June's Block is Out!

I have been busy trying to do some gardening in between all of the Quilt Market craziness. Do know that my gardening attempts have been feeble.... almost laughable.... I've cheated and bought hanging baskets, cut the hangers off and have plunked them into my urns that I have outside around the house. This is shameful since I had worked for many years for a local greenhouse before they closed down.  I was one of the go to gals on gardening. Something I like to think that I inherited from my grandma. She had such a green thumb. She grew most of her flowers from seed, something that I have not quite mastered. It's not from a lack of trying! I do so much better buying the little four packs of flowers that are ready to bloom. I've been working on my perennial garden in hopes to attract bees and butterflies. It's been a challenge since my flowers also need to be deer resistant. So one of this month's designs is a butterfly. I hope that you have fun and enjoy making your butterfly bright and colorful!

The second design for this month is a little pony. When growing up, my grandparents surprised me with a Shetland pony named Lucky one summer. (Lucky was on loan from my aunt's family) I was seven years old. It was a little girls dream! I had my very own pony to ride and take care of for three weeks. Lucky was a gentle pony and was very patient with me. We rode on  many adventures around the farm. I've been tearing the house apart looking for the one and only picture I have of Lucky and me. But I put it in such a safe spot that I can't even find it! It was an adorable black and white picture of me in my cat eye glasses and cowboy hat on the saddle. I'm sure Lucky was looking forward to me going home so that he could get some rest. I used to sneak down to the 'Chicken Coop' and feed Lucky apples and carrots after dinner. Old George, (my grandparent's farmhand) used to shoo me back to the house and tell me that it's Lucky's bedtime. One of my fondest memories of Old George was riding circles around him, shooting him with a squirt gun. George would just laugh. In the evening George would sit at the dining room table and play solitaire. I would spy on him thru the heating grates in the bedroom floor, he would wave and give me a wink. Those are the childhood days I fondly remember and wouldn't mind reliving them time and time again.

This year's BOM is a very traditional design using 1930's fabrics. These fabrics remind me so much of grandma and her cotton dresses. I hope that you have fun with this pattern. April's pattern has everything you need to complete these two blocks. You will get the directions on how to make the Dresden plate block. Feel free to make all 12 Dresden circles if you would blocks are set on point. The supply list can be found on my website along with this month's directions. April's directions are only FREE this month, then after that they will be found on my Etsy site for a small fee. You can also find the directions in my Craftsy Shop too. So let's get started....

HINT: I have been throwing all of my scraps as I cut 'plates' into this little bin on my cutting table.

Why? It's been very useful for some of my applique pieces. But also, we will use some of these towards the end of the quilt....

Using the blade template cut 1 blade for each fabric.

16 different fabrics total for each block.

You will make 12 blocks all together for this quilt.

Fold the blade in half lengthwise, right sides together and sew a quarter inch seam along the short straight edge (Top edge). This will form the 'point' when you turn it right side out.

Here I have all my blades pressed for one block.

Sew your blades together in pairs, right sides together. Continue to sew blades together along the long side until you form a 16 section plate.

I love the scrappiness of this 'plate'.

I ironed the circle in half, then in half again. And one more time so that I have 'markers' for lining up my circle with my plate section.

I line the seam up with the folded marking and ease my circle and plate section together.

I hold it all together with pins. A lot of pins...

I sew the two together with a 1/4" seam.

The center is the perfect spot for an applique!
HINT: The circle will 'lay down smoother if--- iron the Dresden plate from the back side and iron the circle seam out towards the points.  Then press the front side of the Dresden block.
I don't know what it is, but the block will iron out so much better when done this way.

I set my machine for a 2.5 length and 2.5 width for my blanket stitch.

This is the last set of Dresden plates for this quilt. Next month we will move onto another design element for the quilt. Can't wait to show you!

I have not appliqued my Dresden plates onto my 12 1/2" white squares yet.

Patterns can be found on the Quilt Doodle website and on Crafty (Not until the 1st of the month):

Fat Quarter bundles of 16 fat quarters are available in my Etsy store to get you started.

Tag me on Instagram with your photos #quiltdoodledesignsBOM2017 #quiltdoodledesigns @quiltdoodles
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's butterflies and ponies.

My favorite picture of grandma and I, taken in front of her flower garden.

          Let’s have some quilty fun!
Cindy