It's been finished for a few days now..

..since 31 August to be precise. I began it on 11th June 2011. Just under 3 months it took to make this king sized Dresden Plate quilt for my sister. I watched all six seasons of LOST in the making of this quilt. That is a lot of LOST. How I miss Sawyer!

It measures 98" x 98" so I hope like crazy it is big enough for her bed. I didn't get her to measure it as I really wanted it to be a surprise. We have a large queen sized and it's way too big for our bed :( I don't think it'll be dropping to the floor or anything crazy but I hope they can use it as a bedspread.
A labour of love that's for sure.
Why? Why did a novice like me think it would be a good idea to tackle something so ambitious as this quilt?
I have no training. Aside from a bit of sewing at school when I was a kid and mostly supervised by my Mum (who is a super-crafty person by the way) I have picked up a lot of this quilty business from the web. Not having any ideas about how things "should" be done I am breaking no rules and so go about my sewing happily oblivious. I am certain there are easier, more fabric conserving, better methods but I am working it out. The process is important of course, but if at the end of your efforts you have something beautiful and warm and snuggly who really cares how it was achieved?

I used this fantastic tutorial to make the Dresden Plates. I made the initial one so I'd have an idea of how long it was going to take me to make each one, then I sent a pic to my sis to be 100% that this is what she meant. Yep!




Back to the why.
After making both my Mum and little sis quilts for their birthdays in May I kind of expected my other sister to ask for one. I felt ready to tackle something a little bigger than the lap quilts I had already made. I had no idea she would ask for a king sized Dresden Plate quilt. This is how it went down back in June;
Me " What would you like for your birthday?"
She "Ooooh a king sized quilt for my bed"
Me " OK. Any ideas about what you'd like?"
She innocently "Mmmmm, those ones where the love hearts (??!!) all join up and make a flower"
Me (gulp , feeling of dread as I realize I think she means Dresden Plate, a king size!Really!)"Alrighty, maybe you should have a look on the net and send me some pics of what you like"
She "OK"

Minutes after this conversation I got a text that simply read, "I think it's called Dresden Plate."



I'll try and get some snaps of the whole quilt when I have another pair of hands. I really didn't want it sliding off into the dirt. That would have been rubbish. In many of the photos I am very busy ensuring this doesn't happen.
As I said in a previous post, I really only bought the cream background fabric and the batting especially for this quilt. All the petal fabrics are scraps, fat quarters or pretty little bits I've been hoarding for years. The binding fabric is something I picked up at the local craft shop on sale, and just because a red check is cute. The backing, all 11m of it, cost me a couple of bucks in a second hand shop in Newtown years ago.

I am so very proud of this quilt. I do have a habit of embarking on huge, ambitious projects like this ( hexie madness is just another one!) and because I am so unsure of myself, my skills, my patience I don't go out and spend a fortune on fabrics and make the 'ultimate' quilt. I kid myself that it is a practice quilt. Yep, a 25 Dresden Plate, king sized PRACTICE quilt. It would be beautiful in all the stunning 'designer' fabrics I am coveting online but this is a quilt from the heart. Made of scraps that my Mum had hoarded for years before I pinched them. My sister will recognize many of these fabrics. There is one petal of my favourite all time material. it's a navy Liberty of London, I think cherries, I had enough for one lonely petal, but it's in there! And let's be real, quilts originally were about using what was on hand, old blankets, jackets, curtains, whatever.

I am now ready to make an 'ultimate' quilt. I have a birthday coming up and have spent hours agonising and drooling over the pretty bundles that are available. I have purchased some Amy Butler, a lot of Amy Butler (Daisy chain and lotus lines) actually, and some Heather Bailey Popgarden and Bijoux. I have got on this particular wagon a bit late I think as many of the prints I love (and everyone else obviously loved) are available in scant quantities. But I am on it now, so next time I see something I love I will snatch it up.

The goal for the rest of this week is to piece together the rest of the orange-grey-blue quilt for my hubby and get it ready for sandwiching and quilting by the end of the weekend. Meanwhile I am plugging away at the hexagons, they are filling the gap the completion of the Dresden created.

Beaches, quilt alongs and some serious progress

There are some pretty unglamorous, but humorous, photos here. This is what it takes to baste a king sized quilt.



This is the ginormous secret. I'm pretty sure this is a safe place to spill the beans as the recipient a) has no idea abut it, and b) is blissfully ignorant to this blog. I managed to clear our deck and baste this baby one Saturday morning in July (9th to be precise). It was pretty chilly which is why I'm all dressed up in uggies and beanie.


I was a little bit concerned that the gaps between the decking would cause some issues but there really haven't been any. It was a big job, requiring much crawling around.
I used 100% merino wool batting (Heirloom) which came all squished and rolled up in a bag. There were kinks and funny creases all over it despite me taking it out of the bag about a week before to try and "relax" it. There was a lot of discussion on the web as to how to get these kinks out but all methods involved far too much effort and time and I went with the 'she'll be right' attitude. I did my best to smooth the batting as I basted but right up until I was stretching it in the hoop to quilt the kinks remained. It looks like it was the right attitude to take, as far as I can see all the lumps have smoothed out. I'm sure after a wash it'll settle even more.
Don't I look pleased with myself/overwhelmed?

I was cursing the fact that I was using wool for this as it was tricky to baste due to the lumps and bumps. I knew however that it would needle well, breathe beautifully and be perfect for the climate where this quilt will end up.
This morning I made the binding. It's a Lecien check that I picked up on special. Of course I didn't measure anything and just chopped and sewed away happily until I realised there was no way I had enough (I had made 10m!!!!) and had to add another length to an already lengthy tape.



I think it'll look pretty cute.
I have attached the binding and am looking forward to a few loooong evenings of hand stitching the back down. I zig zagged the quilt sandwich edges ( I don't usually do this) to ensure I didn't get any puckers or other mishaps. The backing fabric is a loosely woven, and very fine cotton that is prone to fraying so I thought a bit of reinforcement wouldn't go astray.

It goes without saying that I am looking forward to this project being finished. My hands are sore from holding needle and fabric. I am looking forward to doing something a bit different. I think I will feel pretty proud once it's all done....as long as it survives it's first wash. Always a bit nerve wracking. I started this quilt on 11 June with the first Dresden Plate block and have pretty much worked on it solidly every day since. More photos and background in my next post.




QAL Block #9 - Double star. I played with the layout a bit, and went nuts with the fabric choices. I really like it, although the real design seems a bit lost in all the busy-ness. I just adore the Amy Butler fabrics. I'm partial to many prints from across her lines. Love the colours, prints, spots and especially the large scale florals. I am late on this bus but have my eyes on some awesome bundles online for my birthday in a few weeks. I find I am especially drawn to the navy and aqua/turquoise colourways.





Lastly a few pics from yesterdays adventure. We had a scheduled power outage on the island and the forecast was brilliant so we went to Patonga Beach for a lovely walk and play, some lunch and then to nearby Pearl Beach for an ice cream. It was such a warm Spring day, and the first time my little J-bug dipped his toes in the great big ocean. A great family day out.