Happy Dresden Plate Quilts

Sometimes it's just the simplest of quilts that impress the most people! In 2015 I was asked by Windham Fabrics to design a pattern for their Storybook Vacation line of 1930s reproduction fabrics. I thought: Dresden Plates!

Storybook Vacation Dresdens: 34" x 34"

I made a few sample blocks and calculated the fabrics. These were going to be kitted with fabric and my pattern. This uses a 30 degree dresden plate template, so a full circle will have 12 wedges. It's a butterfly because I left off four wedges (2 at the top and 2 at the bottom).

My first prototype Butterfly Block: 10" x 10"

 I tilted the block to see what the "suits" in the offices thought.

Titled Butterfly

We nixed the pink fabric and went with green, yellow and orange.

Auditioned with sashing

Such sweet, sweet fabrics, don't you think? Here's how it appeared in the Keepsake catalog a few years ago. It sold a LOT of patterns. I now sell it in my Etsy store. It is very scrap buster friendly.

Storybook Butterflies: 34" x 34"

Now let's see a few of my previous Dresden quilts made using the 30 degree template. This is the first one, inspired by a vintage Amish quilt from the early 1900s. This is about 25 years old and I still own it. And the Amish doll? I made one of these for each of my 3 daughters a LONG time ago. Yes, I used to sew things that were not quilts!

Amish inspired Dresden Plate quilt

Here's one I made using authentic feed sacks. Same quilt as shown in the Keepsake catalog (10" blocks).

Feed sack Butterflies

I love working with bright prints and combining them with black. This quilt appeared in my first book: Bold, Black and Beautiful (AQS, 2004). It is hanging on the giant quilt rack in the sky with the other 29 quilts that were stolen in 2005.

Butterflies at Night

I remade the quilt above and then donated it to a local charity. It really is a quilt that makes kids smile, don't you think?

More brights and black prints

And one last quilt made using feed sacks and a red background. I originally wanted a dark blue because I saw a vintage quilt like that. But I had red fabric and didn't want to go to the store, so here she is. This is one of 13 quilts on my Shortcuts from a Short Woman CD. You can see all the quilts by visiting this link. This also uses the 30 degree wedge ruler or template.

Feed sacks on Red

Dresden Plate quilts can be made with a variety of rulers/template. These were made using a 30 degree wedge. I've also made a dozen or so using an 18 degree wedge. There are 15, 18 and 10 degree wedges (and probably others I can't think of). I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my oldie-goldie quilts along with some of the newer ones.