Nine Patch Merged Blocks

This week found me playing in Easy Draw.  Enjoy the Electric Quilt tutorial below on Nine Patch Merged Blocks.  If you wish to expand your Easy Draw skill set, I have two classes starting in June.

Drafting Easy Draw Blocks using EQ7

Have you ever found the “perfect” block online.  But then realized you wanted to piece it a different way.  Maybe you want rotary cutting instructions or a foundation pattern.  Or maybe you want a different size to incorporate into a different quilt.  With Electric Quilt you can redraft these blocks.  This instructor led online class will focus on how to “read a block” and then come up with the most efficient way to draft it with Electric Quilt.  Class starts Thursday, June 15th.

​Cost:  $80

Enroll Now

Bonus:  Enroll by May 31 and receive a 20 minute private consultation with Kari.

I will also be teaching this class at the MN Quilt Show in Duluth -- June 9th.  This class still has openings.

Foundation Drawing Using EQ7

Be the first to learn the ins and outs of creating foundation patterns for paper piecing.  This brand new instructor led online class starts Monday, June 5, 2017.

​Cost:  $100

Learn More

Enroll

Bonus:  Enroll by May 31 and receive a 20 minute private consultation with Kari to draft a foundation pattern from your own favorite photograph.

Merged 9 Patch Blocks Plus Quilts

One thing that is fun to do when creating new blocks is to combine two blocks together (or maybe even three).

This week I played with taking a couple of blocks and setting them into a 9 patch block. 

Five Patch Chain from EQ Library

Providence from EQ Library

Providence Chain designed by Kari Schell

I could have set up a 15 x 15 grid and redrafted everything.  But I was looking for an easier way.  Two challenges I needed to overcome were:

• EQ limits resizing of lines and segments to whole percentage points (i.e. no 33.333%) so I couldn't pick up the line segments, resize and plop them in a segment of the nine-patch.
• EQ won't let us use a 9 patch to merge blocks -- so I couldn't use this feature to force the resize as well.

When meeting with a private client yesterday, the light bulb came on and I realized how I could make the merge block feature work on a nine-patch.

I will share how in this weeks Electric Quilt video tutorial.

Here are the two quilts shared in the video.

Providence Chain in 3 x 3 Layout

Providence Chain with Sashing

Here is another combination that I successfully tested with the technique.

Monkey Wrench Block from EQ Library

Square in a Square block. (I am sure this is in the library -- but I drew this one.)

Monkey Wrench with a Square within a Square block designed by Kari Schell

Layout for this was On Point.  

​Settings:
Block Size:  15 x 15
Border #1:  1.75" Long Horizontal
Border #2:  Border Blocks 5", 6 blocks horizontal and vertical

Sashing Block

Fabrics used in these quilts were all from ​​Andover's Floral Spendor collection.

Happy quilting.

​Kari

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