Dresden Plates

I can't believe it...after all these years I finally finished appliqueing the last of my fancy Dresden plate blocks! Now I have to decide how to set them into a top. I have hundreds of 2.5" HST in ivory and 30s reproduction fabrics that I could use between the blocks or I can sash them with a triple strip sashing alternating between pastels and jewels tones. I guess I will do a couple of each and then take everything out to my studio and lay it out on the floor and see which I like the best. And I haven't decided what to use on the back of the quilt. I always back my quilts with a darker fabric because light ones show dirt much easier. The only thing I know for sure is that I am going to hand quilt it. I will put it in my big frame and then baste it so I can quilt it in the house over the winter. I love to hand quilt in the evenings while I watch all my favorite shows on tv. I am hoping to have 3 large quilts basted before it gets too cold in the studio to work out there. Since the studio isn't insulated that means by the end of November I need to have them all basted! Piece of cake! LOL

Ginnie's Bags

These are bags I made for my daughter. We both are close to stores so we walk  for the exercise but the reusable bags you get from the stores breaks easy if you are carrying anything of any weight. So I dug out some medium weight cotton I had bought online by accident and bought some heavy strapping and made my own with handles that go all the way to the bottom seam. My daughter seen the one I made for me and loved it. So I bought 2 companion fabrics and made two for her as she always shops with her son and they each carry a bag home. I am making them for friends as Christmas presents so I am going to do a step by step pattern this week sometime. These bags will probably outlast me! And they are machine washable too!

Dresden Plate Blocks

These are the Dresden plate blocks I am trying to finish the last half dozen of. The block on the right is the block my kitten chewed my thread and needle right off. I now have to put my sewing away every night so I don't have to pay any more money to have needles removed from his throat!.

I started the quilt with the jewel tone blocks on the left. When I finished my first 4 blocks and put them in a square on my design board I found the colors overpowering. I designed the pastel block with the same color families and plan to alternate the jewel tone blocks with the pastel blocks. I haven't decided whether to use sashing or not yet but I only have 5 more blocks to applique down. I have extra plates of all the fabrics to use as the outer border. Every other blade will be reversed along the edge until the corners where I will use 4 blades to turn the corner. I hope to be done with the top by Christmas so I can spend January and February quilting it.

I have so many blocks sitting around that I am trying to finish two quilt tops each month. I will keep you posted as to my progress.

My tip for the day is: Find a way to mark your good fabric scissors so you don't have to be angry at a family member for using them on something they shouldn't. (My husband once stirred ceramic slip with my good Gingher scissors!

Spider Webs

Usually I sew on my machine everyday(Or at least one of my machines), but I haven't touched it for the past month. It's not as bad as it may seem because I have been in a mode of trying to complete hand applique blocks I started years ago. I started a Fancy Dresden plate quilt several years ago and after getting most of the blocks appliqued down to the background fabric I realized the fabric I had chosen was molding. I had to un-sew every block and get some white fabric and re-applique them to the new backing. I got discouraged and put the project in a drawer and forgot about it. Now several years later I have been trying to finish a lot of unfinished projects before starting new ones and I have been working on appliqueing these Dresden plates down while I watch TV in the evening. I am down to the last half dozen and was making good headway until one of the kittens chewed the thread right off my block and swallowed it needle and all! So now my sewing is stored in a sewing box that I had out in my studio for years! I don't want anymore accidents!

I have hand quilted several small projects this year and will include photos at the end of this blog. They are all miniature doll quilts that were made for friends on an online swap sight. I have lots of blocks from block exchanges that I need to do something with but life keeps getting in my way! Eventually I will get a list of helpful quilting tips onto the blog so that I might help others with answers to some of the questions I am asked all the time about quilting. And you can see some of the quilts I have made by checking out my Quilt photo album on my Facebook page.

Here are the photos I promised!