Mixing Things Up--Guest Post

I’m Kati, and I blog over at from the blue chair. I was so thrilled when Lynne asked me to participate in her QAL and put my own twist on her pattern.  I’ve admired her work since I came across her double circle of geese (which I have yet to attempt).

My immediate thought was to create a Dresden with petals that were strip-pieced.  My initial plan was to only do one Dresden as a mini quilt, but then it grew to four Dresdens and a much larger quilt.  I also cut squares to make half-square triangles for an additional outer border.

I seldom make quilts from patterns, and even when I do I tend to mix things up quite a bit.  This quilt was no different.  I had one plan in mind when I started, but it soon changed into something very different.  I realized the four Dresden circles together weren’t working for me.  It was going to be a very large quit, especially with the HST borders I had planned.  I decided to break everything down and make changes.  Instead of doing four circles, I chose to focus my quilt design on just one circle.  As I had already cut the pieces for all four Dresdens, I was left with 63 petals from the three remaining circles.  I changed plans and rearranged them for the quilt back instead using the layout from Oh, Frannson’s New Wave pattern.

I debated quite a bit on the final design for the quilt front.  I had about 300 HSTs pieced and ready.  After trying out various designs, I ultimately went with this design I first saw from Red Pepper Quilts.  I love how the focus is on the Dresden circle, yet the arrangement of the HSTs creates an interesting secondary design.  A bit of trial and error went into piecing this correctly with the block set on point.

My finished quilt looks much different than my original plans.  I love the process of designing a quilt.  I tend to arrange and rearrange the quilt components multiple times.  My design wall (which is simply a large piece of felt tacked to the wall) is critical during this process.  The final result is a quilt that is uniquely mine while using others ideas and patterns and a springboard for my design.

Thanks again to Lynne for giving me this challenge using the basics of her QAL to create something that is unique and shows my personal quilting style.