Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Dresden Love

Have you been noticing the popularity of Dresden Plate quilts these days? They seem to be popping up all over the place, even in some modern projects. This  pretty aqua, navy and green block is for Rene' who is this month's queen bee for the Mid-Century Modern Bee.
It was enjoyable picking the analogous fabrics from my stash to create the block. If you haven't tried one, you really should as they are fun and easy to make using the acrylic ruler by Darlene Zimmerman. The pattern, one of the most popular in the 1920's and 30's, gets it's name from Dresden, Germany, the center for 19th Century Romanticism movement in art including elaborately decorated plates.
My head has been turned by the lovely pattern in my own quilt making. Remember this? Well, after accidentally cutting all of the blades for my quilt a little larger than my original test block I had an extra block floating around. Needing a sweet dolly blanket for a certain grand daughter's Christmas gift, I immediately thought of my spare block.
 A search through the Lollyquiltz Stash Closet produced the perfect lavender background for my floral block. I quickly backed it pillowcase style and then top-stiched on the dresden, stitching in the ditch along each blade to quilt it as I machine appliqued the block to the quilt.
 The little pine bed came from IKEA and I spray painted it hot pink. At $19.99 it is a great bargain for such a sturdy little bed! The beds must really be in demand as Christmas gifts as they were out of stock and I had to wait for a new shipment! Whew...thank you elves, for your hard work! 
 The bed comes with a little blanket and mattress pad but they really weren't very cute so, of course, I made some bedding to coordinate with the doll quilt. I think that the fabric (again, from my stash) looks a little like vintage sheets, don't you?
Baby bear tested the mattress, pillow and quilt for me and found them to be quite comfortable.
There may have even been visions of sugar plum dancing in his head!

17 comments:

  1. Beautiful block and the doll (teddy) quilt is adorable!! She'll love it! Nice touch with the pink paint too :)

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  2. Love the Dresden's, especially the sweet doll quilt. The bed turned out great - I'm sure your granddaughter(s) will love it! A Dresden plate quilt is on my quilty bucket list. :)

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  3. I still love dolls after all these years. Your quilt and bed are precious!

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  4. Ohhhh so sweet! I love Dresdens...they just scream happy! Can you believe, I have never been to Ikea!!!

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  5. How absolutely darling! Lucky grand daughter. It's just the sweetest thing Carla

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  6. This is absolutely adorable--love that Dreddan and the coordinating set...hugs, Julierose

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  7. Love your block for Rene and the sweet little bed quilt. I really liked making the Dresden block too.

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  8. Teddy looks most comfortable in his new bed and tucked up with his blanket! Dresdens are such a fun block to make, and yours is gorgeous!

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  9. the little quilt and pillowcase are adorable! I have had Dresdens on my mind lately too. I am thinking of small ones....the wheels are turning.

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  10. You are so creative!! Dresdens do seem to be popping up.

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  11. c'est superbe , merci beaucoup
    je pense aussi a faire un tapis pour la table ronde des poupées , avec des cravates j'ai fais un cache pied de sapin
    biz isa

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  12. Yes, the fabric does look like vintage sheets and the whole bed is adorable - especially with its hot pink paint job! I am a sucker for Dresden plates. Do they ever go out of fashion?

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  13. That is so precious! I bet she's going to love the bed and bedding. This week I cleaned a couple of doll quilts that my grandmother made for me back in the 1960's. I want to hang them as mini-quilts in my sewing room. Your granddaughter may do the same with her dresden doll quilt in 40 or 50 years!

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  14. What a lucky little girl and arent you a great granny to make something so lovely! Merry Christmas to you and yours.

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  15. Absolutely darling! Your decision to paint the bed hot pink is spot on. And yes, the sheets, and quilt all look quite vintage. Perfect. I'm happy for you to have had a Zimmerman Dresden ruler for making René's block. I had to use the template and then learned, after making the block, that the template isn't the same size as the ruler. René accepted my Dresden anyway, but I feel badly that it's SO different, with a six inch (plus) diameter circle in the center. The Dresden you made for her is gorgeous! Yes, it does make one want to sew Dresdens, doesn't it?

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  16. This is so so cute! And I can't believe I never said so before! (And I hope this goes through, fingers crossed!) :)

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