Finished Disappearing nine patch and my winter garden
Friday are for finishes; kind of like Tuesdays are for tacos. It just makes sense. So for this fine Friday, I have a finished disappearing 9 patch quilt to show you (along with pictures of my winter vegetable garden).
Disappearing nine patch
I started this disappearing nine patch quilt in the summer of 2019. It was for my disappearing 9-patch quilt along. You can still find all of the instructions and tips there if you want to make one too. I love, love this easy quilt pattern!
They call this a disappearing nine patch because you start by sewing together squares into a 9-patch block and then cut them apart to create a new block. I used a charm pack but I also cut many of the 5″ squares from scraps of Minick & Simpson fabric. My layout is very random and “patchworky”. I’m calling it my summer picnic quilt. Cooper is calling it his winter siesta quilt.
The quilting was done by my SIL who did a wonderful job (as usual). I love the simple geometric design and texture it provides.
I used my machine binding technique for a fast finish. It took me about two hours to sew front and back. I love the walking foot on my Babylock Crescendo for this. It keeps everything straight and flat.
My original disappearing 9-patch that I made for the quilt along is below. You can see the difference in design by how you rotate the blocks. This version is very controlled and you get a distinct pattern. The fabric is Mama’s Cottage by April Rosenthal for Moda Fabrics. It’s such a bright and happy quilt!
Winter vegetable garden
We always have a summer vegetable garden, and this year we decided to keep it going with some winter veggies. Here, in Northern California, the winters are mild and perfect for lettuces, root veggies and cruciferous vegetables along with many herbs.
Mr. Crafty Quilter built three raised beds soon after we moved into this house. In the photo below you can see rows of lettuce, beets, green onions, carrots, spinach and swiss chard. The top bed has parsley and arugula that have both gotten a little out of control.
My favorite thing in the garden is the Romanesco broccoli. I wanted to plant regular broccoli, but the nursery only had Romanesco, so that’s what I used. It is so beautiful and the taste is very delicate. More like cauliflower with a nuttiness to it. We just harvested our first head and I’m now a huge fan!
We also planted cauliflower and kale in the lower bed. These beds are in our front yard because that’s where the sun is best. We love watching neighbors walk by and lean in for a closer look! Cooper keeps them honest though. 😉
Now that I’m “mostly” vegetarian {and by that I mean I’ll eat fish once in a while and maybe some chicken on a rare occasion}, I’m really enjoying the home grown vegetables. Four months ago, I found out I have high blood pressure (as does my mom and all my siblings) so I thought it was time for a healthy change in diet and lifestyle. After watching the documentary Game Changers on Netflix and Knives over Forks, I gave up meat the very next day. I still eat dairy products, but I’m easing into this thing. I feel better and I’m definitely eating more vegetables than I used to. And I lost five pounds. Not much, but I only want to lose five more. Consistent exercise is my next goal.
That’s more than I usually share about my personal habits. I’m not trying to convert anyone, I just know that health is always a hot topic and I’m always interested in what works for other people. Maybe I’m secretly hoping that I’m not alone with these health challenges. I also think the planet would benefit, as well, if we focused on a more plant-based diet. Okay, enough said (for now).
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a wonderful Friday and a heart-filled weekend!
Love the quilt , great colors,, and especially Cooper, I’ve had Brittanys for over 50 years, they are great quilting buddies ,currently have Ryder, a lovely sweet boy. 13 years old
I just love all the things you put on here and so look forward to more. I’m new here and made the valentines crafts, so much fun and looking forward to some Easter things. Thank You
I love youe D9P quilts. I also love the color selection that you choose. My husband and I have been a vegitarian for 35 years although we do love smoke salmon. After being in a cast for 11 months after I broke my left ankle it feels good to finally be able to get out and walk an hour each day. I’m trying to lose the weight I gained while my foot was in a cast. Keep up the great work and I love your class “Possibilities”.
Julie, THANK YOU, your binding technique by machine saved me hours!! I picked up three quilts from Lady Bug Quilts in Manteca on Saturday. They do fabulous and very reasonable machine quilting and all three were red, white and blue and they quilted swirls and stars. Perfect design for these fabrics. One of the quilts was my first Disappearing Nine Patch and it reminded me of your post. So glad I looked up your post and followed your machine binding guide. I finished all three today! All three will be washed tomorrow and mailed on Wednesday: Disappearing Nine Patch to Bernie (another delightful blogger) for her donation to Mercy Hospital’s Palliative Care Program and the Pinwheel and Sampler Block quilts are going to ALS patients in memory of my Aunt Neola. Arterial Lateral Sclerosis Foundation. Thank you for the great pictures of your winter garden. We had a wonderful summer garden and now wish we had some of those lovely winter veggies to crunch on…..maybe next year! To healthier lifestyle in the garden and quilt studio!
Appreciate all of your blogs but my favorites are the first Sunday Thankful!! Quilting regards, Dawn
Love the look of your Winter Disappearing 9 patch but can’t tell where the block is. Could you post the cutting of and layout? Garden looks wonderful, we are covered in snow right now and the garden is quite barren.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Julie. Love your disappearing nine-patch quilts. I must admit that I lean toward the “less controlled” version, however. Looks to be a great scrap buster!!! Love, love, love that you are eating your veggies. How I wish that I could convince my husband to eat more veggies. I think that he will always be a “meat and potatoes” kinda guy. My plate is generally 1/2 salad, 1/4 veggies, and a scant 1/4 meat. Yup! I do like my veggies. We always had a summer garden while in CA and occasionally a winter garden. Nothing is a good as home-grown veggies!!! Have a happy day, thanks for continuing to inspire!! ❤️❤️
Your R/W/B 9 patch was the inspiration for mine! I love mine, and it stays on top of our bed every night!
The quilts are gorgeous, so pretty and cheerful and your veggie garden looks amazing. I have been a vegetarian for a while but was always one of those unhealthy vegetarians i.e. as much chocolate and potato chips as I could handle. The last little while I have been trying to make sure I make the recommended 5 servings of veggies a day and it makes such as difference.
Always love to see your quilts, veggie patch and reading your opinions. Good luck to you with your plant based eating – I think it’s definitely healthier
J’aime beaucoup tes courtepointes et principalement la première. Dominance de rouge… que j’adore.
I love my garden and vegetables. For me, working in my mother’s garden started me down the path, but my first house and my own garden filled with new edibles locked me in. As my garden grew, consumption of processed foods decreased. After moving to the high desert for retirement, I built raised hugelkultur beds and keep adding more. My 100 exotic houseplants have morphed into 80 edibles… and a salad wall. Fresh fresh fresh food :). 2′ tall raised beds save my old back and knees too.
Playing in the dirt is fun.
I LOVE the D9P but am always at a loss to know the fabric color placement. On the second quilt, the color/white quilt, where did you place your white squares in the 9 patch to get this effect? Thanks for your help. Thank you for all you do to help all of us make fabulous quilts.
Enjoy you quilts, how much progress you make in all you do and I’m going to be a great gran the end of June so trying to find quilt patterns for boys and thank you for sharing all your quilts, and vegetables and here in Illinois, cold , and wintery.
Your quilts and stories are so enjoyable to read and impressed with your garden of vegetables. I just enjoy your stories. Looking to find a pattern for baby quilt, i’m going to be a great gran end of June, number 3 boy and looking so forward for the new one to enlighten and enlarge our family. Keep up the good, great work in all you do. Thank you so much.
I remember the disappearing nine patch quilt along. I joined in and love my beautiful blue, white and yellow quilt and I, too, used your binding method. It definitely saved me time as my arthritis really kicks in when I hand bind. I love your plant boxes and plants. They look great Julie.
I love seeing the garden and it is the second time that Romanesco broccoli has crossed my feed this week. I guess it is time to try it. Good luck with working on the BP – good luck on your easing your way into it. You have already made big strides.
Thank you Julie. I enjoy your newsletters.
Lovely quilts, both of them, and your vegetables are making my mouth water. Like you, we are eating less and less meat and our repertoire of veggie meals means that we don’t have to resort to meat for a change very often.
Love your quilts, but your garden, wow!
I also have a winter garden, but with different results. After creatures wiped out e dry thing but tomatoes this summer we made cages to cover raised beds. Walked out to pick chard recently and watched all these little birds madly trying to get back out of the cages where they’d been feasting. The beasts hate me but love my garden.
And a front yard garden? The deer would do that in instantly. You are very fortunate.
Way to sew and grow!
Jan W
Love the disappearing nine patch. I recall making disappearing nine patch pillow covers using Christmas fabrics a shocking number of years ago.
Your veggie garden has me green with envy. It will be about 5 weeks before I can get the VERY early stuff planted and 11 or 12 weeks before last frost. We currently have snow on the ground and the weatherman is calling for ice this weekend. Come on spring!
Love your quilts. They are perfect.