Dresden Orange

Day 277: With our plans for a Sisters-of-the-Heart Quilting Bee disrupted by the pandemic, I found myself getting too far along on Mousie's grandmother's Dresden plate quilt, so to ensure that we have enough to do when it becomes possible for them to come for a visit, I laid it aside and picked up where I left off piecing my own version of Dresden plate. My desire to make an orange quilt date back at least forty years. At one time, I had an appreciable stash of orange-themed prints set aside, but later disposed of them when I thought my quilting days were done. Oh, yes, I've kicked myself many times for that foolish move, believe me! A couple of years ago, the idea resurfaced and I began accumulating appropriate fabrics, although at the time, I hadn't settled on a design. Eventually, a twenty-blade Dresden plate won the toss, although Memory Wreath (one of my favourite patterns) was running a close second. I decided on a chocolate-brown base fabric for the blocks to give the whole quilt an autumnal feel, with yellow centers in the plates, perhaps repeating as "streets and alleys" between the blocks. Today, I will be piecing the last two plates, leaving four to be appliqued to the base fabric. As for the "streets and alleys," well, it looks like this project will also have to go on hold until COVID leaves the building. Not to worry! There's always a Plan B in any experienced crafter's closet.