Nine Patch Completed

Yes, I completed the nine patch quilt that was started in 1993 as an internet 9-patch swap.  This was in the day before stricter post office rules went into effect and you could put a 6" 9-patch block into a baggie and stuff it into an envelope with a regular stamp and send it on its way.  They were easy to make and fun to get "squishies" in the mail with beatiful patches made from fabric that you may not have been able to buy in your area of the country. 

I think there are 143 blocks in this quilt just set simply with 2" sashing.  Once I set the top together, I put it aside for quite some time because the horizontal sashing was puckered.  I made the mistake of cutting those strips mathematically rather than using a real measurement. That is, I figured that the blocks are each 6" with 2" sashing and figured out what the size SHOULD be rather than what it was ACTUALLY.  So, I had to stretch the sashing and gather some of the blocks and the top looked auful.  I really did not want to rip the whole quilt apart and resew it.  Especially since I didn't have enough of the sashing fabric to recut each of those sashings.  So, I put it aside.

Eventually, I pulled it out and ironed the beast flat and it looked just fine.  Also, I think time magnified the puckering in my mind.  When I took it out of the closet to iron, it really wasn't as bad as I had remembered.  A good lesson to remember. 

Now it's quilted, labeled, bound and complete!  And it is sitting on the huge pile accumulating in my sewing room awaiting the basement remodel to finish and the guest room to be reassembled so I can put it on that bed.  I can be patient when I want to be.