Several people have asked me if I had a pattern for this quilt I made for the Dare to Dresden Blog Hop.

Short answer? I don't...However, I can explain what I did and have it be a tutorial of sorts. How does that sound?

Keep in mind, this was a "trial and error quilt." I took it apart and resewed it many times as I figured things out and new ideas came to mind. I had no plans when I made the dresden plates. I made them simply for fun. After I did, they "told" me what they wanted to be and the process began. Please ask if you  need me to clarify anything that is unclear. By the way, it might be a good idea to read this through to the end rather than treating it like a step-by-step tutorial.  I learned things as I went along that might make the whole process easier for you.

Let's give this a try!! 

I made the Dresden Plates following Happy Quilting's instruction for her Double Dresden Delight. I made my Dresden Plates different sizes, just for fun. Three are 12", one is 15" and one is 16". I can't tell you what size to cut your fan blades because I have no idea what I did.  Just remember that the closer you get to the narrow end of the template when cutting your pieces, the smaller your center circle will be, and conversely, the closer you get to the wide end of the template, the wider your outside circle will be.

For the center of the flowers, I traced around a dinner plate and cut out a circle of fabric that would completely cover the open center of the flowers. I always use water soluble glue to hold my fabric together for projects like this. 

 Tip: After applying the glue, iron it. It will dry the glue faster. If you want to remove a piece of fabric that you have glued down, simply spray it with some water to soften the glue. It will come right off.  

The background of my quilt is basically a Jelly-Roll-Race quilt. I used all 2 1/2" strips of various blue fabrics for the sky and various green fabrics for the grass, all from my scraps and stash. Sorry.  I realize this does not help with exact measurements or amounts of fabric, but it does give you a platform for creativity, fun, and stash reduction. My finished quilt measures 57" x 64", just give you an idea of size. 

I chose to have my sky area roughly 3/4 of the quilt and the grass 1/4 of the quilt. These proportions looked pleasing to me. Of course, you can do whatever you want. =) 

I made prairie points for grass using scraps and made them in various sizes using this method. It may be hard to tell from the next two pictures, but I took one strip of blue and one strip of green and sandwiched the prairie points between them. This made them easier to handle. I pinned the prairie points to the blue strip of fabric then placed the green strip of fabric, right sides together, on top and sewed the seam, catching the raw edges of the prairie points in that seam. You will be sewing over many thicknesses of fabric, so go slow and easy and use a new needle. When finished, press the green fabric away from the prairie points so they are "standing up" against the first blue sky strip.  Topstitching the green strip at the base of the prairie points helps them stand up.

Next I sewed the two large pieces of the quilt to either side of this prairie point strip (sky and flowers to the blue strip and grass to the green strip). In this picture, I have the flowers tacked down with glue to hold them in place until I sewed them on. As you may have guessed by now, washout fabric glue is my friend. 

In this picture you can see I added more prairie points to the field of grass. Here I did some "unsewing" as ideas popped into my head. I decided where I wanted the extra prairie points, "unsewed" part of the grass seams, tucked the prairie point grass in and sewed them back up. If you look closely, you can see I sewed these spots closed on top with matching thread. It was easier that way.  Note:  You could always make same extra prairie points and scatter them along the green strip seams as you assemble the "grass" area of the quilt.  This would reduce time spent using your seam ripper.

The stems are brown fabric cut on the bias so they would wave and bend. (Jumbo rick-rack would work for this as well.)  Again, I "unsewed" parts of grass seams and tucked the stems in. I wanted the effect of the flowers growing out of the ground from different depths. Glue holds my stems in place.  

 Tuck the top of the stems behind the flowers. Easy, huh??

You can see how I tucked one stem behind a flower. This was one of the many times when I had to use water to loosen the glue, arrange things how I wanted them and then reglue to hold it in place. Word to the wise: when using glue to baste the flowers to the blue background, you might want to leave a bit of space open at the bottom of each flower to insert the stem.

I made the leaves with the dresden ruler just like making a pointy dresden plate, but that left the sides of the leaves unfinished, so I simply folded each side under 1/4" and pressed them in place, as if making a patch pocket. I tucked the end under the stem and glued the leaf down. Of course, you could make your leaves any shape you want. I used the dresden ruler as my template because it was the theme of the blog hop. 

When everything was placed where I wanted it, I used a straight stitch and sewed each piece to the background. The stems and leaves are edgestitched and the flowers were stitched a bit away from the points, giving them more texture.  I used my Juki 98Q to assemble it, so it was all done with straight stitches. You could use the fancier stitches that your machine may have to applique the flowers, stems and leaves, or if you enjoy the hand work, you can hand appliqué. Whatever works for you is what is right. =) 

All that is left to do is add borders, make your quilt sandwich, and quilt as desired. I would love to see your finished projects, if you would be so kind as to share your photos with me on A Quilting Sheep's Flickr group page. 

❋ A hearty THANK YOU to Capi, for taking the time to proofread the tutorial for me and helping with clarifying the instructions. You can find Capi at her darling Etsy store, Chosen Sisters. ❋   

Oh, Happy Day! 

Several people have asked me if I had a pattern for this quilt I made for the Dare to Dresden Blog Hop.

Short answer? I don't...However, I can explain what I did and have it be a tutorial of sorts. How does that sound?

Keep in mind, this was a "trial and error quilt." I took it apart and resewed it many times as I figured things out and new ideas came to mind. I had no plans when I made the dresden plates. I made them simply for fun. After I did, they "told" me what they wanted to be and the process began. Please ask if you  need me to clarify anything that is unclear. By the way, it might be a good idea to read this through to the end rather than treating it like a step-by-step tutorial.  I learned things as I went along that might make the whole process easier for you.

Let's give this a try!! 

I made the Dresden Plates following Happy Quilting's instruction for her Double Dresden Delight. I made my Dresden Plates different sizes, just for fun. Three are 12", one is 15" and one is 16". I can't tell you what size to cut your fan blades because I have no idea what I did.  Just remember that the closer you get to the narrow end of the template when cutting your pieces, the smaller your center circle will be, and conversely, the closer you get to the wide end of the template, the wider your outside circle will be.

For the center of the flowers, I traced around a dinner plate and cut out a circle of fabric that would completely cover the open center of the flowers. I always use water soluble glue to hold my fabric together for projects like this. 

 Tip: After applying the glue, iron it. It will dry the glue faster. If you want to remove a piece of fabric that you have glued down, simply spray it with some water to soften the glue. It will come right off.  

The background of my quilt is basically a Jelly-Roll-Race quilt. I used all 2 1/2" strips of various blue fabrics for the sky and various green fabrics for the grass, all from my scraps and stash. Sorry.  I realize this does not help with exact measurements or amounts of fabric, but it does give you a platform for creativity, fun, and stash reduction. My finished quilt measures 57" x 64", just give you an idea of size. 

I chose to have my sky area roughly 3/4 of the quilt and the grass 1/4 of the quilt. These proportions looked pleasing to me. Of course, you can do whatever you want. =) 

I made prairie points for grass using scraps and made them in various sizes using this method. It may be hard to tell from the next two pictures, but I took one strip of blue and one strip of green and sandwiched the prairie points between them. This made them easier to handle. I pinned the prairie points to the blue strip of fabric then placed the green strip of fabric, right sides together, on top and sewed the seam, catching the raw edges of the prairie points in that seam. You will be sewing over many thicknesses of fabric, so go slow and easy and use a new needle. When finished, press the green fabric away from the prairie points so they are "standing up" against the first blue sky strip.  Topstitching the green strip at the base of the prairie points helps them stand up.

Next I sewed the two large pieces of the quilt to either side of this prairie point strip (sky and flowers to the blue strip and grass to the green strip). In this picture, I have the flowers tacked down with glue to hold them in place until I sewed them on. As you may have guessed by now, washout fabric glue is my friend. 

In this picture you can see I added more prairie points to the field of grass. Here I did some "unsewing" as ideas popped into my head. I decided where I wanted the extra prairie points, "unsewed" part of the grass seams, tucked the prairie point grass in and sewed them back up. If you look closely, you can see I sewed these spots closed on top with matching thread. It was easier that way.  Note:  You could always make same extra prairie points and scatter them along the green strip seams as you assemble the "grass" area of the quilt.  This would reduce time spent using your seam ripper.

The stems are brown fabric cut on the bias so they would wave and bend. (Jumbo rick-rack would work for this as well.)  Again, I "unsewed" parts of grass seams and tucked the stems in. I wanted the effect of the flowers growing out of the ground from different depths. Glue holds my stems in place.  

 Tuck the top of the stems behind the flowers. Easy, huh??

You can see how I tucked one stem behind a flower. This was one of the many times when I had to use water to loosen the glue, arrange things how I wanted them and then reglue to hold it in place. Word to the wise: when using glue to baste the flowers to the blue background, you might want to leave a bit of space open at the bottom of each flower to insert the stem.

I made the leaves with the dresden ruler just like making a pointy dresden plate, but that left the sides of the leaves unfinished, so I simply folded each side under 1/4" and pressed them in place, as if making a patch pocket. I tucked the end under the stem and glued the leaf down. Of course, you could make your leaves any shape you want. I used the dresden ruler as my template because it was the theme of the blog hop. 

When everything was placed where I wanted it, I used a straight stitch and sewed each piece to the background. The stems and leaves are edgestitched and the flowers were stitched a bit away from the points, giving them more texture.  I used my Juki 98Q to assemble it, so it was all done with straight stitches. You could use the fancier stitches that your machine may have to applique the flowers, stems and leaves, or if you enjoy the hand work, you can hand appliqué. Whatever works for you is what is right. =) 

All that is left to do is add borders, make your quilt sandwich, and quilt as desired. I would love to see your finished projects, if you would be so kind as to share your photos with me on A Quilting Sheep's Flickr group page. 

❋ A hearty THANK YOU to Capi, for taking the time to proofread the tutorial for me and helping with clarifying the instructions. You can find Capi at her darling Etsy store, Chosen Sisters. ❋   

Oh, Happy Day! 

Oh, yes, I did...

I won ten cones of Aurifil's new poly thread. They came in the mail yesterday...

Aren't the colors wonderful? *sigh* I am looking foreword to trying them out on my longarm and on my Juki. =)

Thanks, Aurifil! =D 

Here is Alex explaining about his new line of thread. For more information, go to the Aurifil webpage. 

Oh, yes, I did...

I won ten cones of Aurifil's new poly thread. They came in the mail yesterday...

Aren't the colors wonderful? *sigh* I am looking foreword to trying them out on my longarm and on my Juki. =)

Thanks, Aurifil! =D 

Here is Alex explaining about his new line of thread. For more information, go to the Aurifil webpage. 

Last week, I began what I had planned on being a little something to make and take to give to Brooklyn, however,  the little project began transforming into a big something....Here, let me show you....

It started here...

Pattern for paper piecing letters can be found at Kristy of Quiet Play's Craftsy store. 

I added some orphan blocks...

Added  few more orphan blocks and then a row of Dolly Dresses by Lakehouse...

Now we are here...

Her mom was so excited to see what I was making that she asked if I could make it large enough to go on Brooklyn's full size bed. Of course I said yes. =) 

The plan is to give it nice drape over the sides of the bed. I am going to use borders to do that and keep the fun designs for the top of the bed. 

Right now it measures 65" wide and a bit less than that long. I am shooting for 85" wide and 95" long (including the borders.)

The cupcake pattern was almost a bust, but I found a way to salvage it. As you can see, it started out as a paper piecing pattern. The icing part of the pattern gave me trouble when it came to putting the puzzle pieces of the pattern together. The seams were too thick and I was struggling, so I altered it and added my icing using appliqué. 

Just to be clear, the pattern was not the problem. I was. =) Here is the free paper piecing pattern for Yummy Cupcake. 

That's what I have been up to lately. =) I think it's going to be fun when it's finished. =) 

Last week, I began what I had planned on being a little something to make and take to give to Brooklyn, however,  the little project began transforming into a big something....Here, let me show you....

It started here...

Pattern for paper piecing letters can be found at Kristy of Quiet Play's Craftsy store. 

I added some orphan blocks...

Added  few more orphan blocks and then a row of Dolly Dresses by Lakehouse...

Now we are here...

Her mom was so excited to see what I was making that she asked if I could make it large enough to go on Brooklyn's full size bed. Of course I said yes. =) 

The plan is to give it nice drape over the sides of the bed. I am going to use borders to do that and keep the fun designs for the top of the bed. 

Right now it measures 65" wide and a bit less than that long. I am shooting for 85" wide and 95" long (including the borders.)

The cupcake pattern was almost a bust, but I found a way to salvage it. As you can see, it started out as a paper piecing pattern. The icing part of the pattern gave me trouble when it came to putting the puzzle pieces of the pattern together. The seams were too thick and I was struggling, so I altered it and added my icing using appliqué. 

Just to be clear, the pattern was not the problem. I was. =) Here is the free paper piecing pattern for Yummy Cupcake. 

That's what I have been up to lately. =) I think it's going to be fun when it's finished. =) 

to granddaughter's house we go... =) 

Russ and I left our home a day early in order to miss the snow storm that was heading our way. We didn't want to take a chance on not being able to hang out with our favorite girl for the weekend....

For those that don't know...Brooklyn is my son's daughter. He and his girlfriend (at the time) wisely chose to place Brooklyn up for adoption. We are so richly blessed to be able to still be grandparents to this little darling and her parents are raising her to love the Lord. Makes me so happy....

Of course, we made a stop at my very favorite quilt store, Crafty Corner Quilt and Sewing Shoppe. They seriously know how to treat their customers very well and that is an understatement. Brooklyn was very helpful to help me load up the counter with pretty fabrics to come home with me. Some of them will end up in the quilt I am making for her bed.  

Enjoy the eye candy....

Have a happy week!!

to granddaughter's house we go... =) 

Russ and I left our home a day early in order to miss the snow storm that was heading our way. We didn't want to take a chance on not being able to hang out with our favorite girl for the weekend....

For those that don't know...Brooklyn is my son's daughter. He and his girlfriend (at the time) wisely chose to place Brooklyn up for adoption. We are so richly blessed to be able to still be grandparents to this little darling and her parents are raising her to love the Lord. Makes me so happy....

Of course, we made a stop at my very favorite quilt store, Crafty Corner Quilt and Sewing Shoppe. They seriously know how to treat their customers very well and that is an understatement. Brooklyn was very helpful to help me load up the counter with pretty fabrics to come home with me. Some of them will end up in the quilt I am making for her bed.  

Enjoy the eye candy....

Have a happy week!!

This darling quilt pattern is designed by my friend Donna @ Donna's Lavender Nest. I've had her pattern for a while, but I kept on putting off making the quilt because I was intimidated by the appliqué. 

However, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? What I did do was to simplify the appliqué blocks into something I felt I could manage and chose to do raw edge appliqué using the zig-zag stitch. It was much easier than I thought it would be and I think it looks nice enough. =) I am far less intimidated by appliqué now. =) 

The flowers are an example of how I simplified things. Notice how they match the fabric I chose? =) I am clever like that. ;-) I do need to redo the stitching around the flowers with a zig-zag stitch like I did on the hearts. 

After it was put together, I decided the blue print was way too bold...

The red print was still more bold than I liked, although, after I added the pink outside border, it calmed the red fabric down some. 

I like the touch of ric rac that Donna added to the blocks. 

When I am done quilting it, I think I will hang it up in my sewing room to admire for a while before it finds a new home. =) 

I consider this a pattern for all skill levels. What I really like about this pattern is how easy it is to change a few things here and there to make each subsequent quilt made from it different. Because of that reason, I would make it again. It's also a great use of scraps, which is what I did with this one. 

You can purchase your own PDF copy of Donna's pattern at her Etsy shop. She also has some cute fabric in her shop as well. I am so tempted to go shopping!! 

This darling quilt pattern is designed by my friend Donna @ Donna's Lavender Nest. I've had her pattern for a while, but I kept on putting off making the quilt because I was intimidated by the appliqué. 

However, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? What I did do was to simplify the appliqué blocks into something I felt I could manage and chose to do raw edge appliqué using the zig-zag stitch. It was much easier than I thought it would be and I think it looks nice enough. =) I am far less intimidated by appliqué now. =) 

The flowers are an example of how I simplified things. Notice how they match the fabric I chose? =) I am clever like that. ;-) I do need to redo the stitching around the flowers with a zig-zag stitch like I did on the hearts. 

After it was put together, I decided the blue print was way too bold...

The red print was still more bold than I liked, although, after I added the pink outside border, it calmed the red fabric down some. 

I like the touch of ric rac that Donna added to the blocks. 

When I am done quilting it, I think I will hang it up in my sewing room to admire for a while before it finds a new home. =) 

I consider this a pattern for all skill levels. What I really like about this pattern is how easy it is to change a few things here and there to make each subsequent quilt made from it different. Because of that reason, I would make it again. It's also a great use of scraps, which is what I did with this one. 

You can purchase your own PDF copy of Donna's pattern at her Etsy shop. She also has some cute fabric in her shop as well. I am so tempted to go shopping!! 

For those who know me well, know I can go quiet from time to time. Sometimes because I am busy, other times due to depression. This time was the latter. Winter is hard. I remind myself that like the winter season, depression will not last forever. I make myself do the basics. Get up, get dressed and eat.  In time it passes. And it is passing. 

Another way to help depression pass is to be with friends. I spent a long over due day out with my Laurie yesterday. It felt so good to laugh and it felt good to connect at a deep level with someone who knows me better than anyone else on this planet. We picked up and put down many things at The Pink Begonia. I bought a few things, but the tiny pink Shiny-BRITE balls were a huge hit with me!

Laurie is a new quilter and is in the process of setting up her sewing space in her home. I am so excited!  One of these days I am heading over with my craft table and machine and we are going to have a sew in. Did I mention I was excited? 

I have been doing a little sewing, but not a whole lot. Depression leaves me uninspired. =(  But it's better now! =D I'll share my latest fun project in a sec, but first I want to share my rainbow quilt. I finished it a while ago and never got around to sharing it. Even though I am not much of a purple girl, the purple block is my favorite. The orange a close second. 

Okay, my fun project...Not too long ago, Kristy @ Quiet Play, created a paper piecing pattern of typewriter font letters. The testers did their thing and they went on sale in her Craftsy store on Thursday. I bought them on the spot and got to work....

Here is where I am at this time:

The small dresdens, the bird blocks and the prairie points were all orphans. The plan was to make a little something to take to Brooklyn when we go visit next weekend, but now I think I am going to keep going and make a row quilt for her, along the lines of what Lori @ Bee In My Bonnet is doing. I can give it to her another time. I have to make it wider, so I have some thinking to do to figure it all out. 

Seriously, aren't the letters fun? I will be using them a lot!

One more thing and then I will be quiet. Monday is going to be a special day in our family, but you will have to wait until then to find out what it is. =) 

Have a great weekend, everyone!!

For those who know me well, know I can go quiet from time to time. Sometimes because I am busy, other times due to depression. This time was the latter. Winter is hard. I remind myself that like the winter season, depression will not last forever. I make myself do the basics. Get up, get dressed and eat.  In time it passes. And it is passing. 

Another way to help depression pass is to be with friends. I spent a long over due day out with my Laurie yesterday. It felt so good to laugh and it felt good to connect at a deep level with someone who knows me better than anyone else on this planet. We picked up and put down many things at The Pink Begonia. I bought a few things, but the tiny pink Shiny-BRITE balls were a huge hit with me!

Laurie is a new quilter and is in the process of setting up her sewing space in her home. I am so excited!  One of these days I am heading over with my craft table and machine and we are going to have a sew in. Did I mention I was excited? 

I have been doing a little sewing, but not a whole lot. Depression leaves me uninspired. =(  But it's better now! =D I'll share my latest fun project in a sec, but first I want to share my rainbow quilt. I finished it a while ago and never got around to sharing it. Even though I am not much of a purple girl, the purple block is my favorite. The orange a close second. 

Okay, my fun project...Not too long ago, Kristy @ Quiet Play, created a paper piecing pattern of typewriter font letters. The testers did their thing and they went on sale in her Craftsy store on Thursday. I bought them on the spot and got to work....

Here is where I am at this time:

The small dresdens, the bird blocks and the prairie points were all orphans. The plan was to make a little something to take to Brooklyn when we go visit next weekend, but now I think I am going to keep going and make a row quilt for her, along the lines of what Lori @ Bee In My Bonnet is doing. I can give it to her another time. I have to make it wider, so I have some thinking to do to figure it all out. 

Seriously, aren't the letters fun? I will be using them a lot!

One more thing and then I will be quiet. Monday is going to be a special day in our family, but you will have to wait until then to find out what it is. =) 

Have a great weekend, everyone!!

A couple of years ago, I bought the book Material Obsession because of the quilt on the cover. 

As one of my goals for this year, I wanted to make my own. 

Fresh out of the dryer, here is my version of that quilt. 

The one thing I chose to do was to make a large whole cloth background. Cutting the back ground fabric into individual squares for each dresden plate and then resewing them back together would mess up the polka dots. I took two yardages of the fabric, carefully lining up the dots and sewed them together. I then laid it out on the floor and pinned each dresden where I wanted it. After the placement was decided, I glued them in place. It was a bit harder to work with it that way, but the end result made it worth it. 

I did a lot of echo quilting...Twisting and turning over and over again. 

I am so pleased with how it turned out...

Final measurement: 78" x 78".

Do you have a "must make" quilt on your list for this year? 

A couple of years ago, I bought the book Material Obsession because of the quilt on the cover. 

As one of my goals for this year, I wanted to make my own. 

Fresh out of the dryer, here is my version of that quilt. 

The one thing I chose to do was to make a large whole cloth background. Cutting the back ground fabric into individual squares for each dresden plate and then resewing them back together would mess up the polka dots. I took two yardages of the fabric, carefully lining up the dots and sewed them together. I then laid it out on the floor and pinned each dresden where I wanted it. After the placement was decided, I glued them in place. It was a bit harder to work with it that way, but the end result made it worth it. 

I did a lot of echo quilting...Twisting and turning over and over again. 

I am so pleased with how it turned out...

Final measurement: 78" x 78".

Do you have a "must make" quilt on your list for this year? 

Thank you all for playing along with my giveaway! 

Have a happy, and warm, weekend!

Thank you all for playing along with my giveaway! 

Have a happy, and warm, weekend!