Dresden Plate Island Batik Ambassador Blog Hop

 

                                                            

Sedona Sunrise

51" x 61"

The November Island Batik Challenge is a Dresden Plate Blog Hop.

We were to make a lap quilt or larger quilt using the  surprise Island Batik fabric bundle we received in July.  I received the collection called Island Zest by Kathy Engle for Quilters' Treasure Chest.

These colors are deep, rich and warm. Part of the challenge was to create a quilt using Dresden Plates in the design.  I received a dresden plate ruler by EZ Quilting from Missouri Star Quilt Company as part of the Affiliate program that I was excited to try out. This ruler worked very well in making all the sections for Dresden Plates.  It makes Dresden plate points  in sizes 1" to 8". I also used three Aurifil threads in the quilt.  The center thread looks pink in the photo, but it is really a pretty canary yellow.

I made this quilt a bit differently than most projects I make.  This time I didn't start with a pre planned design.  I was living with my daughter at the time and had all the fabrics in the collection with me and the ruler and a small sewing machine I used for taking to classes.  I decided to make Dresden Plate points in three different sizes 2", 6", and 8" in all the fabrics and then just play with them to see what I could come up with!

The points are very easy to make.

This is what the points look like from the back when they are sewn together.

I ended up with loads of points in the three sizes. The fabrics are lovely and it was fun to play around with how to put them together.  

The smallest dresden points I made into a full circle and I wanted to put it somewhere in the middle of the quilt.  

The largest points I thought would look nice in half circles on the sides and the four corners.

There were three yellow fabrics and two were very similar, so I used those two for the background.

I decided on one of the dark green fabrics for an outside border. 

I came up with several different layouts, none of which I had originally planned.  Designs develop that way sometimes!  Here are a couple layouts

I appliqued circles to the centers using fusible applique.

I ended up not using the green dresdens in the corners, but I still like them.  Maybe in another quilt!

I liked the look of the double layered dresden plates.  I also added dresden points in dark green around the center circle.  I think this makes it look a bit like a compass.

Once I decided on the layout I wanted to make, I pinned the dresden appliques to the quilt backing and straight stitched along the outside edges.  Schmetz needles sewed thru the applique thickness very well.  I used an orange and a lovely blue aurifil thread for the top stitching.  Sometimes it is surprising what colors work best for top stitching and quilting.  This time a blue worked best on the green and blue/green fabrics.  I didn't get a photo of the blue thread.

I decided on making a piano keys border with most of the remaining fabrics.  I used all 20 fabrics of the collection in this quilt.

As I only had my small machine with me and time was running out for the November deadline, I asked my friend Vickie Hunsberger from Quilting for You if she had an opening and could quilt it for me.  She had an opening and had it quilted in a few days!

I had her use one of my Hobbs wool battings and I really like the look and feel of how it turned out.

Vicki does beautiful quilting.  Here a a few close up photos of her work.

I have a bit of quilting envy!

One of my great neighbors let me photograph the quilt with their lovely fall display.  The colors just matched!

Many thanks to Island Batik, Hobbs Batting, Schmetz Needles and Aurifil Thread for supplying products to make this project thru the Island Batik Ambassador Program.

Be sure and visit all the Ambassadors on the blog hop and visit Island Batik to enter into their weekly drawing for one of two fat quarter bundles.  You don't want to miss that!

I am also having a drawing for three partially used half yards of the collection.  These are not full half yards, but there is still a lot of fabric in them.

Leave a comment on the blog to enter.

Drawing open for USA residents only due to postage costs.  Make sure that I can contact you if you are a winner.  Drawing with be at the end of the blog hop.