This quilt was started in 2004 when I purchased 15 vintage Dresden Plate blocks on ebay. A few of the blades needed to be replaced, and I exchanged the yellow centers for pink ones. The additional 5 plates were made up from some of my vintage scraps and the blades for the ice cream cone border were purchased on ebay the following year. Although I think it would be great fun to find the quilt pieces I need at estate sales, I doubt I would have much luck. Ebay has been a great resource for vintage quilt pieces and scraps (my favorite) or old blocks and tops that I can cut up and reuse. I’d rather spend my time sewing than searching for vintage fabric. It’s gotten awfully expensive, though, so I’m glad I have a pretty big collection.
Every step on this quilt was done by hand and it took a long time, but I loved working on it — especially the quilting. I copied the quilting pattern from a photograph of a Dresden Plate quilt in McCall’s Vintage Quilts magazine.
Dresden Plate
Martha Dellasega Gray, 2007
hand pieced & appliqued, hand quilted
70″ x 85″
Martha, this is a beautiful quilt! I so envy your talent in putting together pieces to make such a work of art. I have some Dresdon ‘plates’ that I got at an auction 4 or 5 years ago, they are beautiful and I take them out and admire them from time to time, but I don’t have the skill (yet) to put them together into a quilt that would be ‘worthy’. When I retire (hopefully in the next few years) one of my goals is to find a quilt guild to help me become a ‘real’ quilter!
It’s a stunning quilt and the hand quilting is stupendous. I love everything about it.
oh my another stunning quilt I am in awe of your work
the hand quilting is just incredible
I am so impressed!
I need to make a dresden plate quilt RIGHT NOW!!!!!
and of course I will send it to you to hand quilt for me!
Kathie
Another gorgeous quilt. You’re right, vintage fabrics have gone up in price. It can get to be an expensive hobby!
xoxo
Wow!!! Like everybody else said, this is stunning, gorgeous and beautiful. You do incredible work, Martha! I don’t know if I will ever make a quilt but I’ll just drool all over yours for now. 🙂
Your Dresden Plate is stunning! I love the way you quilted it, especially. I have one I’ve been working on too…from vintage fabrics. It got set aside for now, while I’m waiting on repairs to my machine. Yours is just fabulous!
Oh my, this is breathtakingly beautiful. Your quilting is just lovely. I am inspired to replicate your quilting patterns on an unfinished half-Dresden plate that I was given from my mother-in-law on my first Christmas after getting married. It was her Ma Mas (grandmother’s) and it would be such a tribute to her if mine could even turn out half as beautiful as this.
Yours is just startling in its perfection.
Thank you for sharing your gorgeous work.