When we took the picture of the stack of quilt tops waiting to be quilted, we also took some of them out to the roof garden for their outdoors photo. First up was the crib size Dresden Plate quilt. This … Continue reading
Looking Back
Category Archives: Dresden Plate
April Showers Mug Rug Blog Hop (and Giveaway)
It’s my day on the April Showers Mug Rug Hop. I can’t wait to go see what the other participants today have made! We are all making mug rugs with an April showers theme. Madame Samm is our wonderful hostess, Erin … Continue reading
My First Applique Quilt
While I work on the red and white quilt, I thought I’d revisit some older quilts. Tuesday we took this one out to the roof garden for a photo. It was made about 12 years ago — I didn’t date the label and have no notes about it anywhere, so am just guessing. It was my first appliqué quilt and was based on a pattern in a McCall’s Vintage Quilts magazine, although I did amend it somewhat. The blocks are 15″ and the quilt finished at about 66″ by 81″. It was pieced, appliquéd and quilted by hand. The only time the sewing machine was used was to attach the binding.
When I look at it now I get a laugh out of the fabrics – I mixed up everything in it. Muslin was used for the background. There are batiks, ’30s prints, florals, checks, you name it in the plates. I wasn’t following any rules about what goes with what. It was just what appealed to me and I thought played nicely together. I remember using a dinner plate to cut the corners of the quilt so that they’d be curved. That was my first time working with a bias binding and I loved it! In fact, I’ve pretty much always gone for bias bindings ever since then.
As this more current (and still being quilted) quilt that I’ve called Ferris Wheel shows, Dresden Plate quilts are something to which I’m really drawn. I’m contemplating a third one now. But now they are so much easier. No more tracing templates over and over. I just print my shapes with the Inklingo Dresden Plate collections. I was playing with some design ideas last night for another one, using EQ, and I think that it’s not too far off. First of course, I have to finish the red and white and my Tiffany lamp New York Beauty (which won’t be very big). And start the quilt I’ve designed using the fabrics I won in the Love the Lines contest. And finish Pickled Ladies. And finish … oh, okay. The list is endless.
Baxter doesn’t care what else I make. He has his quilt now. Just about every evening he curls up on it.
26 Pickled Ladies
The fourth row is now added. They’re easy to put together, thanks to the stitching liens and matching points.
It’s a little difficult to tell from this photo, but the intersection where they meet is easy to press by pressing one of the arcs over the other beside it and then pressing the one below it over both of those. It may look a bit bulky, but it actually isn’t.
Quilting on the Ferris Wheel quilt is going rather slowly but I am getting it done. Baxter is insistent on helping whenever there’s a quilt on my lap, whether I’m quilting or tacking down binding. At one point last night, he was right under the hoop. He seems to think it’s play time as he attacks my hand that’s underneath the quilt.
Something to Stitch, Something to Unstitch
Remember this, the Ferris Wheel quilt? That’s the project that involved unstitching. I had quilted about a third of it by machine and then decided I wanted to quilt this one by hand. So I’ve spent a number of hours over the past couple of weeks taking out the machine quilting. Now I’m trying to decide how I want to quilt it.
For a change of pace, I’ve started stitching a cross-stitch project. It’s almost a quarter done already. This one is going to be a small Christmas biscornu.
Baxter did very well and we picked him up at 3:30 yesterday afternoon. I had to laugh at the post-surgery instructions. They stated we should keep him as quiet as possible. A rambunctious kitten who’s only 6 months old and showed absolutely no signs of being groggy from the anaesthetic we’re supposed to keep quiet? Within minutes of getting home, after sniffing around to make sure things were where he thought they should be, he was bounding around, getting toys out of the toy basket, jumping up on the windowsill to watch the leaves and that went on all afternoon and evening. We’re thrilled he came through the surgery so well and showed no after-effects. Here you can almost see the spot that was shaved for the IV on one front leg.
Picnic Plate Quilt
The top is finished. It’s a relatively small quilt, perfect for a teddy bear picnic or perhaps a crib quilt, finishing at 36 x 45 inches. This is the second quilt top I’ve made using the Inklingo Fancy Pieced Dresden Plate Collection and I’m not finished. There are at least two other designs that I’ve got planned. Ferris Wheel, which I’m machine quilting, is the other Dresden Plate quilt I made using that collection.
The quilt was inspired by the floral used as the setting frames for the plates. I had the layer cake of Fig Tree fabrics, which is what I used for the blades in the plates, and as soon as I saw that floral fabric I knew exactly what I’d make.
The picture isn’t great as putting up the temporary design wall with an inquisitive kitten helping means things get done quickly. We had hoped to take a picture of this outside but I finished it on Sunday, when it was rainy and windy. Monday wasn’t much better. In fact, it was almost chilly Monday night. We seem to have gone from hot, humid summer weather on Saturday to cool fall weather on Monday.
The binding is ready and I know what I’m going to use for the backing. All that’s left is to get a silk batt as I plan on hand quilting this one.
Baxter was lounging on the floor between our two desks when we got lucky and got this shot of him licking his nose. Makes me laugh.
Ferris Wheel Quilting Begun
Quilting the Ferris Wheel quilt was one of the things I had hoped to start on the weekend. While that didn’t happen, I did get a start on it yesterday. I’m using a silk batt again and love how easy it makes it to manipulate the quilt sandwich when machine quilting.
Truth be told, I have to get Ferris Wheel quilted as I need the safety pins to baste the next one. I’m going to ask a friend if I can use her living room floor to baste as I have a feeling Baxter would be a bit too much help, particularly with his determination to chew fabric given the chance.
I’m hoping to get Ferris Wheel done by the end of the week. The fabric for the binding is picked out. It’s a great striped fabric, so I’m going to make bias binding as I love the effect of striped fabric in a bias binding.
I use a laptop for work and keep the wireless keyboard down beside my desk when I’m not working. Baxter likes to hang out under my desk and on Tuesday we got this shot of him draped over the keyboard. He seems to be very attracted to technology as well as quilting. When I’m printing something, he has to get as close as he can to watch the paper.
An extra shot of Baxter, because it shows off his amazing whiskers!
Summer Plates
The centre of the Summer Plates top is together. The corner blocks for the border are done. With any luck, the entire top will be finished this weekend. That is one of my goals for the long weekend. The picture isn’t great as I was holding it up out of kitty reach. Baxter has decided that fabric is something he absolutely has to bite, which is making stitching of any sort rather challenging.
Another Dresden Plate variation is definitely in my future. The fabrics for it are tentatively picked out and I think I know which blades I want to use. Having all the variations that are available in the Fancy Pieced Dresden Plate Collection makes it impossible to resist making a third one.
Last night I was working on the red and white stars and ended up unstitching almost as much as I had stitched. Trying to keep things out of kitty reach and watching the baseball game at the same time as I was stitching wasn’t working out too well.
After a few attempts at getting at the red and white stars, Baxter was crashed on the pink chair.
And a photo of him from the day before when he had claimed Mr. Q.O.’s computer chair as his and was awake. Getting photos of him awake is a bit of a challenge as he is usually dashing around, which would make for nothing but a very blurry photo.
Thank you to everyone who offered ideas on the bobbin-winding problem. I think the problem is solved now.
Corner Plates
The main body of the Summer Plates top is put together. Now I’m working on the border, which will include corner plates like this one. It’s going to be a small rectangular quilt, perfect for a teddy bear picnic.
The back took only a second to press.
As soon as Mr. Q.O. picks out some fabrics for sunflower blocks, I’ll post a photo of his choices. I’m really curious to see what he does choose.
When we were setting up to take the pictures, Baxter decided to investigate. Shortly after this was taken, he was trying to attack the block.
Summer Plates Update
Four more blocks to go and the centre of the Summer Plates will be done. I’ve got 2 of the 4 finished but for their floral frames. The remaining 2 will be done quickly. The first pieced border will be added and then the final border. I’m hoping to have the top finished before the end of the month. That assumes that I get enough stitching time. Baxter seems to think fabric is a toy, so stitching is somewhat challenging.
As I type try to type this, there’s a very inquisitive kitty perched on my shoulder purring in my ear. Hmm, now he’s heading for the keyboard. ttttyryoy6b — that was Baxter’s contribution to the post. No idea what he’s telling us, but …
And just because a couple of friends asked, here’s a full shot of Baxter’s preferred sleeping position.
Quilt Obsession 