I remember my grandma making a Dresden Plate quilt many years ago, and I thought,
I will NEVER make one of those!  I think she worked on those Dresden Plates for years,

and it just seemed so hard and so tedious!  But then I discovered the EZ Dresden Ruler by

Darlene Zimmerman, and it took out all of the guesswork!  I fell in love with Dresdens

and have made several Dresden Plate quilts since then!  

So today, I have a little tutorial for you that features one big Dresden Plate.  This is the

perfect project to showcase some of your favorite fabrics and let you try your hand at a

Dresden Plate, if you haven't made one before.  

I'm calling this one Delma's Dresden - in honor of my late grandmother.  It's more modern
than the classic ones she used to make, but I've been wanting to make this kind of Dresden Plate

for a long time.  It doesn't have a center circle appliquéd over the smaller edges of the wedges.

I think it's pretty fun with points on the outside and inside of each wedge.

Supplies Needed:

- 20 bright rectangles, 4" x 6" each

- Cream background fabric: 28" x 28"

- Batting: 28" x 28"

- Backing fabric: 28" x 28"

- Binding fabric: 1/3 yard or a 26" x 26" frame

- EZ Dresen Ruler By Darlene Zimmerman

- Wood Point Turner

- Spray Starch 

- Appli-Glue by Jilily Studio

- Basting pins or spray, walking foot, water soluble pen,

and seam guides if machine quilting it yourself

- Other quiltmaking supplies such as a sewing machine, iron and board,

rotary cutter, ruler and mat, coordinating thread and applique needle, etc.

Step 1. Line up the 2" mark of the EZ Dresden Ruler on the bottom edge of a bright 

4" x 6" rectangle and the top edge of the ruler on the top edge of the rectangle.  

Trim off the sides to create a fabric wedge.  Cut 20 wedges.

Step 2: Fold the wedges in half, right sides together.  Sew across the top and bottom edges using a 

1/4" seam allowance (I did this in a chain, which is why they're in an arc, below left).  

Trim the corners near the folded edges to reduce bulk.  Be careful not to clip the stitches.

Step 3: Press the folded edges with a hot iron to mark the center of the wedges.

Turn the wedges right-side-out and use a wood point turner to carefully push out

the top and bottom points so they are nice and sharp.  Align the seam allowances (on the back side)

with the center crease to make sure the points are centered.  Press the "blades" with a hot iron

(use spray starch to get nice crisp edges).  Make 20.

    
  

Step 4: Using a 1/4" seam allowance, sew the blades together along the long edges,

right sides together.  Make sure the bigger points are aligned at the top and the smaller points

are aligned at the bottom.  Sew the edges of the first and last blades together to create a

Dresden Plate.  Press the seam allowances in one direction.

   

Step 5: Press the background fabric in half with a hot iron, in both directions, to mark the

center of the square.  Center your Dresden Plate on the background fabric over the creases.

Use small dots of Appli-Glue underneath the points of the wedges to adhere the Dresden Plate

in place.  I like to work in quarter sections of the Dresden Plate, just lifting up points of the

wedges and putting a few dots of glue on the back side of each.  Once everything

is glued in place, I like to "set it" with a hot iron.  

Note: My Dresden Plate was off-center here, and I didn't notice until I had already glued

it in place.  Thankfully, the background fabric was cut a little oversized, so I had room to

center it later when I squared everything up and cut it down to size.

Step 6. Applique the Dresden Plate to the background fabric.  I hand-appliqued mine using

taupe colored thread.  If you don't like to hand-stich, you could machine appliqué it

with a simple top-stitch or decorative stitch.  Carefully press

the quilt top with a hot iron.

Step 7: Lay down your backing fabric (wrong side up) on a smooth surface.

Then layer with a piece of batting and your quilt top (right side up).  Use basting pins to

secure the 3 layers together, placing pins 3-4 inches apart.

Step 8: Quilt as desired.  I used my walking foot and seam guides to quilt

diagonal lines (both directions) 1" apart.  I like to increase my stitch length a little when I'm

machine quilting so the stitches aren't too tiny and once in a while I had to use a water soluble pen

and a ruler to mark a few of the lines. I used matching cream thread and avoided the

Dresden Plate as I stitched the diagonal lines.  My machine has a button to create a knot so I used that whenever I had to stop or start a new line.  Once I was done with that part, I went back and

stitched in the ditch around the entire Dresden Plate and each blade.  There was lots of starting and stopping as I tried to reduce the amount of overlapped stitching.

Step 9.  Square up the quilt to your desired size.  Then bind or frame it.

If binding it, use 3 strips, 2-1/2" x 40" each.

I trimmed off as little as possible and then my husband built a 26" x 26" frame for it.  

I got 1/4" plywood for the back (Home Depot sells 26" x 26" boards)

and 1" x 2" wood boards for the sides (I believe we used alder).  My husband assembled

the frame and notched out space with a router for the plywood and quilt.  I stained it

and then he attached some simple hardware to the back so we could hang it.

He assembled everything and then he trimmed off any excess quilt that was poking out

behind the plywood with a sharp Exacto knife.

I love how it turned out and am so thankful to my husband for building the frame!

This would be super cute bound like a normal wallhanging or turned into a pillow

if you don't have the means to build a frame. 

Let me know if you decide to make this project!  Even better, you can send me photos at gigisthimble@hotmail.com or tag me on Instagram at @gigis_thimble.  I'd love to see it!

This is a fun way to showcase your favorite fabrics or try your hand at a Dresden Plate,

applique, or machine quilting.  I used strike-off (sample) fabrics from my latest fabric collection

with Riley Blake Designs called Honey Locust.

Thanks for stopping by today and please let me know if you have any questions!

Alpine Paper Piecing Block

 Hi friends!

Today I have a little freebie for ya!

My local quilt guild is doing a sampler quilt this year

and they've asked every member to contribute one

9" finished quilt block pattern and sample block.

Every month 3 people will share a pattern.

We can make our own sampler quilt using the patterns

in whatever colors we choose but for the 

sample blocks we are supposed to use bright colors.

Once everyone has shared their pattern we'll put all of 

the sample blocks into a charity quilt to donate. Sounds fun right?

So today I am sharing my block pattern with you!

We're supposed to share a block pattern that represents something we like or a 

quilting method we like to do.  Well, I live in Alpine, Utah

and I'm surrounded by big, beautiful mountains!  

I love to hike and enjoy the beautiful views around me.  

Here's a picture of me and some friends from last summer. 

These mountains are in American Fork Canyon and they're 

just a short drive from my house!

I combined my love of the mountains with my love of paper piecing

and designed this block called the Alpine block.

The green Flying Geese and brown Plus represent trees and the pink

corners represent mountains.  The blue represents the sky.

I think this block would be cute in any colorway though

and when put together with more blocks in alternating colors it creates a cool

secondary pattern reminiscent of a design you would see

in a kaleidoscope!

Basic paper piecing knowledge is required for this block.

I am not going to explain how to paper piece here but I do have some tutorials

that I've done in the past that you might find helpful if you're

new to paper piecing or just need a refresher on this method.

The Original Pineapple Block Blog Post Tutorial

How to Paper Piece a Scrappy Pineapple Block Printable Instructions

YouTube Pineapple Block Paper Piecing Video

MATERIALS NEEDED FOR 1 BLOCK:

- Alpine Paper Piecing Pattern

- Elmers washable glue stick

- Scissors

- Rotary cutter, acrylic ruler & cutting mat

- Sewing machine, coordinating thread & iron

- Trash bin

- 4 pink 4" squares (mountains)

- 8 green 2-1/2" x 4" rectangles (trees)

- 2 brown 2" squares (tree trunks)

- 1 brown 1-1/2" x 4-1/2" rectangle (tree trunks)

- 8 blue 2-1/2" x 5" rectangles (corner sections)

- 4 blue 2" squares (tree base section)

- 16 blue 3" squares (Flying Geese corners)

ASSEMBLY

Step 1: Print the pattern HERE.

The printed tree sections with trunks should

measure 3-1/2" x 4-1/2" from the outer thin black lines.  

The rest of the sections should all measure 3-1/2" x 3-1/2".

Roughly cut the sections apart.

Step 2: make 4 of the corner sections. 

Trim each completed section on the outer thin black lines.

Each section should measure 3-1/2" x 3 1/2".

Step 3: make 4 of the tree sections

(2 of them have trunks on them and 2 do not).

Trim each completed tree section on the outer thin black lines.

The tree sections without trunks should measure 3-1/2" x 3 1/2".

The tree sections with trunks should measure 3-1/2" x 4-1/2".

Step 4: Sew a brown 1-1/2" x 4-1/2" to the bottom of a tree with trunk section.

Press and trim the excess brown fabric.

Sew the remaining tree with trunk section to the bottom of the above unit 

as shown below and press.

Step 5: Lay out all of the sections as shown below. 

6. Sew the corner sections and trees without trunk sections together

in rows as shown below.  Press.

7. Sew the rows together.  Press and carefully remove all of the paper so as to

not stretch the fabric or pull out any stitches.

The block should measure 9-1/2" x 9-1/2" unfinished.

I hope you enjoy this free pattern!  Please let me know

if you have any questions and if you decide to use this pattern

and post about it on Instagram please tag me @gigis_thimble and

use the hashtags #gigisthimblepattern and #alpineblock.

Happy quilting!

Quilters' Spring Cleaning 30-Day Challenge

Jessica Dayon and I enjoyed the Quilter's Spring Cleaning 30-Day Challenge 

that we hosted last year so much that we decided to do it again!

The challenge will begin on Thursday, April 1st, and end on Friday, April 30th.

It will include 30 tasks that will help you get your sewing space clean and organized!

We'll be talking about it daily in Instagram stories so be sure to follow along there for tips!

Her Instagram handle is @jessicadayon and mine is @gigis_thimble.

Here is the list of tasks:

1. Organize a drawer

2. List all projects & kits

3. Organize rulers

4. Purge unwanted projects/kits

5. Sort scraps

6. Organize red, pink & yellow fabrics

7. Change rotary blades

8. Clean off one surface – chair, table top, etc.

9. Organize orange & green fabrics

10. Organize threads

11. Pre-wind bobbins

12. Organize blue & purple fabrics

13. Organize books and magazines

14. Piece batting remnants

15. Organize black, grey & brown fabrics

16. Clean & oil sewing machine, replace needle

17. Wash or replace ironing board cover

18. Organize white & low-volume fabrics

19. List 12 WIP goals & make corresponding slips of paper. 

Each month pull out a slip of paper & work on that goal.

20. Organize patterns

21. Clean iron

22. Organize a drawer

23. Organize pre-cuts

24. Inventory supplies & notions, make shopping list

25. Dust shelves, tables, window sills & baseboards

26. Clean cutting mat

27. Organize yardage 

28. Make backings for WIPS

29. Make bindings for WIPS

30. Remove all trash & vacuum

If you'd like to print the list out, click HERE

for the Quilter's Spring Cleaning 30-Day Challenge PDF we've created for you!

So who wants to join us in getting our sewing spaces in tip-top shape?

Are you up for it?

Be sure to tag Jessica @jessicadayon and myself @gigis_thimble

on Instagram if you decide to join!  We'd love to be there to cheer you on!  

Oh, and we'll be using the hashtag #quiltersspringcleaning for this challenge.

Talk to you soon!

Stash Hash Quilt-Along: Week 2

Good morning!  Welcome to week 2 of the Stash Hash Quilt-Along.

The assignment for this week is to do all the cutting for your chosen quilt size.

Note: If you're doing a scrappy background it may take longer to do the cutting.

You're welcome to cut fabric each week as needed but if you take the time

to do all the cutting this week it will make the assignments for weeks 3-12 to go a lot faster.

I have a time-saving tip for cutting the non-scrappy background fabric.

Check out my tutorial for Quick Rotary Cutting.  

Follow the idea there to cut your background strips 

and then crosscut into squares or rectangles.

To quickly cut the 5" squares on the diagonal once, keep your 

squares in place on your cutting mat while you make the diagonal cuts.   

You should be able to cut through several squares

(in adjacent rows) in one swoop as shown in the next few photos.

Be careful not to bump or move the pieces as you move the ruler to the next diagonal.

Cut through all of the squares once.

And voila!  You'll have all of the triangles 

needed for the star point HST's cut in a snap!

You can use the Quick Rotary Cutting method 

to cut all of the background pieces.

It will take a little more time to cut your bright fabrics but

enjoy seeing those pretties that you've treasured for so long!

This is when you get to plan the color scheme for each star.

After you finish cutting you will be all ready to start sewing next week.

I think you're going to LOVE seeing these blocks come together!

So that's it for this week!

Tell me below what size quilt you're making.

I'd love to see your progress on Instagram if you decide to share.

Please tag me @gigis_thimble and use the hashtags

#gigisthimblepattern, #stashhashquilt, and #stashhashqal 

so I don't miss a thing.

Also, just to let you know, I decided to continue sending the weekly reminders.

It seemed like a lot of you appreciate getting them and I am happy to do it.

Thanks for your input on that!

Have a great week!

Amber