AFTERNOON DELIGHT--Month 6--EARLY RELEASE!!!

This pattern is the 2020 Block of the Month pattern offered FREE to Star members of The Quilt Show--join today to receive the entire year of patterns free. 

This month we introduce the other pieced pattern: the Double 9 Patch:

There are 64 total of these blocks in the quilt and the instructions are for making 12 each month for 5 months, then the final 4 blocks. Of course, if you want to make them all as soon as possible, that is fine too.

NOTE: VERY IMPORTANT CUTTING INFORMATION--Sue's instructions have us cutting strips 1.25" x 10" for making the 9 patches. Once sewn into groups of 3 fabrics, we cut SIX SEGMENTS--if you cut and sew perfectly, those six segment use 7.5", meaning you have 2.5" leftover. That leftover amount can be used in the NEXT set of 12 Double 9 Patch blocks. OR CUT THE STRIPS 1.25" x 8" allowing a half inch extra for straightening the segments as you cut. The choice is yours. 

These blocks have little squares--3/4" finished, just like the Shoo Fly blocks. However, the Shoo Fly blocks were a little forgiving in that the tiny 4 patch "floated". These blocks will require you to do the best you can on the three things that can go wrong: the CUTTING, the SEWING, and the PRESSING. 

THE CUTTING:

Make sure you cut the strips carefully, 1.25" wide. Cut straight and slow. There is not much wiggle room for less than perfect cutting with these blocks. Lay out the prints and backgrounds as shown in the pattern--there are twice as many Print/Background/Print units. 

My strips laid out for this second quilt I am making

THE SEWING: 

I encourage you to check your piecing accuracy right from the beginning. Sew the first two strips together, sewing as straight as you can. It's not a matter of how fast you can sew them, it's how accurately you can sew. Press toward the darker fabric, away from the background.

MEASURE NOW: the strips should be 2" wide--.75" + .75" = 1.5" plus the .5" seam allowance:

If they are slightly wide, it is easy to trim off the excess. If they are slightly narrow, STOP. Fix this now. It might be the thread is too thick--I use Masterpiece 50 wt or Quilters Select 60 wt or Aurifil 50 weight. Want more information on thread?  Thread--It Matters

It might be you sewed too fast or went crooked instead of straight. Figure out what caused the strips to be less than 2" wide when sewn together. Once you know how to achieve that 2", you are good to go.

ANOTHER NOTE: You get to decide how perfect your piecing has to be. If "close is good enough" is your motto, that's perfectly fine. No quilt police here.

I wish I had taken my own advice. I know how to piece accurately, right? I simply chained, chained, chained, then turned the two strips into three strips BEFORE I measured. Guess I was in a hurry because my strip units were too narrow, by at least 1/8". It was difficult to get my 9 Patch blocks the right size, 2.75" UNFINISHED.  So there was a lot of un-sewing for me. Believe me, you want to find out at the first  possible moment that you need to adjust your seam allowance, not several hours in.

THE PRESSING:

When pressing the print strip away from the background strip, use the edge of the iron to press the print away from you. Press as flat as possible, don't wiggle the iron back and forth across the seam. Just use a firm pressing motion to press the print up, away from the background.

CUTTING THE SEGMENTS:

I put the middle strip on top of the other strip, right sides together, being sure the seams were nesting. Then I cut them into 1.25" segments. To be sure I got the maximum amount of scrappiness, I worked with 5" cuts at a time, cutting 4 segments:  4 x 1.25" = 5". Now they are ready to chain through the machine:

PIECING THE SEGMENTS:

To pin or not to pin, that is the question? I started out pinning but found I could get the intersections precise enough without pinning. You decide whether you need to pin or not.

Be sure to sew straight to make your center square a real square. Again, speed is not as important as accuracy.

After sewing the first two segments, check to see if they are 2" wide by 2.75" long. If now, figure out why. If so, great--add the outer segment to finish the 9 patch.

Pressing the seam allowances--you have 3 choices. Press the seams OPEN--I rarely do that so I didn't show it. OR twirl the intersections as shown on the left. OR press away from the center. You decide. I like those twirled seams and how flat they  make the block so that was my choice:

Check that the 9 patches are 2.75" square, unfinished. If they are not the right size now, they will not miraculously become the right size when you do the next step.

CREATE THE BLOCK:

Add the 2.75" background squares to create the block. It will be 7.25" unfinished when done, the same size as the Shoo Fly blocks made earlier.

Pressing the seam allowances on the blocks--again, you have a choice. You can twirl the seams again or press to one side, (or open). Here is what I did--I pressed toward the middle so those seams will nest with the Shoo Fly blocks:

There are two applique blocks this month. Here are mine from the sample quilt:

Block 21

Block 22

We enjoy seeing your blocks so post them on the SHOW AND TELL--Your Blocks Topic

Let's quilt.

Barbara