Tutorial - the disappearing 9-patch!

As we began packing the contents of this house for our move next week, I took a little time to make myself a pretty table runner as a 'welcome' gift to our new home.

I can't wait to display it, hopefully with a vase of pretty pink or yellow roses in the centre.

 There is nothing like fresh bread, fresh coffee, and freshly cut roses to say 'welcome' in my heart.

Continuing with the plan to give my stash it's Moment To Shine, I uncovered 30 remaining 5" squares from a Tanya Whelan charm pack that was gifted to me a couple of years ago. The colours and rose design are so *me* that I've been hoarding them away for a special project - and you know, those are the projects I rarely have time to do for myself. Are you like that too??

A block I've used in the past that is super easy to piece, and perfect for leftover charm squares, layer cakes, or pre-cut squares in uniform size, is the Disappearing 9-Patch.

Last week I made these blocks again with my Tanya Whelan leftover charms. It only took a morning to piece, quilt, and make the binding!

You will need 9 squares of fabric, cut exactly the same size. I divided my charm square pack into pink/red, greens and blues...

The centre square gets split in four, so choose a dominant colour and small print. I've used the blue, red and green pindot squares for my centres.

Sew the nine squares together to make a basic 9-patch block...

Now carefully cut the 9-patch block into four equal squares...

This is where the fun comes in!

After you have made a number of 9-patch blocks and cut them into four squares...

...it's time to rearrange them.

Play around with the blocks until you like what you see - this could be randomly placed, or into a pattern.

I eventually chose to mix my colours and make little 'butterfly bows' across the centre using the small pindot squares...

When I finally had the look I liked, I sandwiched the table runner, quilted it, and made a binding strip from a scrap of pink and white spot fabric (a slightly different pink to the charm squares, but it still worked well, and I used more of my stash!)...

Yesterday afternoon I sewed down the binding, and now I have a lovely new table runner to lay across our dining table after we move house next week! \o/

This would be a simple Christmas gift for you to make, especially if you have some charm square packs collecting dust.

hugs and blessings,
Jenny