty space is around the outside in this version, where, for some reason, you don't notice it as much.












All squares have 4 corners. The 4 larger blocks I've just shown you were, in each case, made using a different corner of the Quarter of Nine square as the center of the block.

This is a useful trick to try, not only when you are putting units together to make blocks, but also when you are putting blocks together to make quilts.


So far all the Quarter of Nine blocks I've used have come from a single block.

But what if I make 2 Friendship Stars the use the same colors but in different locations?

I can assemble new blocks using 2 Quarter of Nine blocks from each of the Friendship Star blocks.

Four such blocks combine to make an attractive table topper.





Yesterday we wondered if having a half square triangle on each side of a Friendship Star block would present a problem for Quarter of Nine blocks. It didn't.


But what if the squares on the side of a block were something more elaborate, say something like an hour glass.

Probably not. But we'll find out for sure tomorrow when we play with an Ohio Star block.

7 comments:

  1. This table topper is so pretty! Again, I need a houseboy so I can create new quilts all day!

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  2. Elsie

    I appreciate your need for a houseboy but you're going to have to quit mentioning it. You're starting to give Linda ideas.

    I'm glad you like this table topper. What stands out in my mind is that this would be an easy quilt for a beginner to make. They don't come much simpler than Friendship Star.

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  3. Wow, that table runner looks so complex, but it's easily made! How clever, ty!

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  4. QuilterLaura

    Not clever - lucky.

    I wasn't trying to create that particular design. It just happened when I started playing with the Friendship Star block.

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  5. just finished the centre of the four friends. My friends would like to have this in a lap quilt. How easy would it be to adjust the sizes?

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  6. Anonymous

    Since you refer to the blue and yellow quilt above as My Friends, I assume you have the Summer 2013 issue of Quilter's Connection in which it appeared.

    Given that you've already sewn the center (the center should measure about 23 1/2" x 23 1/2"), the easiest would be to sew more centers and treat them like blocks. I would put sashing between them. Four centers with 2" sashing and 4" borders should make a quilt that is about 56" x 56" finished. Six centers would make a quilt about 56" x 81"

    If you are feeling adventurous you could try making larger blocks to go around the center. The original Friendship Star blocks are 12"x 12" finished (12 1/2" x 12 1/2" unfinished.) You could make 2 blue stars with yellow corners 24" x 24 " finished size (24 1/2" x 24 1/2" unfinished. Cut them into quarters; treat the quarters as blocks and sew 2 onto each side of the center. Make 1 yellow star 24" x 24" finished; cut it into quarters and sew these in the corners. There is a minor problem. The large quarter blocks will be 12 1/4" x 12 1/4" unfinished. The composite star blocks you are sewing them to are 12" x 12" unfinished. This means you would have to trim 1/4" off the edges that are to be sewn at this point. I would double check and measure before doing any cutting. The resulting quilt if you use 4" borders should be about 50" x 50".

    In the magazine I show a third solution. I make an additional 3 blue Friendship star blocks and and additional 3 yellow Friendship Star blocks (12" x 12" finished size), then cut them into quarters. I sew a yellow border around the center. Then add I add a border around that by alternating blue and yellow quarters. With 6" yellow borders this makes a quilt about 52 3/4" square. I call this quilt More Friends.

    You could make this even larger by making an additional 5 each of the blue and yellow Friendship Stars, then using the quarters to make another alternating border. With a final 4" yellow border this should make a quilt about 76" square.

    One last thing. Before doing any of these you might want to double check my arithmetic.

    I hope this helps


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  7. I adore this , and I'm going for it ! I'm making it a full size Queen quilt starting it after church today , THANK YOU so much for the draft of the math ! I get a bit stuck on the numbers sometimes since my brain surgery ! No worries where there's a wool there's a way ❤️, God is so good ! Sew excited to try this ! Thanks again !!

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