Dresden Quilt Workshop Quilt-Along Challenge Week #6

Just one lonely block this week, but it wasn't a quick one!  Admittedly, Suzn Quilts Tiny Dresdens take a little extra time to make (so you have to be patient), but they are SO worth the extra effort!

Argyle Retreat Block

I am using just one fabric collection, "Gratitude" by Jo Morton (Moda), so my color scheme is already set.  I used the coloring sheet provided on Susan Marth's blog to help plan color placement, but even so...it takes time to pull the perfect fabrics for each little unit!  One Argyle Retreat block required 21 different fabrics - that's not easy using only one collection that includes only 4 colors.  Thank goodness that a few of the colors do offer a couple of shade variations!

Back to the design wall!  Last week, Susan let us know that we had completed 1/4 of the quilt - we're starting to get somewhere!

For fun stuff happening today in the blog-o-sphere, check out the link-ups on my sidebar!

~ Heather

Dresden Quilt Workshop Quilt-Along Challenge Week #5

Sorry about being a week late in posting my progress, but who can pass up a week in Washington D.C., walking along the national monuments on the mall, visiting the Smithsonian museums (Museum of Natural History and National Air & Space Museum this time around).  We enjoyed the views of the Pentagon and the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial from our hotel in Arlington and walking the Pentagon City neighborhood.  At the end of the trip, we were able to spend a couple of days with DD1 and her boyfriend.  I cooked a couple of dinners in, we ate a few meals out and visited the most delicious little ice cream shop in Old Town Alexandria (just a few yards above the flood zone). We went fabric shopping and began the cutest Dresden sunflower mug rug projects.  The time went quickly and the weather went from sweltering heat to cool and rainy overnight with the threat of the incoming storm.

Anyway, onto Suzn Quilts' Dresden Quilt Workshop Challenge week #5...

I loved this week's challenge, the Dresden 8-pointed star blocks this week!  Nice and easy!

2 Dresden 8-Pointed Star Blocks

I always like to cut those Dresden backgrounds just a bit larger (1/4 - 1/2") than needed.  I always find that applique tends to shrink up the block just a tiny smidge and it's always better to trim them up later if needed.

Here's my DQWC design wall through week #5.  Now I'm off to finish up week #6...just the lat bit of Dresden applique left to do and then it's on to block assembly!

For fun stuff happening today in the blog-o-sphere, check out the link-ups on my sidebar!

~ Heather

Shoofly Star

 Have you checked out any of the "I Love..." quilt books printed by That Patchwork Place?  I happen to LOVE the "I Love..." books!  So far, I've made quilts from I Love Churndashes and I Love Stars, but you can be sure I've flipped thru the pages of some of the others!

The beauty of these books is they are a complete conglomeration of designs, designers and styles.  There are bright, cheery quilts, muddy Civil War quilts, wallhangings and bed quilts.  It's so much fun to flip thru and see all of the colorways and settings!

I tend to gravitate towards the quilts that will allow my scrap-flag to fly!  I can't resist making a quilts with a controlled or completely scrappy palette.  It's just so fun!

This Shoofly Star quilt, found in I Love Stars, was completed in June 2018.  After choosing the outer border (a Kansas Troubles print) and inner border, I then pulled a bunch of fat quarters that I could mix & match to make the stars.  I love adding golds to make my quilts sparkle and red to make them pop!  The navy blues tend to ground everything and the purples are there to add interest.  Mossy greens soften everything up on a scrappy neutral background.

Shoofly Star

Designer (Book):  Sue Pfau (I Love Stars)

Size: 76.5 x 88""

Featured Fabrics:  asst. Civil War

Quilting:  Florence Panto (Apricot Moon Designs)

Quilting Thread:  Fil-Tec Glide (Lt. Burgandy)

Batting:  Warm & Natural

For fun stuff happening today in the blog-o-sphere, check out the link-ups on my sidebar!

~ Heather

Holiday Blossoms

Each year, I volunteer to make several shop sample Christmas quilts.  Last year, as usual, I fell in love with Holly Taylor's holiday fabrics!  I love that so many of her collections play well together and her seasonal lines are no exception.  For the past few years, Doug Leko has designed pattern books to go with her collections and there are usually several quilts I am interested in making.  I find it so difficult to narrow it down to "THE quilt" for the store displays.

I thought that the Holiday Blossom block design was unique, with a simple, traditional feel.  It's so fun set in a wonky tilt.  The wide pieced border also gives it a warm and scrappy feel that beckons for a good couch cuddle in front of a warm winter fire.

Holiday Blossoms was finished in July 2017, not long after the Forever Green fabric bolts arrived in the store.  I grabbed up the fabrics quickly, before anyone else got to them, and had the quilt finished quickly (the deadline for our Holiday seminar isn't until September)!  Yep, I was excited to work on this project!

Holiday Blossoms

Designer (Book):  Doug Leko (Winterlude)

Size: 70x85""

Featured Fabrics:   Forever Green by Holly Taylor (Moda)

Quilting:  Wintergreen (Patricia Ritter)

Quilting Thread:  Fil-Tec Glide (Lt. Burgandy)

Batting:  Hobbs Heirloom Wool

For fun stuff happening today in the blog-o-sphere, check out the link-ups on my sidebar!

~ Heather

Star Spangled Dresdens

Ever since I saw the Quill fabric line by 3 Sisters, I had been wanting to make something with it.  I love a text print and the soft colors that just met together really make my heart pitter-pat!  Last fall, Jackman's finally got a select few bolts of Quill and I jumped at that chance to make one of Suzn Quilts' tiny Dresden quilts from it!

But...which quilt?  Well, it had to be one with only a few fabrics since I only had a small number of bolts to work from.  And, it had to be a design that would work well with the blendy tones of the Quill line.  Enter Susan's new book Dresden Quilt Workshop!  There were a bunch of small quilts to choose from and I had a tough time just picking one!

Star Spangled Dresdens appears in the book as, you guessed it, a patriotic quilt, but it had just enough design to make it work with the few simple fabrics I had to work with!  Red, white & blue became teal floral print, pale grey print & a darker grey...add in a punch of dark purple for pop and it worked great!

I finished Star Spangled Dresdens December 2017, but now I can't wait to make the rest of the quilts in the Dresden Quilt Workshop book.  I already have fabrics pulled for the next one, but in the meantime, I'm keeping up with Susan's Dresden Quilt Workshop Quilt Along over on her blog!

Star Spangled Dresdens

Designer (Book):  Susan Marth (Dresden Quilt Workshop)

Size: 35x35"

Featured Fabrics: Quill by 3 Sisters (Moda)

Quilting:  Twirly Feathers (Hermoine Agee)

Quilting Thread:  Perma Core Tex 30 (Lt. Grey)

Batting:  Quilter's Dream Orient

For fun stuff happening today in the blog-o-sphere, check out the link-ups on my sidebar!

~ Heather