I am the slowest quilt along sewist EVER.

In March of 2011, Lynne of Lily's Quilts started the Dresden Quilt Along.  At that point, I had never sewn any curves and I liked the big bold design.  I decided that I wanted to break up the design of the dresden a little and make a up few of the petals with scraps.

Scrappy Dresden

And then I put the project down for over two years.  I knew that I didn't want the center or the background to be just one piece of fabric, but I decided that I didn't have enough gray fabric choices to match the design in my head. 



Well, I've had plenty of grays for a long time now and my collection of low volume and text fabrics has improved drastically also.  I just needed to make the time to do it.  Over the retreat weekend I made the background but there was a huge bubble in the dresden and the background.  On good advice from Jessie Aller, I made a dart along the join of two petals and the join of two quarters of the background.  I did not record that in pictures because it wasn't my proudest quilting moment, however I am pleased with the result now. 

Scrappy Dresden

I quilted this in concentric circles with my machine for the plate and the background and by hand for the center.  The finished quilt is 31" square and will hang in my sewing space.

Scrappy Dresden

As much as I hate having so many unfinished projects hanging over me, I think this one was well worth the wait.
on

13 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 10, 2013 at 1:38 PM

    You really did a bang up job on this. The Dresden Plate is not one of my most favorite blocks but after seeing yours I change my mind! I totally love this.
    You really are a fine quilter!

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  2. Prof. S (the enchanted bobbin)September 10, 2013 at 4:43 PM

    Lovely! I think that that QAL is where we met, was it not?! The quilt I made from that design was a gift for some friends, but one of my favourites....I really love yours and I'm so glad youy finished it! xx

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  3. BethSeptember 10, 2013 at 5:31 PM

    There is so much to love about this quilt Melinda! I like your fabric choices, the scrappy background, and the combination of hand quilting and machine quilting the spiral. Oh, and the color palette!

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  4. LethargicLassSeptember 10, 2013 at 5:47 PM

    worth every bit of the two years :)

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  5. CarlaSeptember 10, 2013 at 9:55 PM

    Well worth the wait! It's gorgeous.

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  6. HopeSeptember 11, 2013 at 1:03 AM

    It looks great, definitely worth the wait if it meant having those great fabrics available to you. :)

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  7. Teje KarjalainenSeptember 11, 2013 at 2:50 AM

    Hi! This is just fantastic! I love how you made the background with many prints! Just beautiful! x Teje

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  8. A Trio BeautifulSeptember 11, 2013 at 6:34 AM

    It turned out wonderful! I LOVE how the background came out! Beautiful!

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  9. ClaudiaSeptember 11, 2013 at 8:32 AM

    Beautiful quilt! I love the scrappiness of it.

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  10. SvetlanaSeptember 11, 2013 at 12:58 PM

    oh, totally well worth the wait. It looks fantastic.

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  11. Linda F.September 11, 2013 at 8:00 PM

    The finished quilt looks fantastic! The quilting looks great. Love it!

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  12. AnonymousSeptember 14, 2013 at 5:33 PM

    definitely well worth the wait!
    absolutely gorgeous my friend.
    -melissa

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  13. Heidi StaplesSeptember 19, 2013 at 12:36 PM

    This is absolutely gorgeous, Melinda! I love your fabric choices!

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You are awesome! Thanks for leaving a comment :)