This week, despite a cold, I managed to finish up another of my outstanding WIP… this one had been sitting in a plastic bag for a couple of years. It started in December 2013 as a Bee block for the amazing Nicole at Modern Handcraft.
I ended up making a couple of these Dresdens, I loved the first one so much, but they then sat unused for years, until now…
This was a pretty quick project to finish up…. First I took my four finished Dresdens and a couple of yards of red pin dots by Lake House….
Because I could free float the Dresdens anywhere on the quilt it was fun to play with an off kilter lay out.
When I was happy with the placement of each plate, I spray basted them to the backing fabric, and then sewed around each Dresden.
I then went in and cut out as much of the backing fabric as I could out of the center of the each Dresden, just to cut some of the bulk out of the top…
All that was left was to quilt it – I went with a off center grid pattern and my trusty cream Aurifil thread ….
And bind it – I used scrappy solids and machine binding to finish her up…
The finished quilt ended up measuring 44″ x 65″ which is an unusual size for me, but I think it will be the perfect size for someone’s bed….
WOMBAT QUILTS 
It’s beautiful!
I love this. Now I want to make one.
Gorgeous, like floating dandelion puffs! It makes such a great ‘alternative’ red and white quilt.
Love the fabrics you’ve used. Lovely quilt.
I love the quirky layout – if I did that it would look like a mistake, but yours looks intentional and beautiful.
Wunderschön
Great colors. Nice design. Well done!
I absolutely love this quilt! I want to make one for my bed!
Red, white and gray…my absolute favouritist colour combination!! And the backing fabric, oh my goodness..may I ask what it is?? This quilt us BEAUTIFUL!!!
Dena the backing fabric is Lakehouse Sunrise Studio LH 14029. It is the first fabric I have every bought a bolt of.
Adorable!
Love it! The design and the colors are great!
Love the placement of the plates.
Thanks Lindsey. It is a little haphazard but it seems to work.
Love what you did with these. I’ve been toying with the idea of Dresden plates, but wasn’t in love with the way they are often used. This is a great fresh approach.
What a gorgeous quilt! Love everything about it! 🙂
Love what you have done. Has given me some ideas to finish off my own dresden plates.
Cheers eileen
Eileen I must admit this is not the only set of Dresdens in my WIP pile. I too have some more to finish off.
Oh what a lovely way to really show them off, it looks fantastic!
Super cool! I’ve really never cared for dresen plates but this changes my mind.
Pat I am glad I have helped you see this block in a new way.
Your Dresden quilt is wonderful. I’ve never been a huge fan of Dresden plate quilts. All of the ones I’ve seen have been rows of squares with a Dresden Plate on each one. That just didn’t appeal to me. But your quilt is singing to me. Thanks for opening my eyes.
Ilana there are some wonderful modern Dresdens out there. There is so much you can do with these blocks.
Very nice; and good idea to cut out the bulk. I wish I had done that on some blocks I made when I was learning to do piecing. Actually I’m still learning . . .
Kathleen I am still learning too…that’s what makes this quilting adventure so much fun.
What a clever way to finish the dresdens without y seams and a lot of cutting and fitting. Such an innovative idea. Don’t know why my mind never sees the easy solution. Hooray for another WIP done.
I really like this quilt. Wonderful red fabrics…and thanks for the idea for using just a few blocks.
Very nice – again – as usual! Thanks for the tip about cutting out some of the back.
: )
So sweet, I love the grey and red combo and the little cute fabrics in the fans!
I love the red, white and grey of this. Why are red pin dots the perfect background for just about everything?
I agree that cutting out the back is a good idea, but every time I do it I am so nervous about snipping something I shouldn’t. Is that just me?
I love the feeling of finishing a long lurking WIP- and I LOVE this one so much! The red pin dots are perfection.
What a lovely combination of colors! I like the layout, dresden plates are beautiful, but in block-by-block layouts, it tends to look like a busy mess. Not this way!
This is gorgeous. I really love the “free floating” layout! …and the colours too! ❤️❤️
This is absolutely fantastic, Cath! I love the colours. I’ve only made a couple of dresden blocks and I love the look of them, yours is so inspiring!! Thank you for participating in the Finish-A-Long, on behalf of the 2016 hosts!