If you had to name these blocks, would you call them Dresden blocks or wheel blocks? Whatever they are, they’re adorable. I can’t take credit for making them, they were sent to me years ago by Bev of Blossom and Beverly, who some may also remember as 44th Street Fabrics. She no longer writes on her blog so reason to provide a link. She switched over to Instagram, and we haven't chatted in years. I'm not a big fan of the faster paced social media. I only had it for business purposes. I guess that makes me an old out of touch fuddy duddy.
Oh well I like the slower pace here in blogland. It reminds of a line from the book/movie Shawshank Redemption.
"The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry"
Anyway... Way back in the day Bev had written a blog post about these quilt blocks saying she made them a long time ago and didn't know what to do with them and wanted suggestions.
In true smarty pants fashion, I suggested she send to me because I loved them!
As you can see, she did just that. We had been sending packages to each other for years, so she sent them. It was a total surprise when they ended up on my doorstep. And here I set in the same predicament for years trying to come up with a plan for using them.
Every time I've to work on them it always ended with them being put back in storage.
Well not this time. I'm determined to finish this project. So up on the design wall they go. This should be a quick and easy finish. Weather I like it or not it will be finished, it's not going back into storage.
Bev and I discussed these a few times over the years. We both thought that adding a black and white polka dot might be the best option. I've had a black with white polka dots on hand for a few years and have been keeping my eye out for a white with black dots for quite some time. Finally last week I found it at Love It Sew our local quilt shop. So up on the design wall they went for inspiration. To be honest, I was not inspired.
Plan B was to take the blocks into EQ8 and start playing with options. And I quickly realized that this might take longer than I thought. EWW...I don't like the dots.
I played around with a lot of ideas, and each one produced the same reaction...EWW.
This seemed a little better but still... EWW.
Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Maybe it's the black that is so yukky to me. After about 3 or 4 fabric auditions in EQ, I found a fabric I think will work. Gingham of course. I love ginghams! I love dots too but not the black and white ones.
What do you think? The yukky dots, green or something totally different for this quilt. Design options ideas are welcome too!
For now, they will stay on the design wall while I finish up the Iris quilt that has been neglected for days. I often come up with my best ideas while working quietly on something else.
See you soon!
Those are such fun blocks! I absolutely love them, but I'm not sure I'd know what to do with them either. I think too much of the black and white polka dots gets too overwhelming. I like the version with the solid white and then thinnest of the black with white dots borders, as well as the gingham. If you like the gingham best, I say go for it!
ReplyDelete(P.S. I'm not too far from you, in Bloomington, and I stop at Love It Sew when I'm in the Indy area.)
The green gingham looks lovely, I'd go with that fabric. Happy stitching!
ReplyDeleteI like the green gingham. What gives me pause is the white inner border. It seems to steal too much attention to my eye. Is there a color in the wheels that are not a background color that might work? Or try the white with black dots?
ReplyDeleteHow about the green gingham (or any bright green) for the inner border, then a bright, splashy print for the outer border? It’s going to be so cute! I remember Bev and her little dog … I wonder how she’s doing. Candy
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