Slice 'Em & Dice 'Em

It was a very sad week last week with the loss of our dog.  For two days I was far too miserable to get anything done.  After my injury 4 weeks ago and all the stress of our sick dog, I have a long "to-do list" to deal with!  However, my husband and I went to the S.C. State Fair on Friday.  It was a beautiful day, but was it ever crowded!  It seemed like we sat in traffic forever before we got to park.  Congratulations to my many quilting friends who won ribbons.

I said I would try to review a pattern or book each week so I photographed the cover of one of my favorite books yesterday and will write a little about it.  It is Slice 'Em & Dice 'Em by Nancy Brenan Daniel.

These techniques are similar to what you may know as the Split 9 Patch or Disappearing 9 Patch.  Some are pretty simple in terms of how they are cut and sewn and some are more complicated.  The sizes of the quilts vary quite a bit and I like that there are some in the book that can be made rather quickly to use as a gift. The patterns include:

Easy Does It
Jelly Beans
Scrap Bag Shadow Boxes
The Village
Lattice
Trip Around the Scrap Basket
Arizona Road Trip
Spring Baskets (the quilt shown on the cover)
Watermelon Baskets
Autumn Stars
Small Medallion
Blue Medallion
Dragonfly
Blue OP
Floating Grid
Large Blue Star
Tuscan Stars
Nautical Stars
Plaid Stars
Provincial Stars

I have used the pattern for "Nautical Stars" several times.  It was the pattern I selected when making quilts for my newborn grandsons.  I like that it has a large panel of fabric in the center which was great to show off the Dr. Seuss fabric we chose.  The quilt finishes up at 33 1/2 x 33 1/2" - a great size for a baby quilt.  Here is a picture of one of the quilts that I made using the "Nautical Stars" pattern.

I definitely plan to try out some of the other patterns in the book.
I hope that everyone has a good week ahead!