A 2014 finish

Pandora is in the binding stage, and I'm contemplating additional quilting, so it wasn't finished before the end of 2013. This quilt for my niece didn't quite make it either with the binding being finished on New Year's Day. It's been washed, packed, shipped and put on the bed. My niece loves it. Yeah!

Blooming nine-patch pattern, 68 x 87 inches

Didn't have anything in the stash appropriate for the backing so I had to go shopping. So glad the shop owner suggested matching the pattern on the seams. It wasn't hard and I like the look.

Blooming nine-patch top

While I wasn't blogging, I was sewing, making this blooming nine-patch at a niece's request. We were in Portsmouth Fabric Company, and she picked out the middle two fabrics and the pattern from a finished quilt hanging in the shop.

The pattern has been around for a while, and I've wanted to make it for a while so this was my excuse. The pattern, according to my Internet research, was first published in 1996 in the book "Tradition with a Twist" by Blanche Young and Dalene Young-Stone. I winged it on paper, and royally messed up the setting triangles. Good thing my quilt shop had more of that fabric.

Construction is easy. Nine-patch blocks alternate with plain squares. Sew the blocks into strips. Sew the strips together. Tricky part is keeping the blocks in the correct order ... and cutting those setting triangles the correct size.

I pressed the nine-patches toward the darker fabric and fanned the intersections to reduce bulk.

Fanned the intersections when putting the rows together too.

Backing is done. Fabric for binding is in hand, which will be the same as the setting triangles. Waiting on a batting order to finish this up.