The Dresden Blooms Quilt Top is Finished!

Here it is laid out on the lawn.  Right after I took this, the wind came up, so the photo-taking had to move inside.  

Some of the Dresden Plates.

This is based on the video tutorial from the Missouri Star Quilt Co.  I changed 5 things.  (1) I added .5" to the large background squares, I made them 24.5"  

(2) The tutorial calls for the white strips to be 2, 3, 4, and 5 inches.  I decided on 2.5, 3, 4, and 4.5 inches, it's the little things.

Auditioning Background square fabric.

(3) I altered the joining of the Dresden plates; I started at the narrow end with a 3/8" seam and tapered to normal 1/4" seam at the wide end.  This is so the Dresden plate would lay flat.  This method made the Dresden Plates smaller, but having flat plates was so worth it.

(4)  I changed the construction of the inner color circle.  The tutorial called for raw-edge applique, and I really wanted a finished edge.  So I used 2 layers for the circles.  I stitched all the way around, cut a wide slit on the bottom layer, and turned the circle right-side out.

(5), The last thing was dividing one of the Dresden plates in half, then changing the color of the center for one of the halves, to match the adjacent square.

You can find the original video tutorial here.

May your bobbins always be full,

Starting a Dresden Bloom Quilt Top

All the prep is done for making a Dresden Bloom Quilt Top, inspired by Jenny at Missouri Star.  I'm just waiting for the Large Dresden Template Ruler that I ordered from them.  Because of the pandemic, shipping is s-l-o-w, all over.  The fabric I'm using is a Jelly Roll of Well Said by Sandy Gervais for Moda.

I've already modified the tutorial, nothing drastic!  The tute calls for the white strips to be 2, 3, 4, and 5 inches.  I decided on 2.5, 3, 4, and 4.5 inches, it's the little things.  I'm also going to make the center disc using a different method.

The ruler has finally shipped, but I'll need to find something else to do until it gets here. Such a problem!

May your bobbins always be full,

Sampler Mystery Quilt

I'm very happy with this quilt top.  I took some orphan blocks that have been hanging around, added some Blocks of the Month from my quilt guild, and this is what I got.  I'm calling it a Mystery Quilt because I really didn't know how it was going to turn out.  It measures 60 x 72".

Now to figure out the quilt back, plus I've had a request for more masks!  My friend is in her nineties, 95, I think, and she was one of the first people I called to see if she wanted a face mask or two.  No, she really didn't. but now, months later as the pandemic has dragged on she's reconsidered.  I'm happy to help, but I really thought my mask-making days were behind me.

May your bobbins always be full,

Busy, busy, busy!

Well, I have been busy sewing blocks; just not busy posting them!  Most of these were made with leftover bits and pieces from other projects.  The trees and the barns are the exceptions.  I've been making these to add to the other blocks I've made in conjunction with the Charity Quilt Project my guild does.  Each month a member presents a block for the other members to make and donate to the project.  Every month I made 4 blocks, 2 to donate and two to keep.

This group is the exception.  I'm keeping 4 of these and donating 1.

The keepers, plus these extra blocks are going to be a large sample quilt.  I've spent the morning working on the layout.  Now, I'm going to let it sit for a while.  I'll come back to it tomorrow and stitch it together.  I have to say that it's been fun using the leftover blocks and HSTs to make something new!

May your bobbins always be full,

Breezy Quilt, #2

While making the Breezy #1 quilt top, I thought it'd be fun to have more colors in the background.  For Breezy #1, I used Kona Windsor and Coty.  For Breezy #2, I used Kona Turquoise, Chartreuse, Citrus, Red, and Surf.  Thank heavens for a fabric stash!

This is a fun finish for me.  Each month I make 4 quilt blocks, 2 to donate to my quilt guilds' Charity BOM project, and 2 to keep for quilts like this one.  One of the blocks in this quilt are from a class I took at Quiltcon a couple of years ago.  The quilt back is made from fabric I purchased; I thought it was printed madras patchwork.  So much for thinking, it's actually pieced; lots of squares of madras sewn together.

May your bobbins always be full,

Breezy, Quilt #1

 

This is a fun finish for me.  Each month I make 4 quilt blocks, 2 to donate to my quilt guilds' Charity BOM project, and 2 to keep for quilts like this one.  Three of the blocks in this quilt are from a class I took at Quiltcon a couple of years ago.  The quilt back is made from fabric I purchased; I thought it was printed madras patchwork.  So much for thinking, it's actually pieced; lots of squares of madras sewn together.

May your bobbins always be full,

Sew Hometown Quilt

This is the Inspiring Stitches BOM Quilt Project from 2019 called Sew Hometown.  I pieced the quilt top last year, simultaneously with the Heartland Heritage quilt top.  The two quilt tops kept me pretty busy.  There is one glaring error in this top, and I decided to just leave it.

Above is the pieced quilt back and below is a group photo of the two quilts that are finished, so far.

Started 1/02019
Finished 5/11/2020
Measures 61" x 74"

May your bobbins always be full,

Heartland Heritage Quilt

It's a "binding kinda week".  this is the first of four quilts that came back from the LAQ.  This one is from the Inspiring Stitches BOM Quilt Project for 2018.  The original had a sewing machine block in it, but I changed it because I give most of my quilts away, and I thought few people would be excited about a sewing machine.

Above is the pieced quilt back and below is a group photo of the two quilts that are finished, so far.

Started 1/02019
Finished 5/11/2020
Measures 61" x 74"

May your bobbins always be full,

Kassia's Quilt Top and some bokah!

Kassia's quilt top is finished!  All those HSTs took forever to true-up but the effort was so worth it.  This quilt top measures 48" x 57".  Now I need to decide on the quilt back.  Do you piece your quilt backs, too?

There's photo overload in this post because I wanted to show the quilt top in the breeze and the bokeh!  This is the first time I've captured so much bokeh.

May your bobbins always be full,

A quilt for Kassia

I have binding to put on 4 quilts, but I've decided to ignore those and start a new project.  My grandson has four half-siblings and only one of those is a girl.  My daughter asked me to make Cassia a quilt of her own because every time she visits my daughter she wraps herself in one of the quilts I've gifted Sharon.  The fabrics I've chosen are charm squares from these collections:

 Gridwork by Christa Watson

 By Hand by Amy Friend

 Front Porch by Cherry Gundry

I thought they all worked very well together.

May your bobbins always be full,