Trouble Shooting Dresden Plate Mini Quilt

So you're going to do it, you're going to make a Dresden Plate mini quilt, let me go over some things that will make it easier for you.

When picking your fabric, it's nice to lay them out and make sure they all play nice together.  It's nice to get a variety of scale, so some small print and some large.  Mix up geometric with organics with solids.  If you're stuck on a fabric choice, go with black.  It ties in with almost everything and adds a nice visual punch.

If you're not feeling a fabric...go with your instincts.  It's much better to keep trying until you get something you like, than settling and never really liking what you chose.

The blocks don't have to line up in the middle, as long as your circle is big enough to cover any gaps, you can go with a piece of fabric that's maybe less than 6" long.  For instance, the navy blue in this picture...was a bit longer than 5", but far from the 6" you're supposed to have...but I liked it, so I went with it.

If you're wild and you punch through your stitching when making the point, don't fret, just make another stitch line 1/8" down.  See a couple pictures above, you're not going to ruin your Dresden if they're not all the same length in the middle....it's going to get covered up.

I like to repeat a couple of my fabric choices throughout the Dresden, but I like my middles to be completely different.  I don't want my middle to run into one of the spindles. 

Thanks for reading!

Heather

Mini Quilts for Christmas....Dresden Plate Tutorial

The how-to on my new favorite quilt.  It's fast and easy...everything I want in a quilt and everything a 20 year old boy wants in a girlfriend....

Let's get to it.  Click this link to see all the mini quilts I have completed as of now... and if you are making a Dresden, Check out my post on Trouble Shooting Dresden Plate's  If you want, refer to my rules on cutting...so you don't lose a finger. It's important, okay?

Figure out your color scheme.  I typically have an idea what colors I am going for so then I begin the try-out process.  Knowing the fabric you want the Dresden to sit on, is not immediately important as you sew the Dresden together first.

Typically the Dresden plate uses a template to cut out each of the pieces of fabric.  This means you have to do a lot of tracing and I find tracing boring.  So you are going to get my slightly less accurate but much more fun version.

I have made the above diagram so you know exactly where you need to cut.  So, when I refer to point 1 to point b you will know exactly what I am talking about.  You are going to use your cutting mat as a guide.

Cut 20 pieces of fabric into a 3" by 6" strip and then match the strip up with the squares on your cutting mat.  You want your strip of fabric to cover exactly 3" across and 6" down on your mat as this is your cutting guide.

Place your ruler diagonally as seen in the above picture: From Point 1 across to Point b.  You want to line it up as perfectly as you can corner to corner.  Cut.  The goal is to cut your strips into a block that's 3" on one side, tapered down to 1" on the other side.  Then repeat with the other side: Place your ruler from Point 2 across to point c.  Cut.

3. Repeat with the 19 other pieces of fabric.

Now fold your strip in half, right sides together (across the 3" side).  Sew, using 1/4" seam along the edge.  Make sure to back stitch to ensure your stitching stays put.

Keep on going until all your blocks are sewn in half.

Snip the corner.  Make sure you don't cut into your stitches, that is bad.  The reason you are doing this is so you can get a nice tight point.

Flip your pieces right-side out.  Using something with a point (I am using a screw driver), you are going to push out your fabric right where you stitched and make it nice and pointy.  You want the triangle portion to be as straight across as possible.  This ensures that all your points are nice and even.

Press it flat.

Do you see the genius of this move?  I always thought you had to applique Dresdens, but by doing this sweet move, you have a finished edge and don't have to applique.  I love it!

Arrange your Dresden how you want it to look.

Time to sew.  Place two blocks, right sides together.  The most important thing is that the corner points line up.  If they don't, the concave portions will be uneven and unsightly.  The convex parts aren't touching, so you don't notice if they're slightly longer or shorter than the others.  Sorry to get all...concave and convex on you there, but I didn't know how else to explain it.  Stitch using 1/4" seam allowance.  Make sure to back stitch up there at the top.  You don't have to back stitch at the bottom.

Continue until everything is sewn together in a complete circle.

Press your seams.

Start auditioning for middle circle fabric and fabric that the Dresden sits on.

Make your quilt sandwich.  Cut the layers about 20" x 20". Back fabric, backside up.  Bat.  Top fabric, right-side up.

Place Dresden squarely in the middle.  I like to measure this, but you can eyeball it.

Pin in place.  Be careful not to shift your layers because you don't want creases.  I pinned all over the Dresden itself and along the edge of the quilt.

Using ruler and marking pen, draw your sew lines.  They will more or less line up diagonally with another block.

The great thing about this, is you are going to sew your Dresden in place and quilt the whole dang thing at the same time!!

I am using the back because it's easier to see my stitches.

Stitch on either side of all Dresden blocks.  The reason for drawing your lines in the middle is you can just sew straight through and over to the other side.  Thus, not having to start and stop so much.

Now using a scant stitch, stitch around the outer edge of the Dresdens.  All along the concave and convex parts.  Make sure when you are turning the quilt, to keep your needle down, lift up the presser foot and shift the quilt.  This makes it so you only have one line of stitching and not a bunch of starts and stops.

I then stitched a 1/4" outline around the edge of the Dresden.  Makes it pretty.

Time for the center!

Choose something circular that's big enough to cover the hole in the middle.

Trace using a marking pen on the right side of the fabric.  Cut the circle out 1/4" bigger than your pattern. You are going to machine applique this in place.  You could also use iron on transfer and avoid appliqueing all together.

Fold circle in half and then in half again so you can get the exact middle.

Pin in place.  

Very carefully start folding under your excess fabric and using a scant stitch, stitch in place.  I like to use a pin to help me push under the fabric and get it nice and round.  Nothing worse than a wonky circle.

 

Finally, use your favorite binding technique and you have a finished quilt.  You can add a sleeve on the back before binding so the recipient can use it as a flag or hang it up using a quilt rod...or you can do like I often do and just pin it up.  

Personalize these to fit the tastes and personalities of the recipients.  You will have as much fun making them and customizing them as they will receiving them.  And seriously, 4 hours to completion!  Amazing!

Thanks for reading!!

Heather

Mini Quilts for Christmas...Dresden Plate fun!

You might be hearing a lot about Christmas in July right now, and for good reason.  If you are wanting to make crafts for Christmas, it is best to get started early.  Like, now.  Click here for my Dresden Plate Mini Quilt Tutorial

I have a fun quilt project that can be made, and I'm serious, from start to finish in four hours.  Okay, four hours might seem like a long time for the average project, but....start to finish on a quilt?  WOOHOO!   Take it and run, baby!   Tomorrow I'll show you the how-to...but for now we're just going to have some eye-candy fun.

I'm going to show you four of these mini quilts that I have finished. I have another currently in the works, as we speak.  I so love making these that I think I've decided to make a quilt-as-you-go quilt with Dresdens.  I am going to be all Dresden'd out before too long.  Luckily they only take four hours...and less if I'm not binding them!  Let's check out what I've got done.

Love the fun fabric behind the Dresden on this.  Wanna know a secret, it's actually fabric from a table cloth.  Go ahead and experiment with different textiles.  This project is low commitment, you can mix it up and if it fails...it won't break your heart to start over.

 

Upholstery fabric in the middle and pillow ticking behind.

So pretty, this one uses a low-volume, print fabric behind the Dresden.  It almost looks like a simple light gray, but it's not!

I really enjoy the solid gray on this quilt.  It allows the Dresden to really stand out.  The neutrals were fun to work with, but I couldn't resist and there's a dash of color in a couple of the prints as well as the binding.

Click here for the easy Tutorial

Thanks for reading!

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Heather

Trend Alert!!!

Because...I'm so hip to the hop to the hippity....right.  Enough of that.  I did perform a rap in my 6th grade core class...it was pretty amazing.  Why did I not pursue the dream?

Back to topic at hand.  I have two trend alerts coming your way, and I happen to think they're both great!!! 

Dresden Plate quilt patterns and the color combo of aqua and navy.

See ya chevron, we're back to Dresden.  Actually, I'm not 100% sure the Dresden Plate trend ever went away officially, but I am seeing a lot of posts about them recently, so there is a resurgence. Love both of these trends. So, come on folks, jump on the band wagon.  I'm going to do a post about making the Dresden Plates...probably next week, but just know they are my new favorite thing to make.  Lots of fun and quick and easy!  Everything I love in a quilt.

Thanks for reading.

Heather

Girl Ninja Turtle Party...The Games

Alright, I already confessed that I am a bit of a dud when it comes to parties.  I try my darndest, but...well, sometimes the results are questionable.  I will never be one of those fancy ladies who plan the perfect party with the perfect decorations along with the perfect snacks that all coordinate with each other.  I want to be one of those ladies, but it's just not me.  Luckily my great friend Nat from Northshore Days was there to help me out this year.

I was bemoaning the fact that all I had planned for My Youngest's B-day party was a Slip 'n Slide...which while loads of fun, just didn't seem like enough.  She had two fabulous suggestions which rounded out my daughter's party perfectly.

The Lolly Toss...aka fun without the piñata

A big thank you to my Father in Law, Stan for taking some of these pictures...which I have stolen, gratefully.

Not only was I griping about the fact that I didn't have anything planned, I was also whining about how much I dislike piñatas.  She suggested the lolly toss, which for everybody who isn't a Brit, Kiwi or Aussie, that's where you take a giant bag of candy, throw it all over the yard and...1...2...3...GOOOOOOOO!!   The kids thought this was so much fun and it was better than a piñata by about a million.  You throw the candy far and wide for the big kids but keep some close for the littles.  Ginger the dog also enjoyed the lolly toss...a lot.  What's so good about this is there's not a giant pile up of candy, kids and elbows in one spot.  There's lots of room for them and they have to run for the treats, so it's fun for the adults to watch.

Egg Balance...without the Eggs

 

This game is great too.  We used Ring Pops instead of eggs and had the kids balance them on a spoon and walk around the Slip 'n Slide...that was it.  I wish I could say there was a grand finale, I was thinking we'd have all the winners compete against each other but then there was drama where My Oldest had a smaller spoon and so she felt she automatically qualified for the next round...but that made the numbers uneven...well, I decided it was time for cake after that!

The party was a success in great part to Nat's wonderful suggestions.  So, if you are planning a birthday and have no ideas...these worked out perfectly!

Thanks for reading!

Heather

Girl Ninja Turtle Party Week!!! Turtle cupcakes!

My Youngest has a love for the Ninja Turtles.  So a Ninja Turtle party is in order.  Enter me....not a party planner, but an enthusiastic attempter.  Ready for the fail of the party?  I am just starting this week of birthday fun off with the most epic fail when it comes to kids birthday cakes.  In fact, I think I might have to enter my own self on that website devoted to cake fails.

Oh crap.  Blood gushing from the mouth turtle...I suppose I could say this turtle was just engaged in a vicious battle to save planet Earth...but, maybe not exactly the motif my darling daughter was thinking for her cupcakes.

The "writing" frosting I purchased...let's say, was a bit runny.  The pre-made eyes, though...totally worth buying (even though they weren't delicious).  I had other ideas in mind when I was thinking about how to make the eyes...they involved white chocolate apeels and black writing frosting.  Now we know how well the writing frosting works, glad my eyes weren't dependent on it. 

FAIL!!!

That one became The Mister's cupcake and all others had no mouths.

Blue turtles for the boys and pink for the girls.  I also had a vision on how to make their masks with this sanding sugar...it didn't exactly go as planned, but I still liked how they turned out. 

Devoured with gusto.

My daughter loved her cupcakes and I felt pretty good about how they turned out.

Thanks for reading!

Heather

Do as I'm doing...ANZAC Biscuits.

I made ANZAC biscuits, and I really, really liked them.  ANZAC (and I'm going off memory here so everyone, please cut me some slack if I get it a bit wrong) means Australia New Zealand Army Corps.  They were the men and women from Australia who fought in....WWII...again, I hope I am correct.

So, you've got your son or daughter fighting over seas, what's a "mum" (gotta do it when talking about these "biscuits"), to do?  Make them cookies.  But, make sure they are going to survive the long distances and time in transit to get to your loved one, while still tasty.  So those crafty ladies invented a cookie that can go the distance.

Vocabulary Lesson Of the Day:
Biscuit: Cookie.  You might be asking yourself, well, then what do they call actual biscuits?  Nothing.  They don't have them.  They have scones.  If you hail from Utah, not Utah scones either.  Those really should be called Fry Bread.
Golden Syrup:  Syrup.  But, a kind we don't have much here.  It's more complex than corn syrup, but not as gnarly as molasses, think...caramalized sugar.  Very delicious.  I bought mine through Amazon.  But I also found it at my local grocery store.  Look around, you'll have to do some searching, but you can find it.  It is going to cost a grundle though.  Be prepared.
Mum:  Mom.  Mummy (mommy) can also be used.  Not sure about mumu (momma)...I mean, a mumu is a giant dress my mum used to lounge about in the house in the 80's.
Celsius:  0 is actually freezing and 100 is boiling vs. 32 and 212 in Fahrenheit
Grams:  Metric system.  Learn it people.  It's good...except when you have to use one stick of a butter and the bittiest smidge of another stick in order to get to 125 grams.
Bicarb Soda: Baking soda.
Dessicated Coconut: Regular, sweetened coconut
Kiwi:  Somebody from New Zealand

This is Mel from Mellywood's Mansion's, recipe.  Click here for the goodness.

Here's what I learned making these...

170 C. is 338 F.  Well, okay then.  So I used 345 F., I think.  Now because of this, I needed to cook my cookies for a shorter duration than Mel calls for.  She cooks hers for 15 minutes.  I cooked mine for about 12.  They are going to come out of the oven soft and a bit squishy, but that's what you want, as long as they're golden brown, they'll firm up.

Store your golden syrup in the fridge, according to Nat, from Northshore Days, who is a South African/Kiwi hybrid She says if you don't...the ants will get in it.  Gross.

Oh, and once you've added the baking soda to the melted butter/syrup combo, that's when you add the dry ingredients.

My Oldest gives them the thumbs up.

My Youngest also gives likes them...a lot!....and this is what she's doing for smiles these days.  sigh  Did your kids go through a phase where they wouldn't just smile, but grimace, thinking they are smiling.

Me.  Dunking mine in milk...because, well, that's what I do.  So yummy!

 

Making these cookies is a must.  You are almost guaranteed to have the ingredients on hand, they're quick and easy and so, so good!  Thanks Mel and Nat for introducing me to these Southern Hemisphere delights.

Thanks for reading!

Heather

 

You better watch it big guy

We have a fierce chicken protector...and it's a good thing because dog and cat want to have chicken snacks....every second of every day.

No dogs and cats better mess with my chickens.

Sitting down on the job.  sigh.  Cross fingers the chickens survive.

Thanks for reading!

Heather

Frito Pies....Because sometimes that's how we do things over here.

Now look, I know this isn't exactly what some people would call a recipe.  But, I when I told people this is what I was having for dinner tonight, several of them had no idea what I was talking about...granted two of them are from the Southern Hemisphere....but I can't let this go on another moment!  Frito Pie time!

This is a fun and unique meal to try sometime.  As long as your children are up for fun and unique meals to eat.  Mine...if it isn't something they've eaten before in their lives, they are highly skeptical and reluctant to try it.   But, I got these bags of Fritos from a church social last weekend (they were what were left of the variety pack), and have been holding onto them for the perfect time to make my kids expand their culinary horizons...if you can call it that.

 There are only three ingredients in it...which makes it a winner in my book.

And very little work involved.  Here goes....

Frito Pies

Shred some cheese.
Open individual packets of Fritos, one for every person who is eating that night.
Heat can of chili.   You could be much more gourmet than I was and actually make chili, which would be much tastier than the canned variety.

Pour chili into bag of Fritos, top with cheese and proceed to eat Frito Pie out of bag with a spoon.  You can also top these with a myriad of ingredients.  Anything you'd put on chili would be great!

Here are my children eating their very first Frito Pie.

This is how our conversation went.

My Oldest:  I'd rather drink my smoothie.
Me:  Eat your Frito Pie first.
My Youngest: Are you sure this is actual food?
Me: Yes, now eat!  
My Oldest:  Tastes alright, I guess I can eat this.
My Youngest: Do I really have to have a bite?
Me: Yes, you'll like it, it's got chips and cheese, you like cheese!
My Youngest:  heavy sigh.  Oh, Alright.
::::::::::::::::
Silence...Thinking about the daunting task ahead of her of eating something...different....
:::::::::::::::
 chew, chew, chew, chew...swallow.
:::::::::::::::
My Youngest: How many more bites do I have to have?
Me: heavy sigh.  Two more bites.
My Youngest:  Okay, two more bites.

Thanks for reading!

Heather

Lemon Lime Dream Bars

If you are a fan of lemon bars, please give these a try.

If you are a fan of creamy, yummy goodness, please give these a try.

If you are a fan of...just try these, okay?  I was completely, pleasantly surprised when I made these bars for a barbecue a few weekends ago.  In charge of bringing a dessert, and I didn't know what I wanted to make, something different, something not chocolate, something just right for outdoor eating.  These were it.  I mean, I couldn't have chosen better. 

I personally like the combination of lemon and lime because the lemon calms down the extreme tartness of lime, and the lime adds a punch of tang to the mellow...yellow....lemon.

 

 Lemon Lime Dream Bars

Crust Ingredients

5 oz. Graham Cracker Crumbs

3 Tbl. Brown Sugar

Pinch of Salt

4 Tbl. butter, melted

Filling Ingredients

2 oz. softened cream cheese (I know this seems like a tiny amount, but it is correct)

1 Tbl. combination zest of lime and lemon (I just eyeballed this, used zest of 1 lime and 1-2 lemons)

1-14 oz. can of Sweetened Condensed Milk

Pinch of Salt

1 Egg

1/2 C. Fresh lemon and lime juice.  I juiced 1 lime and the rest of the 1/2 cup of juice was from lemons.  I would recommend having 3 lemons on hand.

Green or yellow food coloring if you prefer

Powdered Sugar for garnish

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Line an 8" x 8" pan with foil, using 2 pieces of overlapping foil with about 2" hanging over each side of the pan.  See the image above for a visual.  I like to cut two pieces of foil about 8" by 16" and then lay them cross-wise.   Spray with cooking spray.

To prepare your crust:  Combine the Graham Cracker crumbs, brown sugar and salt together in a bowl.  Drizzle the melted butter over this combo and mix.  Press mixture into bottom and up a bit on the sides of  your prepared pan. Bake for about 15 minutes until crust is set.

To prepare your filling: While crust is cooking, in bowl of stand mixer using the beater attachment, combine your cream cheese, zest and salt and mix well.  While the mixer is on, drizzle in the sweetened condensed milk.  Once combined, add your egg and mix well.  And finally add your fresh lemon and lime juice.  Again, mix well.  If you want your bars to be a brighter, more citrusy color, you can add a few drops of green or yellow food coloring.  I actually like the natural look, so I did not do it.

Pour filling into the cooked crust. 

Bake for about 15 to 18 minutes until the filling is set and just starting to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Cool on counter until no longer hot and then in fridge until completely cool.

Dust with powdered sugar.

Cut into 16, 2" x 2" squares.  If you look at my picture above you'll see how I cut my bars, once cooled, I pull up on the overhanging flaps (make sure to pull on the bottom layer of foil), and remove the bars completely from the pan.  Place on cutting bored (still on top of foil).  Cut Straight down the middle and then on either side of the first cut.  This gives you 4 vertical rows.  Rotate the foil and repeat.  Cut straight down the middle and on either side.  This gives you 16 perfectly even squares of goodness.

Dust with powdered sugar.

Eat.  Then come back and eat more.

Thanks for reading!!

Heather

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