The theme for the Craftsy Block of the Month in July was Dresdens, so here you go:
First time I've ever made a Dresden plate. Left is traditional, right is modern version.
Me appliqueing with a zigzag stitch for the first time. Good thing you can't see the closeup. It's pretty bad.
Let me know if you have any suggestions for zigzag stitch on applique.
Chain piecing the Dresdens and thought it looked cool! I won the EZ Dresden tool from Barbie and the Quilting Mill awhile back. It really saves you time and is EZ to use :) especially with my rotating cutting mat!
And now on to the Quilt Story Block of the Month for which the theme was simply "rounded."
So I said, let's just make another Dresden plate!!! It's round, why not? Then on the right, you can see I got little play happy with the EZ Drezden ruler and just started randomly sewing them together. For the applique on that one, I did a really tight zigzag so it looks shiny (and uses lots of thread). It was a raw edge, so I wanted it covered. No one ever really taught me the best way to applique, so I will take tips or tricks. I have been using my 505 spray to stabilize. I noticed though that the tighter the stitch it seems to kind of "shrink" your block, like it is slightly puckering up the background fabric as you stitch. Is there a way to avoid that? I suppose I would have made the purple background a bit bigger had I known, then squared off the block to 12.5" Now I will have to remember on that block to do less than 1/4 inch on the seam when I sew the blocks together. Oh well.
I also wanted to mention that the purple thread on the applique I won from Craft Nurse Quilt as part of Kelie's giveaway package.
Happy Friday everyone!
Until next time,
Mike.
6 comments:
Hey, Mike. Your blocks look good. On the zigzag or satin stitch, I've found Harriet Hargrave's book to be the best I've read on the topic. Good luck and keep quilting. Lane
I made my first Dresden Plate (actually a turkey Dresden) today and ended up throwing it away because I hated the stitching I did on it. I've remade it, but I'm dreading the stitching part. Yours looks good to me!
I love your random Dresden block! Try using tear-away stabilizer on the back of your block when you are using a tight zigzag or satin stitch Mike. It should stop the fabric puckering up, it works for me :)
I find the trick is to use a size 8 needle, nylon thread that no one can see, and put on my reading glasses, so I can see. LOL. Your blocks look great.
Hi Mike, I noticed a Pfaf machine in one of the pictures, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing which model you have and if you would recomend. Got my heart set on one and just struggling with the guilt about spending so much money on myself ;)
Your dresdens look great! I'm so glad you're having fun with the ruler. I especially like the purple one on the right.
I don't do a lot of raw edge applique, but I tried a method a while ago with turned edges and a monofilament zig-zag and it worked quite well. I've decided I'm a fan on monifilament in the right applications. Good luck!
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