Friday, February 3, 2017

Offbeat

A Dresden block is something I've tackled just once or twice - I think as bee blocks - but when I saw Ellyn/ellyn's place Funky Dresden I was enticed to give it a try. With her two-piece tutorial (cut/sew) it went together easily, and I really enjoyed the process.



Carolyn Friedlander's Euclid was chosen as my Dresden focus fabric, with a background of Kona Bone and an unidentified stash blue. (Sidenote: I found it equally frustrating and amusing that though I own several color cards, I still couldn't figure out what that blue was. So yeah, I don't label all my solids either.)


Ok. True confession: I was so anxious to make the Dresden itself, that I didn't totally follow the front-end of Ellyn's tutorial. I think what I actually did was grab a half-yard piece of fabric, thinking it was a full yard. At any rate, when it came time to cut the rest of the background, I didn't have enough. SO, enter Kaufman Essex in Natural behind the Bone, and a lovely Moda Cross Weave in Storm behind the blue. A different look to be sure, but I'm good with it.



I went with hand-applique to attach the center to the background, and then got to quilting. After rummaging through all my Aurifil 50wt, I settled on two unlikely-named colors: #5021 (light grey) and #1158 (medium grey), though they ended up working just fine.


Confession #2: I marked the quilt top with my hera, fully planning to echo in between each spoke of the Dresden. But I got to the machine and changed course, echoing the shapes on each half. Unpredictable much?



Add a little matched binding, and the quilt finished at 29" x 31". It was a fun little diversion. Thanks for sharing your tutorial, Ellyn! Dresdens really aren't as intimidating as they look!

11 comments:

  1. Sometimes those quick diversions turn out to be the best! I'm so glad you only had a 1/2 yard of the blue because the change of tones look great to me! I have on my goal list for 2017 to make a Dresden Plate project...I'll keep this one in mind! Great job, Debbie!

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  2. I love your quilt. It reminds me of windmills (the old kind) where I grew up.

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  3. I LOVE what you did with it! sometimes those unplanned variations, like what you did with the background, are perfect! Thanks for the shout out too!

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  4. It's an interesting version of the Dresden block ! I love your colour choice and quilting too. It was a good thing that you hadn't enough background ;-)

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  5. You did a beautiful job! Love the colors and the different sized Dresdens - and the quilting - wow!!

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  6. I have watched this come together and the end results was well worth the wait! It is so cool! Dresdens have been on my list for years, but I have yet to go there. I love the funky moderness of this one and your choice of a split background...perfect. I have got to do this! Thanks for more inspiration Debby!

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  7. I really like this - the fabric "decisions" are just perfect. And the quilting - well! :-). I just might have to give this one a try.

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  8. Ellyn's tutorials are great, and it is awesome to see you use them so quickly. I like how you decided to quilt it and the way it continues the funky dresden and two halves theme.

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  9. I agree that the fabric decisions are perfect and the piece has such a beauty and vibrancy! Your exceptional eye and talent just shine through.

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  10. Your Dresden interpretation is terrific, and once again I especially love the way you describe the process. It is not only very interesting but also very encouraging. Many thanks!

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  11. Love the endless modernizations of our tradi blocks! Your Dresden is magnifique, as we say in France!

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