My Jingle Applique BOM is Back On the Design Wall

I'm going to be BRIEF today, I promise.  I've got a lot on my agenda for this week, but managed to sneak in an hour in the studio yesterday to cut some new setting triangles for my Jingle BOM (Block of the Month) from 2013.  Jingle is my oldest work in progress and it bothers my son Anders that I started it five years ago and haven't finished it yet, but now that I've resolved the bleeding red dye dilemma I'm looking forward to finishing this quilt this year.  That's right, you heard it here first -- Finishing my Jingle quilt is a GOAL for 2018!

New Setting Triangles for My Jingle BOM!

Brief recap to bring you up to speed: Jingle is a free BOM designed by Erin Russek of One Piece At A Time in 2013, and as of this writing, the patterns and instructions are still available for free on her blog here.  All of the border block patterns are free; the only pattern you need to purchase is the large center medallion and that's just a $10 download from Erin's etsy shop here.  Totally worth it, IMO.  This is my very first applique project of any kind, and all of the applique is needle turned and hand-stitched according to the excellent, amazing, unbelievably awesome instructions and video tutorials on Erin's blog.  

So this is the way blocks for this quilt are set in Erin's original design:

Erin Russek's Layout for Jingle

I love the blocks, but I don't really love setting the center medallion on point with those gigantic plain setting triangles.  I want to set my center medallion straight and fill in with some pieced inner borders.

It took me awhile to pick up where I left off, by the way.  I had cut out all of the setting triangles from the red poinsettia fabric originally, but now I've decided that I like it better with alternating red and green triangles, hence the green triangles that I cut out this morning.  There was a moment of panic, thinking that my triangles might have shrunken severely when I was soaking all the excess red dye out of them -- and then I remembered that I have Kaye England's special setting triangle ruler for Nifty Notions, and that's what I had used to cut my poinsettia setting triangles.  I really need to leave myself better notes when I pack projects away in "time out!"

Specialty Ruler for Cutting Setting Triangles

What I love about this ruler is that you can use it to cut both your setting triangles AND your side triangles from the same cut width of fabric, with the fabric grain oriented properly on both triangles, and it does the math for you based on the finished size of the blocks you're setting on point.  So in my case, these blocks are finishing at 9" and the ruler is clearly marked to indicate that 9" blocks require a 7 1/4" strip.  Easy-peasy, fairly fast once I refreshed my memory on how to use the ruler (instructions are available here), and more accurate than trying to cut out gigantic squares that are bigger than my rulers and then attempt to cross-cut them diagonally into QSTs and HSTs.  I do love my fancy toys...

The other thing I needed to refresh my memory on was how I am supposed to sew these oversize triangles to my blocks once I've cut them out. There are lots of tutorials out there explaining the math for cutting out side triangles and corner triangles from cross-cut squares, and explaining why the setting triangles need to be QSTs (with the straight of grain on the LONG side) and why the corner triangles need to be HSTs (with the straight of grain on the SHORT sides), but this is the video I found that also explained how to sew these oversized triangles to your quilt blocks once you've cut them out:

I know this is a "no brainer" for some of my readers, but one of the main reasons I document these things in my blog is for my own benefit -- so I can find those instructions and tutorials again six years from now, when I can't remember how I did it the last time!

My next step for Jingle -- and this is my To Do on Tuesday goal for the week -- is to assemble the on-point block borders with the setting triangles and corner triangles, trim the excess fabric from the setting triangles, and measure them.  My center applique medallion has an oversized, untrimmed block background, and I think it's best to see what side the borders will finish at first and then work backwards to figure out what size borders will fit between that on-point block border and the center medallion.  

Maybe I will even be able to use one or more of my Accuquilt GO! Baby dies to cut out those inner pieced borders! 

Today I'm linking up with:

• ·       Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com
• ·       Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts http://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com  
• ·       Main Crush Monday at Cooking Up Quilts http://www.cookingupquilts.com/
• ·       Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt http://lovelaughquilt.blogspot.com/
• ·       Moving it Forward at Em’s Scrap Bag: http://emsscrapbag.blogspot.com.au/
• ·       BOMs Away at Katie Mae Quilts: www.katiemaequilts.com
• To-Do Tuesday at Stitch ALL the Things: http://stitchallthethings.com
• ·       WOW WIP on Wednesday at www.estheraliu.blogspot.com

As Ye Sew, So Shall Ye RIP! Jingle Quilt BOM, Pieced Block No. 2

Jingle BOM Pieced Block #2, Finally!

Sometimes, I think I'm really good at something, and then I discover that I'm really NOT.  Does this ever happen to you?  Well, it happened to me this weekend.  Erin Russek of One Piece At A Time is doing a Christmas themed Block of the Month (BOM) quilt this year called Jingle, and I'm determined to make this quilt.  Erin designs and sews the most beautiful appliqued quilt patterns, and her extensive needle-turn applique instructions on her blog tutorial have encouraged me to let 2013 be the year I finally learn to do hand applique.  I've admired others' applique work forever, but it's kind of scary to think about going Old School without my fancy schmancy Bernina technology to make me look better than I am. 

Erin Russek's Jingle Quilt BOM, patterns and instructions available here

Erin's pattern for the central poinsettia applique medallion for this quilt is available for $10.00 here.  The remaining blocks, 8 applique and 8 pieced, will be posted one at a time as free downloads on Erin's blog, One Piece At A Time, between now and November, and so far she has posted two applique blocks and two pieced blocks.  I'm a little behind already, but if I focus on just one block at a time, I should have a beautiful new quilt just in time for holiday decorating.  It's kind of fun not knowing what the whole quilt will look like until the end, too.  I love flowers, birds, Christmas, and red and green color schemes, so I know I'll really enjoy this project.

So far I have purchased the center medallion pattern and downloaded the four block patterns that have been released so far, and I finally picked out all of my fabrics and collected all of the supplies I'll need for the applique work, so it's time for me to catch up!  Naturally I am too chicken to start out with the huge 27" square center medallion for my first-ever applique, and even the smaller cardinal and floral applique blocks look kind of intimidating.  But the pieced blocks?  I've done plenty of pieced blocks before.  I'm good at pieced blocks.  Piece of cake, right?  WRONG!

Pieced Block #2

I chose Pieced Block #2 to start with, because the 3" center square is perfect for fussy-cutting my red poinsettia print fabric.  After auditioning scraps of fabric for about an hour (seriously!) I finally settled on the ones I wanted to use for this block, carefully cut out my squares, half square triangles, and quarter square triangles, and started piecing this block together on my Bernina 750 QE sewing machine with my #37D Dual Feed Quarter Inch Patchwork foot, dual feed engaged.  I started from the center square, first adding the gold triangles and then the green print triangles after that.  It was a disaster -- since the long side of the triangles (hypotenuse) was longer than the side of the square piece they were sewn to, I had trouble lining the pieces up correctly and the sides of the resulting square did not match up accurately -- easy to tell, because the sides of the square did not meet up at all.  So I ripped those stitches out and sewed the seams again, and the second time, my yellow square with a red square inside was actually a square.  So I sewed the green triangles on next, had more jagged sides, and had to rip those seams out and redo them.  I was so careful to get perfect little points on each and every triangle and I was delighted with how my block was coming along...  Until I MEASURED it. 

First Try, After Ripping and Restitching Twice, Still a Failure!

This block is supposed to finish at 9" square.  That means that the portion of the block that I'd sewn so far should measure exactly 6 1/2" square (6" plus a 1/4" seam allowance on all four sides).  As you can see in this photo, a combination of factors had combined to cause my block to finish too small and not even square.  And that's when I realized that I have never attempted to piece a block with this many pieces before.  I've done a strip-pieced Roman Square quilt, a double 9-patch quilt (also using the strip technique for the 9-patch units), a maple leaf pieced quilt with squares and HST (half square triangle) units, and the Drunkard's Path quilt that I finished most recently introduced the challenge of a curved seam but there were still only two pieces to each block.  The more pieces in a quilt block, the more seams, and the more seams, the more imperative it is that each and every one of those seams is EXACTLY 1/4" or else the pieces won't fit together properly and the blocks won't end up the correct size.  So all this time I thought I had mastered that perfect 1/4" seam, and apparently I just couldn't tell I was off because the blocks I was piecing were so easy that I was "close enough."

Well, when I get stumped, I go to my books to find solutions from people who actually DO know what they are doing.  This time, the expert advice I turned to came from Sally Collins' book, The Art of Machine Piecing, available from Amazon here.  Collins specializes in piecing on a very small scale, reducing traditional quilt blocks down to just 3" blocks, which requires fanatically accurate piecing skills.

The biggest light bulb for me was Collins' recommendation that you determine the grid for each block and from there, calculate the size of each and every unit of that block including the seam allowance.  Collins measures her block units after sewing every single seam, so that if something is off she discovers the problem immediately and knows that it had to be the last seam she stitched.  Why didn't I think of that?  The block I was attempting was a 3x3 grid, and my pieces were all supposed to finish 3", 6", or 1 1/2" (plus 1/2" seam allowances). 



Chalk Lines for Positioning Triangles

So the next day, I cut all new pieces of fabric, this time using my Kaye England Cut for the Cure specialty rulers so that I could cut everything from 2" strips instead of doing the traditional but convoluted "add 7/8" and cut the square diagonally" method of cutting that I'd done the first go-'round.  I was REALLY careful to cut my pieces to exactly the right size -- after all, if each piece was too small by even a 32nd of an inch, by the time you multiply that by all 41 pieces in this block it would add up to a significant error no matter how perfect my quarter inch seam was.  Then, for the triangles that needed to be sewn to the straight sides of the red square, I decided to mark the center with a chalk X to help me position the triangle points more precisely.  That made a HUGE difference!



Perfect this time!  No "Squaring Up" Trimming!

I was REALLY careful with the seam allowances today, too, watching the right side of the presser foot to make sure the fabric edge was aligned exactly with the edge of the foot, without even a thread of fabric sticking out to the right. 



Measuring Each Unit As It's Sewn: A Perfect 1 1/2" HST Unit

I know a lot of quilters say you shouldn't press during block construction or that you shouldn't press with steam because of the potential for distortion, but I suspected that I might be losing some of my block by not pressing my seams flat enough before sewing the next piece on top of them, so I pressed my little units as flat as little pancakes.  I found a Husqvarna Viking padded ironing surface with a 1/2" grid in my sewing room that I've had forever and never used (it came in some kind of Quilting or Home Dec kit, I think).  This made it really easy to check my units for size and squareness at the same time, and allowed me to use some steam with my iron without worry of distortion.  Why did I never use this before?  It's fabulous!

#57 Quarter Inch Patchwork Foot with Guide

I experimented with different presser feet today, too.  I decided that the #37 D Dual Feed Patchwork Foot might be nice for piecing long strips together without shifting or bowing, but that I wanted more support for my fabric at the back of the presser foot because some of my tiny triangles were getting "eaten" and pulled down into the stitch plate when I was using the dual feed.  I switched to my #57 Quarter Inch Patchwork Foot with Seam Guide, which was nice because it has a barrier at the right side of the foot that prevents you from sewing your seam allowance too wide.  However, once I was sewing different pieced units together, I discovered that you can't sew over pins with the #57 foot because the pins cannot pass under that guide plate, and I NEED to pin whenever seams need to meet up precisely.  At that point I switched to my #37 Quarter Inch Patchwork Foot, the plain one without dual feed or a seam guide, and that worked best for me for assembling the block units.  I always use a straight stitch plate on my 9 mm machine when I'm piecing, and for this block I followed Collins' recommendation to piece with a Schmetz 70/11 Microtex needle.  I used Aurifil Mako 50 weight 2-ply cotton thread. 

And finally, after three days, I have finished the block AND it measures 9 1/2" x 9 1/2" just as it should.  Yay!

Finished!  Perfect Triangle Points!  Perfectly Square, AND 9 1/2" x 9 1/2"!

Hopefully the next blocks will go together easier, now that I've worked out my kinks.  There are so many different methods for cutting and piecing these units; if one method doesn't work for you, just try another one.

Before I can move on to the next block of my Jingle quilt, I'm going to have to get back to that lederhosen costume I promised to make for the school play.  In fact, I need to head to school right now to pick up my kids from rehearsal and hopefully get Augustus Gloop to try on the muslin shorts I whipped up over the weekend.  They are enormous, but the plan is to have him try them on inside out, pin the side seams and mark the muslin, and then use that for my pattern when I cut into the microsuede.  I'm reconsidering the embroidery, though -- this is a costume that will be worn for 3 performances, so it doesn't make sense to slave over them and make myself crazier than I already am!

And the Quilt Goes On... Tips for Embroidery Repair and Perfect Patchwork Seams

Quilt Top is Complete!

I finished up the Dresden plate quilt top for my niece's birthday yesterday -- Yay!  Of course her birthday is TOMORROW and I still have to layer, baste, quilt, and bind this before I can ship it out, but at least the end is in sight.  I figure that as long as Sarah gets her gift before her brother James gets his (their birthdays are 6 days apart), I'll be okay.

Embroidering the Monogram Label with the Jumbo Hoop

I embroidered the monogram block on Thursday with my new Jumbo hoop.  This monogram/quilt label is approximately 7 1/2" wide by 8" tall, so it would have been impossible to embroider this on my old 200E/730E.  (If I had an 830 E machine, I could have made this design even bigger, up to 10" wide, but as you can see on my sewing machine's screen, the 7 Series machines cannot embroider in the leftmost 2" of the Jumbo Hoop because there isn't enough space in the harp area for the hoop).  Can I just tell you how much I LOVE this hoop?  It has an entirely different closing mechanism than the smaller hoops; it clicks into closed position and distributes the tension more evenly across the entire hoop rather than just at the location of the screw, if that makes sense.  After my recent research on machine embroidery best practices, I opted to fuse a layer of Polymesh to the cotton quilt fabric, and then floated a layer of midweight Clean and Tear stabilizer under the hoop.  My design stitched beautifully with NO puckering or distortion. 

Thread Loops (Circled) Due to Dull or Damaged Needle

The first color to stitch in this design was the blue scrollwork, and I noticed some little thread loops as this was stitching out.  My books say that thread loops are caused by a dull or defective needle.  This made sense, as I had the same embroidery needle in my machine that I had used for all of the blanket stitch applique to attach my plates to their background squares.  I switched to a brand new 80/12 Titanium plated Organ embroidery needle, and the remainder of the design stitched out perfectly with no more loopies. 

[Updated April 2013: Thread loops can also be caused by using a ballpoint needle rather than a sharp point needle on woven fabrics, or by using a needle that is too SMALL to allow thread to pass smoothly through the hole in the fabric while forming that satin stitch.  Next time I do a design like this on quilting cotton fabric, I'm going to use a size 90/14 Organ Embroidery SHARP needle, a 90/14 Topstitching Needle, or a 90/14 Microtex needle.  Using a thread net on slippery embroidery thread spools helps to eliminate the loops as well.]

However, what to do about those loops that were in the scrollwork?  I did NOT want to start over again, because it took about an hour and a half to sew out the design.  If I just trimmed the loops off with a scissor, the rest of the embroidery design would be compromised.  So, after unhooping my fabric, I used a snag repair tool to pull the loops to the back side.  It worked like magic. 

After removing the tearaway stabilizer and trimming the polymesh to within about 1/2" of the embroidery design, I pressed my embroidered fabric and then cut it into a 13 1/2" square for my center block.  I did not cut out the block prior to embroidery because the block was smaller than the size of the hoop.  I sewed the blocks together with the sashing and posts yesterday afternoon, and finally added 3" borders to the quilt (I'm planning to use 2" wide satin binding on the edges, so only 1" of my border will show on the finished quilt.  I have one more quick tip to share: You may already know this, but I had sewn on Berninas for years and it was still news to me when Kaye England told us in class how to get a perfect 1/4" patchwork seam on a Bernina machine. 

For a Perfect 1/4" Seam, Look at the Line on the Stitch Plate, NOT the Presser Foot

First of all, you should have a straight stitch plate on your sewing machine, especially if you have a 9 mm machine like my 750 QE.  Kaye recommends regular 80/12 Universal needles for patchwork pieceing and 50 weight Aurifil Mako cotton thread, so that's what I'm using here.  I have my #37 D Patchwork foot on my machine (the D indicates Dual Feed, so I have that little Dual Feed footsie engaged -- I really feel like it helps feed the fabric evenly, especially with the little 1/4" seam where the right feed dog is not in contact with the fabric).  Now, I've always used a #37 foot for piecing, and I've always used a straight stitch plate.  But I used to watch the presser foot when I was sewing, trying to keep the fabric edge even with the edge of the foot.  Kaye pointed out that there is a little groove line on my stitch plate for a 1/4" seam, and that you can get a perfect 1/4" seam by lining up your fabric edge with that little line on your stitch plate.  As long as your fabric is right next to that line, but not covering it, you'll get a perfect 1/4" seam every time.  I can't believe no one ever told me that before!

Borders Attached, Ready for Quilting

Now that the quilt top is assembled, I've decided to trim away the backing fabric behind each plate.  As usual, I did some internet research before coming to this conclusion, and found that removing the bulk of the backing fabric is strongly recommended for hand quilters, and optional for machine quilters.  My concern is that the extra layer of fabric behind each Dresden plate is making the quilt top feel too firm and stiff to me.  I want the finished quilt to be very fluid and snuggly, so I think trimming the backing fabric is the way to go. 

After that, it's time for my least favorite part of the quilting process -- layering and basting.  Since the Minky fabric I chose for my backing has stretch in one direction, it's especially important to do a good job of stabilizing it prior to quilting.  My internet research indicates that most quilters who are successful with Minky use a temporary adhesive spray for basting, and some even spray-baste first and then add pins for additional security.  Most quilters who spray baste seem to prefer 505 Spray and Fix Temporary Fabric Adhesive spray, which is what I use for embroidery so I already have a can of that upstairs.  I may or may not already have a good thread for the actual quilting in my hoarde, but even if I have the basting spray and quilting thread I will still have to run out to JoAnn Fabrics at some point over the weekend to purchase satin binding for the quilt edges.

The boys have piano lessons this afternoon and they each have some homework that I'll need to supervise, but I'm optimistic that I will be able to wrap this project up by Monday at the latest.  Wish me luck!

Easy Dresden Plate Tutorial Using Kaye England's Cut for the Cure Specialty Ruler

My First Dresden Plate!

Happy Almost-Thanksgiving, everyone!  Before I get wrapped up in other things and forget, I wanted to do a quick post to show how quickly and easily my Dresden Plate came together using Kaye England's Cut for the Cure 22 1/2 degree wedge ruler.  Honestly, the most difficult part was choosing the fabrics.

Cut for the Cure Wedge Ruler, available here

There are probably other companies making similar rulers for Dresden plates, but I really like the way that Kaye's rulers give such great visibility and accuracy, and that a portion of the proceeds from every sale benefits the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.  I was lucky enough to take a class with Kaye when she was in Charlotte last month and she was such a hoot -- one of the most informative and entertaining teachers around. 

So, how does this ruler work?  Well, you start by cutting your fabrics into strips based on the size you want your Dresden plate to finish -- notice I said the size you want your PLATE to finish, not the size you want your BLOCK to finish.  There's a little reference chart with instructions that comes with the ruler, advising you that your plate will finish approximately twice the width of your strip, plus 2", so I cut my strips 5" wide (5" + 5" + 2" = 12") and I ended up with a Dresden plate that has a diameter of 12" and needs to go on a 14" block.  Which is fine in this case -- I like seeing so much of my pretty fabric prints, but I should have cut 4" wide strips for a 10" diameter plate if I wanted them on 12" blocks. 

Once you have your strips cut to the correct width, you just lay your ruler down with the skinny edge flush with the cut fabric edge, and cut wedges all the way down your strip, rotating the ruler 180 degrees after each cut.  I'm right handed, so I cut from left to right:

Cutting Wedges from my 5" wide Strip

...And Cutting More Wedges from Another Fabric

The cutting really goes fast once you get the hang of it.  I think I had four layers of fabric that I was cutting through, but as long as I had the ruler carefully aligned with the cut fabric edges, every cut was accurate and precise.  I just love that bright pink fabric with the "plates" on it.  Plate fabric for a Dresden plate, get it?  ;-)

Here's the stack of wedges that I ended up with:

Cutting Complete and Ready to Sew!

Isn't that just the cheeriest thing you ever saw?  The yellow floral fabric and the butterfly/tulip prints are my favorites.  And the pink plate fabric is also my favorite, and the deep blue fabric with cherry blossoms are my favorites, and the yellow fabric with flowery polka dots and tiny birds is my favorite, too.  Don't even get me started about all of the favorite fabrics that I couldn't include...  Using a 22 1/2 degree ruler, you get plates with 16 spokes.  I could have used just two different fabrics, four fabrics, or sixteen different fabrics, but after playing around for a LONG time I ended up with these eight fabrics for my plates.  I was determined to only use fabrics that were already in my stash, and I tried to balance the colors, values, and scale of the prints.  Those little precut flowers will be appliqued to the center of each plate after they are assembled, but before I applique the plates to the background blocks.

Sewing the Outer Points of Each Wedge

The first step is to fold the outer (wider) end of each wedge in half, right sides together, and sew straight across with a 1/4" seam allowance.  This goes really quickly if you're chain piecing (see above) and you have all your wedges lined up next to you, ready to go.

Inner Corner Clipped about 1/16" Away from Seam Line

Then, you clip the inner corner to remove excess bulk, turn the corner and press your point, taking care that the seamline is centered:

Turned and Pressed

...and then you match up pairs of wedges and chain stitch them together at the sewing machine, again using a 1/4" seam allowance.  It's important to stitch these from wide to narrow, making sure that the outer edges match up perfectly.  If the strips don't match up perfectly at the center of the plates, it won't matter because those raw edges will be covered by the applique.

Chain-Piecing Individual Spokes Together

The only challenging part about this is staying organized so your wedges end up with the fabric placement the way that you intended.  I did have a couple of oopses where I had to get out my seam ripper because I sewed two pieces together that weren't supposed to be adjacent on my plate.  By the way, I'm using 50 weight Aurifil Mako cotton thread for piecing, with an 80/12 Universal needle, a straight stitch plate, and my #37 1/4" Patchwork footsie.  No pins necessary!

Some directions will tell you to press these seams open, but I chose to press each seam allowance towards the darker of the two fabrics, just in case a dark seam allowance might show through a lighter colored fabric in the finished plate.  Once I'd clipped these units apart and pressed them, I paired them up again for chain piecing:


Chain-Piecing Pairs of Wedges Together

...Until I had four quarter-circle units completed, like these:

Quarter Plates Finished

Once you get to this point, you just sew the four quarters together, press the seams, and then you're done:

Ta Da!  First Plate Completed!

In vintage Dresden plate quilts, the raw edges at the inner circle are sometimes turned under when the plate is appliqued to the background block, allowing the background fabric to fill the center.  In other versions, a circle is appliqued at the center of the plate to cover the raw edges, often in a bright solid color like yellow or red.  My plates are going to have a red flower machine embroidered applique design at the center, and since I wrote these Dresden posts in backwards order, you'll have to click here if you want to read about that.

So far, I've just made this one plate, but I have at least 10 or 11 more flowers and lots of wedges cut out for the plates, so I'm going to stitch up a bunch more before I begin appliqueing them to the background block fabric.  I'm planning to alternate my plate blocks with a vintage pieced block design that dates back to the same period as the Dresden Plate heyday, but that's another post for another day.

Meanwhile, I've got some pie crusts and cranberries crying out for my attention.  Happy Thanksgiving!

The Prequel: Dresden Plate Inspiration, Eye Candy & Fabric Selection

My First Dresden Plate

Last Friday I posted here about how I used Marjorie Busby's machine embroidered die-cut flower design to finish off the center of my first Dresden Plate.  Congratulations to Rita for winning the embroidery design giveaway!  Rita selected the same flower design that I used in my block.  I hope she enjoys it as much as I have!

Today's share a little background information about the Dresden Plate pattern in general and the particular quilts that inspired me to want to make one of my own.  I have admired Dresden Plate quilts for a long time.  We have one in my family that passed to me when my maternal grandmother died, but I don't know who the maker was.  [Now let's find out if my mom still reads my blog -- Mom?  Are you out there?  Do you remember who made this quilt?]

Our Dresden Plate Family Quilt, with Lars, Anders, and my Hound of the Baskervilles (Otto)

Of all the names hand-embroidered in the centers of the blocks, the only ones I know for sure are that Grace is my grandmother and Gladys is one of her sisters.  Word to the wise, quilters -- LABEL your quilts!  Everyone knows you made them today, but someday your great-great-grandchildren will have no idea unless you put your name on it someplace!  At least we know it was made in 1944.

Judy Anne Breneman has written a brief historical overview of the Dresden Plate quilt pattern here, complete with photos and interesting trivia.  The pattern was most popular in the 1930s, and the bright colors and cheery prints in my 1944 quilt are very typical of vintage Dresden Plate quilts from that era.

Contemporary Dresden Plate versions that I love include this cheerful baby quilt made by Claudia Shearer of Couch Potato Quilts for her niece's son:


Made by Claudia Shearer, 2008, San Francisco, CA, and blogged here

...And this beautiful Dresden Plate and applique quilt, designed by Erin Russek of One Piece at a Time.  This pattern is available for sale in Erin's Etsy shop here, and proceeds  benefit a charity for a child with a serious medical condition. 

"Miss Kyra" by Erin Russek, 2012, blogged here, pattern available here

So, for my own Dresden Plate, I wanted to capture the playful spirit and clear, bright color palette of the vintage quilts, but using modern fabrics instead of reproductions.  When the Machine Embroidery blog hop opportunity came along, I knew that Marjorie's batik die cut flowers would be the centers of my Dresden Plates, so I dumped fabric all over the floor of my studio and played around with combinations until I came up with an assortment that felt balanced and that complemented the fabrics Marjorie had chosen for my flower appliques.

Fabrics Auditioning for my Dresden Plates

Because I've gone on long enough for tonight, you'll have to wait until my next post to see how quickly my Dresden plate came together using Kaye England's Cut for the Cure 22.5 degree wedge ruler from Nifty Notions. It was quick, easy, and lots of fun, so if you've ever wanted to try Dresden Plates I encourage you to take the plunge!  Have a wonderful weekend.

Fabulous Kaye England Class on Accurate Cutting and Patchwork

Kaye England

Happy Monday, friends!  First of all, I want to send a big thank you out to all of you who voted for my Sugar Shack Leaves quilt in Quilting Gallery's "Fall Glory" themed quilt contest over the weekend.  My quilt was selected as one of the winners, and I won copies of two Quilter's Cookbooks.  Thank you!

Moving right along...  I attended a fantastic class taught by Kaye England on Saturday at my local Bernina dealership.  When I signed up for the class, I had no idea who Kaye was or what the class would be about, but it turned out to be time and money well spent.  I've learned most of what I know about patchwork and quilting from books, magazines, and the Internet, so the whole experience of a room full of quilters learning together was a novelty for me.  Although I didn't expect to know anyone else taking the class, I was pleasantly surprised to see the realtor who helped us find our first home in Charlotte in 1999 AND my very first customer, back from when I first started sewing draperies to justify my expensive sewing habit in 2001.  This is a woman who lost my unlisted phone number and actually went knocking on doors in my neighborhood to find me again the next time she wanted to hire me.  It was so nice that she recognized and remembered me after so many years!  I had no idea either one of these ladies was even a quilter.

But, even without the surprise reunions and hugs, this class was more than worthwhile, and here's why:

1. Kaye showed me a little engraved line on my sewing machine's stitch plate, just in front of the needle, that marks a perfect quarter inch seam for patchwork.  I've had this sewing machine since 2005 and I had NO IDEA that little guide line was there.  This is going to make it a lot easier to get a consistent quarter inch patchwork seam so that all of the pieces fit togethe properly and my blocks finish the correct size.
2. I learned that my rotary cutting tool was skipping because it had a dull, nicked blade, and that the blade was screwed in too tight, causing me lots of unecessary aggravation, difficulty, and wasted time when cutting fabric.  I bought a new blade for about ten dollars, and now my rotary cutter is gliding through fabric as effortlessly as a hot knife goes through butter!
3. I learned -- and this is going to sound blasphemous -- that I can get better results by NOT ironing every seam after the entire block is completed!  Hallelujah! 

The focus of the class was on how to use the special Cut for the Cure rulers that Kaye designed for Nifty Notions (and yes, I did buy the whole set of 'em).  A portion of the proceeds from this line benefits breast cancer research.  My old rulers were a motley assortment of Creative Grid and Omnigrid, and I only had a couple of strip cutters that I was using for everything.  My new rulers have sight lines for aligning my fabric edge on every single line, and I love how the special half square and quarter square triangle rulers eliminate the necessity of cutting multiple strip widths for every block.  My next quilt is going to be a Storm at Sea, and I am going to want every little triangle to have a sharp point and every seam intersection to match up perfectly.  These rulers will make that much easier to accomplish, AND I got a DVD with the set that shows exactly how to use each ruler. 

Anyway, I highly recommend that you take a class with Kaye if you ever have the opportunity to do so.

Next on my sewing agenda: I want to finish up an in-progress window treatment for my laundry room in the next few days that my husband has been nagging me to make for over a year, and then I need to complete Paula Reid's September Free-Motion Quilting Challenge, hosted by SewCalGal, before the end of the month.