SPIRAL: *Dresden Plate quilts

Showing posts with label *Dresden Plate quilts. Show all posts

Sunday, November 20, 2016

An old/new project

I ran across this set of vintage Dresden plates in a bag of odds and ends from the thrift shop. Folded into them were the two cardboard templates, one marked with the name 'Ruth Hagin.' I wonder who Ruth was, and why she didn't finish her quilt.

There are 18 blocks, which would work up into a 3 x 4 on-point setting. At this point I'm just turning the edges of the petals and blanket-stitching them down to the backgrounds (an 'interesting' green, hey?). Then centers will need to be added -- not included in the bundle, so I'll have to choose a color -- and then assembly and quilting ...

This will be a long-term handwork project, undertaken mostly as a portable activity that I can take along when we're travelling. But since it's been a UFO for 75 years or so already, I guess there's no hurry :)

Enjoy other handwork projects at

SLOW SUNDAY STITCHING

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Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Retro Wreaths

I'm delighted to have this quilt finished up, just in time for Christmas decorating! I started it last fall, and have been working on it sporadically all year.

It's hand appliqued, which is the main reason it took so long. It also features Nice Quilting, rather than just quickie meandering.

The fabrics, the blocks and the "by the piece" quilting all make it feel vintage to me -- looks like a classic from my childhood Christmas memories.

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Sunday, January 27, 2013

DARE TO DRESDEN

Finally I can show you what I've been working on recently for the DARE TO DRESDEN bloghop. This bloghop was the nudge I needed to try something that's been on my **Hmmm, That Looks Interesting** list for ages: dresden wedges done in segments.

I used the tutorial at Lurline's Place and everything worked perfectly -- an excellent tutorial!! The step-by-step photos are all there, so I won't need to repeat them here. Lurline's arithmetic is spot on -- my pieces nestled together and lined right up. It took me a pleasant afternoon of concentration to choose each fabric's placement, cut it and sew it together, so this whole "plate" was done in one session. And when it was done, the circle was flat, which is not always the case with Dresden projects! A few evenings of buttonholing and hand quilting later, and I'm happy with the results of this try-it-out project. I'd definitely consider doing a whole quilt this way someday!

Dresden Plate quilts hold a particular place in quilt history, and they were especially popular during the Depression. You can read more about them here.

It's dreary gray winter here now, but I'm looking forward to next summer, when I will be using this table topper out on the back porch and admiring the sunflowers that have been planted in my garden by the birds and chipmunks!

And now that I have the sunflower dresden experiment out of my system, I can go back to my real Dresden project, these wreaths I started last autumn. 'Cause there are only eleven months until Christmas :)