Sunday, July 4, 2010

A Quilty 4th of July Lift-Off

Some of you may remember back in May when P. from The Way I Sew It gifted me this lovely Dresden Plate. I blogged about it here.  At the time, P. was part of the  Dresden Plate Party hosted by Kristen at So Happy.  As P. blogged about the process and what she planned to do with the Dresden Plates she'd made, I put a not so subtle beg in the comment section.  It worked!  This lovely Dresden Plate soon arrived in my mailbox.  I was one lucky quilter!

When I received the Dresden Plate, I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it.  It would become the center medallion for a small wall-hanging.  And although I've not worked on the wall-hanging physically since I received the Dresden Plate, I've been doing mental gymnastics trying to decide just how to show off its beauty the best.

I finally decided that a simple layout would be the surest way to do this lovely Dresden Plate justice, and so with the wonders of EQ (Electric Quilt), I auditioned several ideas.  This is the layout that I like the best.  (With the exception of the black background, ignore the colors.  I couldn't satisfactorily copy the colors in P.'s Dresden Plate, and the other colors are still up for debate.)


The Dresden Plate itself measures 13" in diameter.  The finished wall-hanging will measure 24".  The ribbon blocks on the outer border will be only 2" square.  Might be a bit of a challenge, but they are very simple to construct.

I'm excited that I can finally turn my attention to this project.  To that end, I did cut out the 16 1/2" black square to which the Dresden Plate will be appliqued.  Getting the Dresden Plate wall-hanging project off the ground was a fun way to spend 4th of July morning. 

I wish everyone a wonderful Independence Day!

7 comments:

  1. It's going to look beautiful, and what a lovely way to show off P's handiwork.

    I was thinking this past weekend about doing a dresden quilt. I think that would be a year long project for me. Maybe next year !

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  2. It is beautiful, I love your wall hanging design, and you are one lucky girl to get one of P.'s dresden plates!! Congratulations! I can't wait to see the finished quilt!

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  3. Wow, great design! I really like that ribbon border!

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  4. Lucky you! It's going to look so wonderful! I love the design you have created. I love the ribbon border. I'll have to remember that. Happy 4th to you!!

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  5. This is going to be a gorgeous! Can't wait to see the finished wall quilt!

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  6. "I've been doing mental gymnastics trying to decide..."

    This is how I seemingly do everything. That is, once the seed of inspiration is planted. And once planted, it needs to be fed to grow - or fester - which is sometimes what it feels like. Feeding can also come in just as many forms as inspiration. A scent, a look, a desire, a drink, music; anything really which touches upon our senses.

    I like everything about how yours came out.

    The colors, the background, the border - everything. Sometimes that happens by accident, but rarely. And sadly some wait for that accident of brilliance to occur. But not you. By practicing `mental gymnastics` you get better and better at it as with all things you practice, the eventuality of which is shown here: Success without measure.

    Everytime I look at it I see something new.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  7. Beautiful border, Michelle - what a brilliant way to use the triangles for that stunning border.

    Thanks for your kind words on my featured quilt. :)

    Happy Quilting.

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Your comments brighten my day. :-)