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Q: What is this quilt block's name?... A: Glorified Nine Patch

by Sue
(Osborn, Mo)

Glorified 9-patch quilt <br /><br />Click on each thumbnail below for a larger image<br /><br />

Glorified 9-patch quilt

Click on each thumbnail below for a larger image

I have a quilt top that my Grandmother pieced about 30 years ago. It is beautiful, but I can't find the name of it anywhere.

I have looked in books, on websites, asked quilter friends, including my Mom, and can't find it anywhere.

My Grandmother is long since deceased, so I can't ask her. My uncle had the top stored in a closet or somewhere since Grandma's death. I finally EARNED it by quilting a different top for him for free. I have quilted and finished the quilt and it is a scrappy, stunning, heartfelt, heirloom that I am giving to my Mom for Christmas.

My Mom didn't get any of Grandma's quilts because my Uncle sold the finished ones and kept the rest. So I'm hoping that this means as much to Mom as it means to me to be able to give it to her.

It would really be cool to be able to tell her the name of the block also. (Though, just a bonus!)

Thank you for any assistance you can give.

Reply

Happy to oblige! Your mom is so lucky to have you and I'm sure she will treasure this most heartfelt gift!

The name of the quilt block is 'Glorified Nine Patch'. You'll sometimes see it referred to as an 'Improved Nine Patch'.

What's interesting about this block is that it is classified as an uneven 9 patch and then drawn on a 5x5 grid.

This is the underlying structure of the patches.


Uneven nine patch quilt block


You can clearly see the uneven 9-patch.

And then the curved patches are added to finish the block.


Uneven nine patch quilt block


Those curves would be gentle enough to piece by machine. If you wanted to have it go faster, then I'd probably use this invisible machine applique technique to add the curved sections.

It's a fun quilt, and even better that it spans three generations!

Thank you for your question and sharing your pictures. It was fabulous to see.

Piecefully,

Julie Baird
Editor


Other blocks you may enjoy:

Just click on the image for the instructions.

Churn Dasher quilt block instructionsDouble Star quilt block instructionsNine Patch quilt block instructions for Technique #2


Comments for Q: What is this quilt block's name?... A: Glorified Nine Patch

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Great Grandmother's quilt
by: Pat

I, too, have a glorified or improved 9 patch quilt that my grandmother made well more than 60 years ago. The background is also a nice, bright pink. The fabrics have retained their colors very well. It was on my bed when I was a kid. Now, my 2 1/2-year-old granddaughter loves playing with it on the living room floor. Perhaps it will last through the 5th generation.
Implications in "Glorified Nine Patch"
by: Neil in Tennessee

After coming upon the name "glorified nine-patch," I wondered as a linguist what the source of the term might be.

It's easy to see that it's a heightened version of the standard nine-patch design. I think that each of the interlocking circles suggests a halo around that block and that maybe the tops of the pointed corners suggest a crown. Thus "glorified" probably has religious implications. The idea of the halo is plausible.

The play on 3x3 might in some minds have "mystic" significance. Here, however, it may be true that you find what you look for in the hidden implications of the design.

I haven't found any standard explanations for the term, but they probably exist.

From the Editor: Thank you for sharing, Neil. Very interesting.

Piecefully,

Julie Baird
Grandmother's quilt`
by: Ris2shyn`

I have a glorified nine patch that my Grandmother and Great grandmother and others made in the 30's. They embroidered their names in the melon shapes. I think it's beautiful!

From the Editor: You are VERY LUCKY, indeed, to possess that wonderful piece of family history!

I'd love to have you share a picture of it and its story on our Show and Tell page so that many more can appreciate it!

Piecefully,

Julie Baird
Love this idea
by: Jerrie

Thank you, using a nine patch extended like this and sewing the melon on...makes this more doable for me. The other patterns I saw had that long extension had to be matched to the melon, and I foresaw stretched fabric and uneven blocks.

What a lovely simple way this is.

I now hope that I will make one of these...love nine patches but like that there are no blank blocks in the setting and its dressed up quite a bit. I wonder if the melons can be differing colors or must all be the same to look well.
Thank you so much!!!
by: Sue

Thank you so much for the information. My Mom had said that she thought it was a 9-patch something, but couldn't remember exactly. I have copied the pieces so that I can someday do one because it looks fun. Thanks for the applique suggestion. I think you're right, that would make it really easy.

And now I can tell Mom the name to refresh her memory.

Thanks again for your help.

Sincerely,
Sue

From the Editor: You're very welcome. Merry Christmas!

~ Julie

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