Nine-patch gone wild

Kids don't miss much……. you don't think they are paying attention, but they are. Case in point. My 16, almost 17 year old asked me about his 16 year old quilt. What you say (What? I said)???? Well,  some history, I have been making my my nieces quilts for their 16th birthday. I have blogged about these before. (Mainly because I finished one earlier this year). My son, observant and 16, asked this summer for a quilt. He'd been sleeping under his baby quilt- feet sticking out the end, most of the summer. You see he'll be 17 years old soon. A junior in High School. I was secretly thrilled he still wanted something handmade- by me, I even asked- really? So, I have been gathering fabrics (this takes me a bit of time) and then trying to come up with something I'd maybe like to make twice, because, he has 2 beds in his room, and one quilt just wouldn't be right. Unbalanced somehow. Last week I bit the bullet and got down to work. I used this tutorial as a starting inspirational point, and then twisted it around, aligning the blocks at different angles and throwing  the background fabric into the mix- for some with-in-the-block-subtraction. I tried not to fuss too much about where fabrics and colors were in relation to one another, although I did rearrange some blocks, couldn't help it. In the end, I am happy to say, one quilt is completely done, quilted and in use- the other has a flimsy and the backing fabric but somehow I am missing the batting……Could have sworn I had one- HAD may be the operative word. But- I'll use my Labor day coupon this weekend to get some nice Warm and Natural at Joann's and hopefully finish the other quilt soon, really soon, before he turns 17. Here's quilt one- which looks very much like quilt 2. I went with a light main Kona Ivory fabric- his room has beautiful curry colored walls, and dark, modern wood furniture

Front- Nine Patch gone wild. Greens, yellow/mustards and browns on a Kona Ivory background. Parallel rows of quilting  mimic the 2 rows of piecing. The ivory within the 9 patches really adds an interesting contrast and moves the main solid color thorough out the entire top.

close-up, front

The back- I had a few left-over blocks, I then cut again into 1/4's and pieced, off-set on a brown and white hounds tooth cotton fabric

The quilting shows up nicely despite the busy houndstooth

A row of quartered Nine-patches

The back

Either front or back can be used, depending on his mood- They both have a different look, yet go well together. The bias binding is olive. The over-all design was well received and one quilt is in use, while the other is awaiting it's batting.