Tonganoxie 9 patch block – a tutorial

Hi Everyone!

I scheduled this post to appear on the 4th January while I was on leave but for some reason it didn’t appear. Not quite sure why, it just said “missed schedule”. Who know’s… anyway I hope you enjoy the post 🙂

This month I have started in a new bee – The Stash Bee Hive 8. I am the “Mama” of the hive, so January was my nominated month to have everyone make a block for me. I have to prepare a tutorial of my block for my bee to make me, so I thought I’d share that same tutorial here for those who are interested in making it also…

The block I am making today is called a  Tonganoxie Nine Patch…

(a what now? I hear you ask. Yes it is called that strange name. I did not come up with the name. My inspiration came from a book I have called 501 Rotary Cutter blocks although I have pieced it differently to save time).

(oh my I just now noticed that I clipped the block on the hanger in a different orientation to which I laid out the fabric – SORRY – I hope that doesn’t confuse you too much when it comes to the fabric layout!!)

This block is a quick, easy sew because it uses strip piecing. It is 14 inches square “unfinished”. In other words when the blocks are sewn together it’s finished size will be 13.5 inches square.

I am planning to make a lap quilt for my recently renovated living room with these blocks, so I have chosen my favourite colour scheme in keeping with the colour scheme of our room…

To make this 14inch unfinished block in the same fashion as I piece you will need small pieces of 10 fabrics:

2 x low volume fabrics which read white

2 x light grey fabrics

2 x light aqua fabrics (or supplement for whatever colour you like)

2 x dark aqua fabrics (or supplement for whatever colour you like)

1 x dark grey fabric

1 x blue solid  (or solid/print of your chosen colour)

Except for your two light aquas, dark aquas and low volume whites should be different from each other because I changed my mind and decided the block needed more fabrics after doing the first layout…

Now take 1 light aqua strip, 1 dark aqua strip and 1 low volume white strip and piece them together like so…

Make sure it goes low volume, dark aqua, light aqua when you are piecing them…

Do the same for your other blue & white strips but this time make sure to alternate your strips so that they this time go low volume, light aqua, dark aqua.Now take your 3 grey strips and piece them together in the same fashion but with the dark grey strip in the middle.

Next we need to trim each of these strip pieced units down into four 2 1/2 inch wide units like so…

I have allowed you 1/2 inch extra in the cutting instructions so that you can trim them up nice and straight.Arrange the units into your block layout…

Please make sure that it is exactly uniform like this, so that for example all the same low volume pieces are in the middle and the other 4 the same are all on the outside. Make sure they aren’t half and half/mixed up etc…Piece your block together in the following order…

By now you should have a finished 14inch block – YAY!!

At this stage I plan to sash my blocks with a low volume text print and set them on point, but when I receive them all from my bee members I reserve the right to change my mind completely 😉

I think this block would really lend itself to being made in a rainbow of colours and being sewn together into a rainbow quilt. Perhaps one day I will get the motivation to see that idea through to a finished project, but for now I’ll leave it with you as food for your thoughts.

I’ll be sure to show you my other blocks as they arrive.

Enjoy!