Oh Yes, I Dared !!!

Ta-Da!!!  

My very first Dresden Star Block!!!

I feel like a new mama!  

Do you all like my new baby?  LOL!!!

Although I've always loved the look of Dresden quilts (and even drooled over a few!), I had never Dresden'd before - what fun!  As soon as I saw that Mdm Samm was introducing the Dare to Dresden Blog Hop, I signed right up!

When I started pulling fabrics for inspiration for my Dresden, I found a large group of scraps left from my Oriental Peacock quilt that I made last January...... this is a really terrible picture taken before I got a decent camera.   If the sun ever shines in Nashville again, I'll try to take a better one and update it. :*D
(And it's still not quilted - shame on me!!)

Then I chose Edyta Sitar's Dresden Star pattern and templates for my block.

It went together very easily and the templates were a real bonus to have!  I bought these when Edyta came to our Guild last year, and I am very glad I did!  The little "star" points in the center of each blade really helped separate these colors I think.  You can see it in the construction process here.....

I hand stitched one of my favorite quotes from Mother Teresa on the center circle, using a design I liked by nanaCompany for the lettering.  She has a free pattern HERE for an expanded stitchery which is really lovely.  Then I hand stitched down the completed Dresden Star to its background.

But I didn't just make a Dresden block, I made a new Stitchery Keeper for me!  This is where the sneak peek at the peacock I gave you earlier HERE comes into play.  I used it for the outside quilted cover of the Keeper.  Yes, indeed, this Dresden Star has some very elegant company....  I'm thinking of naming her Dresdemona - what do you think? *winking with tongue in cheek*!!!

I quilted this gorgeous peacock from Timeless Treasures with a soft outline stitch around all the motifs....

and then I used this wonderful blue metallic thread on the peacock itself.....

....  which gave it a nice sparkle!

The Dresden Star then takes center stage on the inside cover flap....

The flap is there to protect my stitchery underneath from dirt and from fold creases.  

When I lift up the cover flap, you can see the base which has all kinds of neat little places to keep my stitchery tools! ......

When I am done stitching, I simply place my stitchery back on the base, 

Re-cover it with the gorgeous Dresden flap, and fold it all gently back up - 

the gentle fold keeps the stitchery from getting creases or wrinkles!

Cool, huh?!?  This is my own design, and I will share more about all the sweet little details of the 

Stitchery Keeper very, very soon .........

This sweet little Dresden Star project is also my January New FO for Cat Patches' 2013 NewFO Challenge!  You can click on this button to see what all the fun is about!

And I'll be linking up with Connie at Freemotion by the River for her Tuesday Linky Party!
Click on this button to see all the projects underway this week :*)

And because this is a BIG finish for me, I'll be Whooping it up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict!

I hope you all enjoyed seeing my Dresden Star as much as I enjoyed showing it to you! =^..^= 

Many, many thanks go to Mdm Samm at Sew We Quilt and Christine at Quilt Monster in my Closet for all their hard work in putting this wonderfully fun Blog Hop together!  Please be sure to check out all the other bloggers who share this day with me!

January 29^th, 2013

A Peach in Stitches

Nancy W @ “that Other Blog”

L3 Designs

Bungalow Bay Quilts

Quilted Delights

Quilt Crossing

Lixie Makes it

A Quilting Sheep

Charlotte's Creations

Quilt-n-Queen
Domesticity and Other Ponderous Things

Sew Much 2 Luv

A Quilt and a Prayer - ME!!!

Amanda Murphy Design

Little Mushroom Cap
Kathy's Quilts

Sandra Kaye Design

Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=