Okay, now the dresden plate.
First, a HUMONGO thank you to Roben for showing me that dresdens can have pointed blades. I never saw that technique before your wallhanging. I had seen pointed ones and scalloped ones in the same quilt before, but I thought they were two separate blocks. I really liked this technique. It made the plate look more like a flower, which was why I picked it in the first place. My gramma loves flowers and I could see it in my head of a blooming flower. It's so pretty.
Originally, there were only 4 fabrics in the plate, but the more I made the blocks, the more I wanted all fabrics to be in it to tie them all together. I managed to put orange and pink in the same block and it didn't look horrid. Since I knew the center of the flower and the background would both be yellow, I threw in a white instead. I couldn't get over the difference.
My late MIL was the first person to introduce me to quilting. It was through her influence that I picked my first and later my second machine. I had the pleasure of living in OK with her for 18 months before she suddenly passed away. We had a rocky start, but she ended up my best friend and I wouldn't change a thing. I was lucky to have her. Before she died, she gave me my very first quilt frame as a birthday present. Unfortunately, my house is too small to set it up, but I think of it every day. I joined her club when she was president and when she died, I was president and she had nominated me. What an honor.
The dresden plate was my MIL's favorite and very first block. She was a rambunctious child, as was I. She was constantly bugging her grandmother for quilting lessons. So, at age 6, her grandmother got her started. She had to hand piece 50 7 1/2" dresden plate blocks. I can only imagine how small her pieces had to be. I think her grandmother may have tried to deter her with a harder piece, but my MIL prevailed as she always did. She finished her quilt at age 7 and she was hooked. She made her own grandmother a dresden plate and rail fence combo quilt the year she died. Mag Tankersley was already a great grandmother and knew her first great, great grandchild was on the way. My MIL never made another plate, after her grandmother died, but she always called it her favorite.
So, in this quilt, I get to honor the woman who means more to me than words can say. She's of strong German stock that expressed emotions are limited. So I don't get all "gushy" over her, as she says, I can speak to her in this quilt. Also, with this block, I get to honor the woman who introduced me to my passion and influenced me more than any other woman EXCEPT my gramma herself.
I hope you enjoy the finished piece as much as I did. I used a straight stitch in the same bright red to applique the "leaves" of my flower. Then I used a decorative zigzag around the center that gave it a Cross stitch sort of look.
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