Dizzy with Dresden Plates, Wheee!

Published: Wed, 01/25/17

Hi ,

I'm dizzy with Dresden Plates as I play with all the beautiful combinations we can create with the new Dresden Plate Template Set!

This 10 piece set of templates can cut six different petal shapes which can be mixed and matched with four different edge finishes to create a huge variety of Dresden Plate quilt blocks.

Click Here to learn how to use the templates.

While I was designing these templates I began to think about other possibilities and other creative things we can cut from these shapes.

That's when I realized that templates #1, #3, and #5 could also be used to cut tumbler shapes. Each shape will create a slightly different look and offer many creative ways to play with color and create beautiful tumbler quilts.

But that's not all - I had the templates etched with lines so you can also use them for ruler quilting on your home machine! You can quilt straight lines, circles, arch shapes and more using these templates as a guide.

We will be using these templates to create Dresden Plate Blocks for the Machine Quilting Block Party this year as well as ruler work quilting! For this week only you can save $14 on this template set and be able to cut dozens of Dresden Plates, tumblers, circles, and more. This offer will end on January 30th. Click Here to shop now.

Collaboration Week with Stephanie Soebbing

This is a big collaboration week with Stephanie Soebbing from Quilt Addicts Anonymous. I kicked off the fun on Saturday with a Hello My Quilting Friends podcast episode with Stephanie all about tracking the income of your quilting business.

On Monday I was on Stephanie's podcast Sit and Sew Radio and we're chatting about all sorts of things from how this blog got started to what I'm most passionate about quilting. Click Here to find the episode now.

So what are we creating together?

Stephanie has designed a super cute Strippin Mini quilt that features hundreds of little fabric pieces. It may look complex, but it's actually very easy to piece with her strip piecing technique.

Click Here to find Stephanie's tutorial on piecing this quilt.

When she sent me the quilt, I admit I was a bit intimidated by the design and worried that any quilting design would distract from the beautiful fabrics and piecing design.

Eventually I decided to keep the quilting simple with straight lines in the gray background. To make the quilting easy and fast I quilted with rulers on my home machine. I used one of the templates from the Dresden Plate Template Set as my ruler and quilted straight lines 1/4 inch apart throughout the quilt.

Click Here to learn how to quilt with rulers on your home machine.

Collaborating with another quilter is challenging, but lots of fun and I had a great time working with Stephanie Soebbing on this project. Definitely check out her website Quilt Addicts Anonymous for lots of cool tutorials, videos, and her awesome quilting podcast!

Did You Miss the Quilting Basics Tutorials?

This month I've shared a new series of video tutorials covering all the basics of quilting from preparing your fabric to piecing to free motion quilting. Click Here to find links to all of the tutorials posted so far.

Here are a few tutorials you may want to watch this week:

Free Motion Quilting Tips - Learn how to get started free motion quilting by understanding how this technique works and why it's so different from anything else we do with our sewing machine.

How to Pick Your Thread Color - What color should you use for quilting? This can be a tricky decision and it can make a big impact on your quilts. Learn how to audition your thread colors so you know how it will look over your fabrics before you start quilting.

How to Secure Your Thread Tails - Every time you start or stop quilting, you're going to have loose threads on the front and back of the quilt. Learn how to secure those thread tails so they never come unraveled and don't form a noticeable knot on the front or back of your quilt.

We'll have a few more Quilting Basics Tutorials next month we begin the second block of the Machine Quilting Block Party and learn more about applique.

That's it for this week! I hope you're ready to dive into Dresden Plate quilt blocks with me next month. Make sure to take advantage of the sale and save $14 on the Dresden Plate Template Set.

Let's go quilt,

Leah Day