I was the lucky recipient of the Island Batik "Peach Blossom" bundle to use for the November Dresden Plate Blog Hop. It is a very pretty collection with yellow, green, beige, peach, brown, tan and gray batiks.
I used the Layer Cake Dresden Plate template by the Missouri Star Quilt Company. The largest size dresden plate on the template is 10", so I decided to make the 10" size. I cut 10" strips from the Peach Blossom fabrics.
Next, I alternated the template along the strip and cut out my dresden plate pieces.
I pressed the pieces in half lenghtwise and chain pieced them. I sewed from the raw edges toward the fold. If you iron the pieces in half, you will be able to line up the point to the crease line later.
Give a little snip in the seam allowance on the fold side to help reduce bulk. Then turn the dresden plate piece right side out. I used a plastic pointer tool to make my point.
Next, I randomly chain pieced two dresden plates together; then the sets of two to make four. I sewed a fifth plate onto the sets of four. I needed twenty dresden plates to make one block. I cut my two background fabrics in to 24-1/2" squares.
For my centers, I used the Bigger Perfect Circles templates by Karen Kay Buckley. I traced the circles onto Bosal Stitch 'n Peel. I used a glue pen and my purple thang to wrap the raw edge to the back of the circle. I used Roxanne's Baste It glue to adhere my dresden plate and circle to the background fabric.
As I was working, I decided that I wanted to make the quilt nine blocks by nine blocks (72" x 72") because the dresden blocks were so large. I did not have enough background fabric, so I am ordering some more, so that I can finish my quilt top.
I zig-zagged the edges of the dresden plates and the circles. I used Aurifil #2326 and Schmetz needles. I also used the Oliso iron.
This is a really nice block to make. Have you seen the other Island Batik Ambassadors' Dresden Plate block projects? They are all so beautiful and creative. Remember, to go over to the Island Batik blog and enter the weekly bundle giveaways - you could win your own Peach Blossom bundle. For December, the ambassadors will be creating anything they would like! My idea is already percolating!
Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting
Megan Best ~ BestQuilter
Pamela Boatright ~ PamelaQuilts
Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany
Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts
Jane Hauprich ~ Stitch by Stitch Custom Quilting
Kim Jamieson-Hirst ~ Chatterbox Quilts
Victoria Johnson ~ Forever Quilting for You
Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
Connie Kresin Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River
Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
Denise Looney ~ A Quiltery
Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack Made Mine
Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion
Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique
Lana Russel ~ Lana Quilts
Julia Schweri ~ Inflorescence Designs
Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
Carol Stanek ~ Stitch with Color
Sandra Starley ~ Textile Time Travels
Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt
Thank you for sharing your beautiful quilt and explaining the process. I love the fabric combination you used and the gorgeous results!
Very pretty, Susan!
Beautiful Susan. I love the fabrics in this collection. The Dresden Plate block is one of my favorites, but I have only made smaller quilts. After seeing all the lovely quilts, I think I would love to make one for my bed. Thank you for sharing today.
Pretty plates or huge flowers.