Finish Friday

So I finished Christmas Tree Skirt #2! (I know I haven't finished #1 yet, but that's a bit more complicated.)  Not only is it a finish for this week, but it's a Christmas gift out of the way.  Yay me!  (I don't think the recipient reads this blog yet, so I think I'm safe ~ shhhh)  Really happy with the way it turned out ~ I used Winter's Lane fabrics and a disappearing 9-patch design.  I spent last night hand stitching the binding while watching the first few episodes of this season's American Horror Story.  (Weird show)  Here are some pics ...

 

 

The only other thing I finished this week was last week's City Sampler blocks ~ 61, 62, 63.  

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.  (Love the baby quilt she just finished!)

Sunday Playtime ~ Disappearing nine-patch

So today's the day I decided to dive into something called the disappearing nine-patch.  It's basically where you start with a typical 9-patch block, the cut it into quarters and twist and turn the quarters so they end up totally different.  The tutorial I followed was by the Neighborhood Quilt Club.  

I started with this

Then I took a deep breath, got out my rotary cutter and cut each block in half - first horizontally and then vertically.

so that I ended up with this

In reading the tutorial, I decided to follow layout 1 in turning my blocks ~ this is what it looked like when I finished putting all the blocks together.

I keep looking at it and wondering if it's too busy?  So I tried layout 2 and got this ~

a different kind of busy.  :)  So now I'm not sure which way to go ... but at least I have a couple of months to decide!

On a brighter note ~ I signed up for a class in November to make the "In From The Cold" quilt by Kate Spain for Moda (you can get the free pattern here).  Here's a pic of my stash for this project ~ can't wait!  (I may have to keep this one!)