Sudoku puzzles are 9-patch compatible

Need a quick layout for a scrappy 9 patch quilt? Look no further than the Sunday paper's puzzle page, your browser window, or an app on your smart phone. The Choo Choo Quilters enjoyed a program featuring Sudoku quilts at the August guild meeting.

Sudoku  Quilt

Sudoku, a numbers-based puzzle, uses a 9x9 grid—not unlike the 9-patch blocks we use in patchwork. If you like puzzles, you can work the Sudoko puzzle and use the resulting solution as a layout for a 9-patch quilt.

Solving the Suduko puzzle.

Becky, the program presenter, explained the concept of Sudoku puzzle and then shared her tips for organizing fabrics for the patchwork process.

Becky explains the Suduko block.

Organizing your fabrics is the key to making these quilts. All you fans of sticky notes™will feel right at home with this tip.

Organizing the fabrics.

You'll need 9 different fabrics to achieve a true Sudoku block. The fabric squares used to assemble the blocks can be most any size.

Small patches.

Larger patches.

The puzzle's solution is the roadmap for block assembly and quilt layout. The blocks can be sashed, set side by side, or on point.

Sudoko patchwork.

There are many varieties of Sudoku puzzles and degrees of difficulty—from easy to fiendish. You can challenge yourself to solve the puzzle… or go directly to the Answers page and make a quilt.

Show and Tell
Here's a great idea for those fabric scraps and batting trimmings. Fill-as-you-go dog beds. This one uses a novelty fabric with cute "wiener dogs" on it. Ginny recommends NOT to put threads in the scraps for stuffing in case the animal chews or pokes a hole in the fabric cover and the stuffing comes out.

Dog bed stuffed with fabric scraps and batting trimmings.

Dogs beds will be given to a local animal shelter if anyone would like to make one or contribute scraps. The dogs will love them!

Ready… set… go make Cuddle Quilts

The Choo Choo Quilters had another successful and productive Cuddle Quilt workshop yesterday. Patchwork units were pre-cut and ready...

Pre-cut fabric squares for the Disappearing 9-patch technique.

instructions for a quick 9-patch technique were on display...

Disappearing 9-patch (left) and fabric panel kits (right).

nourishment, caffeinated and sweetened motivation were laid out...

Plenty of yummy goodies.

so when the quilters arrived with sewing machines in tow, they hit the ground running—or make that "quilting."

Here is a recap of the day's activities. Trimming and squaring up...

Dawn and Sherry at the cutting table. Joanna at her featherweight.

piecing and chatting...

Multi-tasking: sewing and talking at the same time.

laughing and layering...

Fluff that batting!

and spray basting (oh, so fast!).

Smooth out all the wrinkles.

"You get a ticket for another basted quilt."

Cuddle Quilts are great reason to go through the stash and purge those fabrics that you've forgotten why you purchased in the first place.

So, how deep is your fabric stash?
Sherry B. had a piece of fabric from 1996.

1996 fabric print.

Ms. Deep Stash, Ginny, uncovered a Daisy Kingdom print from 1992!

1992 Daisy Kingdom fabric panel.

The end-of-day tally showed we surpassed our previous 2011 record of 27 with 28 basted Cuddle Quilts! The basted quilt sandwiches and binding strips went home with workshop attendees for quilting and binding.

Take home

Thank you to Sherry (left) and JoAnn (right), our CQ Coordinators extraordinaire!

Sherry and JoAnn, 2015 Cuddle Quilt Coordinators.

JoAnn announces the name on
the winning ticket.

To make the day more fun, tickets were given out to attendees for various tasks: piecing a top, basting a quilt sandwich, bringing in a dish to share, staying for the clean-up. etc. There was a drawing for a $25 gift certificate at the end of the day.

And the winner is…

(You gotta come to the August guild meeting to find out.)