Wednesday, November 7, 2012

A mini bit of sewing

Ahhh....Words can't accurately relay how nice it is to have a working machine back and the ability to do something that I enjoy so much. I just wish that I could find more time these days to sew more.

What I did accomplish lately was my addition to the last Modern Mini Mystery Round Robin block that I had to work on before it was sent back home to its owner. The color possibilities for this one were endless but I settled on these four.

A few half square triangles later and my border was done, the mini quilt was packaged up and sent on its way home.

The big reveal of all the Modern Mini Mystery Round Robin quilts is on Nov 19th so mark your calendar so you don't miss seeing all the fantastic creations.

My other recent mini finish is my starter center block for the Quilt U Be Mine Mini Mystery Round Robin.

Considering the fact that I came up with the idea for this round robin and am hosting it, one would think that I knew what I wanted to do for my center block from the onset. False!. Sure I could do a great heart center block, and actually almost did, but for some reason that thought didn't excite me.

I browsed through the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks magazine, a number of other block pattern books and a few websites but still was coming up empty. Then one night close to the deadline, while trying to fall asleep, the perfect idea came to mind, one that really sang to me.

Quite a while ago in a catalog I had seen a picture of a pieced and embroidered Dresden block that caught my attention. That is the look I wanted and since I had recently got an Easy Dresden ruler, this was the perfect opportunity to try it out.
This is what I came up with. I used a variety of light and hot pink fabrics for the blades and used a cross stitch type stitch in red thread for the outer plate edge and center spokes. Portions of it look a bit bunched and wrinkled in this picture and since was my first ever attempt at something like this, I don't know if it is due to the glue stick I used to hold it down while I did the detail stitching which still needed to dry further or if it is something else. Either way, overall I'm happy with the result and already have thoughts of what my next Dresden project will be.

As with the other 2 mini mystery quilts completed lately, it will be fun to see what my group mates add to this center. But you, along with me, will have to wait until Valentine's Day to see the result.


5 of you added your own colorful comments:

Rachel said...

LOVE it!

edyB said...

It's a beauty!

Vicki said...

I like this re: wrinkles did you use a stabilizer under the piece when you did the embroidery stitches? that is usually recommended when machine applique is done so I expect you also need it when embroidering with fancy stitches

Chris Dodsley @made by ChrissieD said...

Loving all those pinks, looks great :)

Chris Dodsley @made by ChrissieD said...

I still love the pinks! Came back to have another look after your comment on my Dresden - I didn't glue, tack or interface the plates down, I just pinned heavily around the centre circle and then pinned the seams and centre at the outer tips of each plate also. Maybe the different heights on my plates allowed more freedom and movement in the fabric at the outer edges and so there wasn't the 'bunching' - pure luck on my part?! Don't have a clue really I'm just waffling a bit I guess!!!