Diagonal Disappearing Nine Patch Quilt

It’s a new year! I know many are hopeful for positive changes, better habits, more productivity, or whatever else you want for 2022.

For a moment, I’ll look back on my 2021 quilting journey a little. I made even more quilts than I did in 2020 and started this quilting blog. The quilt featured in today’s post has had a good run on here. I used it on the blog more than any other quilt I’ve made, using it to talk about multiple steps along my quilting process. It also had a long run as my oldest work in progress before finally getting the upgrade to newest listing in my shop. So what type posts did I use this lovely for?

A tutorial post

I actually made the quilt top in May and used her for a post about how to make the diagonal disappearing nine patch design using a layer cake. I wasted NO time with making the top. I think that part was actually finished in a weekend. I fully intended to finish the quilt in that same month and post a quilt reveal type post, but it got lost in all the custom orders I had at the time on top of a full time non-quilting job.

A post on an easy way to make backing

I pulled this one out of the work in progress pile in November to do a little tutorial type post on how I make my backing. It’s a no fuss, minimal measuring method that I feel is good for people who don’t have a gigantic cutting mat or just don’t feel the need to cut backing to an exact measurement only to trim it all off anyway after quilting. I knew when I pulled it out that it would have to go back into the work in progress pile after I made the backing, and it did… Just like the last time I threw this one up on the internet, I had some custom orders and a full time job I was also dealing with. I hoped it wouldn’t take too long for me to get back to it, but it ended up being another month or so before I got her out again.

A post on Franken-batting and quilting

I have gotten to the point that I don’t join my Franken-batting before I baste. The basting will hold it together while I quilt it, and I tend to use lots of quilting. So, I always have plenty of quilting to hold the un-joined pieces down. I talk about my Franken-batting method here, and I also added some free motion quilt tips in that same post. Here’s a video of me quilting this one.

I finally finished this one right before Christmas!

After being used for the blog three times, but still not finishing her, I felt like this one deserved a little extra love in the finishing process.
It took me a while to decided on the quilting, but I finally decided it just deserved a LOT of quilting. I went with some fairly dense micro stipples to give it plenty of texture. Even with all the texture, I wanted to give it a little more much-ness. I decided to throw some appliques onto the back. So, I added a few partial dresdens and a little tumbler and hand stitched them onto the back with a bright pink thread. I stayed between the layers with the hand stitching to avoid any weird random shapes showing up on the front.

I used the same pink thread to hand stich my label in my usual fashion. If any quilt deserves a label, it’s this one.
She’s been so patient, constantly being pulled out of the work in progress pile, worked on a little at a time, and thrown onto this blog before FINALLY getting her turn to be finished. It also felt good to me to get my oldest work in progress completed in the same year I started on it.

I get a lot of people asking me about my labels, so I post the details on them from time to time on here:

Label: Custom made by Melanie at Meander + Make. Melanie was nice enough to give me a coupon code to share with you. Use the code SNUGGLEBUGSTITCHING for 10% off!

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog!

I hope you enjoyed it.

Also, I hope your new year takes you in the direction you want to go, to an even better place than you imagined, or to a place you are happy with!

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave me a comment or email me. I’d love to hear from you.

Happy quilting!