When I started quilting I never knew that accomplishments would be measured in hand stitches rather than machine stitches. You see, the project I am currently working on is a traditional Dresden plate quilt and for some reason it has prompted me to do a lot of hand work and it has a lot of steps along the way.Let me break it down for you:
There are 20 blades per plate - that's right 20!
There are 16 plates in the quilt
And the plates are set on 15 1/2" x 15 1/2" blocks
Here comes the tricky part - I decided to hand stitch the plates to the blocks! That's right, I am using a blanket stitch to attach all 16 plates to their respective blocks. The pros to this method are simple 1) I am getting a lot of practice at the stitch, 2) I am not locked away in my sewing room night after night isolated from my family and 3) it is going to look really good. The cons to this are 1) I have to be careful not to shed blood on my work, 2) I have it spread out in the living room and 3) I may never finish this project!
So far I have stitched 5 plates to their blocks. Best I can figure it is taking me about an hour and half to complete each block, provided I don't get caught up watching a good movie or I decide to stretch out on the couch for a nap instead of sew.
The next step after the plates are attached will be to put the blocks together and place the centers of the plates. Finally, I will assemble 34 pieces of 2.5" x 8" strips together horizontally to make the border. This is going to be one heck of a quilt and I can't wait to finish it and sit back and say, "Yep, I hand stitched it all and will you kindly quit coveting the jewel of a quilt that it is?"So the next time you think to yourself, "I wonder what Lydia is working on," just know, it is probably the same project and hopefully I will finish it before I am too old to appreciate it.
