We've Got the Plates, We've Got the Princess, and Now We've Got a Plan!

Red Chevron Background Fabric for Dresden Plates!

Remember the Dresden Plates I made for the Machine Embroidery Blog Hop a few months ago?  I made eight identical Dresden plates with machine embroidered applique centers for the blog hop, with absolutely no idea what I would ever do with them.  I took one to the Bernina dealer near my home (they have a CORNER of quilting fabric, but it's a sew and vac type shop, so not much selection) and came home with several yards of boring, textured off-white fabric that the ladies at the shop had convinced me would look best with my Dresden Plates. 

Boring, Depressing Background Fabric Suggested By Shop Ladies

I unfolded the yucky off-white stuff when I got home, laid a couple of Dresden plates on top, and sighed.  And pouted.  And completely lost interest, and put the Dresden plates away where I wouldn't have to look at them anymore.

Until my four-year-old niece, Princess Petunia (her parents think her name is Sarah), came to visit me last week, bringing her (literally!) loved-to-pieces baby quilt with her.  The batting is actually exposed through the disintegrated fabric of the quilt top over at least 25% of the quilt.  You might think this would upset me, since I made the quilt for her when she was born, but nothing could be further from the truth!  I'm only sad if I put hours into making a quilt for someone and then I find out they put it away in a closet where no one ever sees it or snuggles up in it.  Princess Petunia has shown herself worthy of new "covers," and since her birthday is coming up in March, I invited her to dig through my stash and pick out some fabrics.

Princess Picked the Asian Floral Fabric (Between the Dresden Plate and the Solid Yellow)

The next day, I realized that the multicolored Asian floral fabric she swooned over in my stash goes beautifully with my Dresden Plates -- score!  The Princess dragged out LOTS of bright, flowered fabrics and had difficulty choosing a favorite, so I think she'll really like the mix of fabrics in my plates -- but NOT with that drab background fabric.  So I journeyed to another Bernina dealer, one that is also a large, beautiful quilt fabric shop, with Anders in tow and an open mind about what the background fabric should be.  I looked at dozens of fabric possibilities before I settled on the vibrant, tone-on-tone red chevron.  I'll use a narrow sashing in the black and white stripe fabric to separate the blocks (and eliminate the fuss of trying to match the chevron pattern at the seams) and then I'll do a wide pieced border in leftover scraps from the Dresden Plates as well as that purply Asian floral that she picked out.  I chose a lavender Minkee backing fabric with white polka dots, because her original "covers" had Minkee backing and we need the new quilt to have the same snuggle power as the old one.  Satin binding will be mandatory, as well.

Isn't it amazing how much livelier and more vibrant that Dresden plate looks against the red chevron instead of the off-white fabric?  I'm getting a spunky, Mackenzie Childs kind of vibe.  I think it will be perfect for her.

Princess Petunia Creates New Chess Rules While My Sister Grins Sweetly in the Background

Here you see our sassy and spirited Princess Petunia herself, telling Grammy that she should get ALL the horses -- not just the white ones -- because she really likes horses.  Grammy said she wouldn't play chess with the Princess unless she got to start with ALL of the black pieces, because those were the rules.  Our indignant Sarah retorted, "But Grammy, I had them first!  And I said PLEASE!!"  Who could argue with irrefutable preschool logic like that?  I wish I had gotten a picture of Anders' face when she said that, because he could not have looked more horrified and shocked if a tree had suddenly sprouted from his cousin's head.  Where was the chess master when you needed him?!  :-)