Dresden Adventures!

The days have felt all turned around here. I was certain that Tuesday was Wednesday, and Wednesday was Friday?? So while I am a few hours shy of Wednesday, I wanted to share what was new in my sewing world. Several months back, I did a scrap swap with Elisa at Stitched Outside the Ditch. When I opened the package she sent me, I was so excited to find an EZ Dresden Ruler in the box. I'd seen people using them around the blogosphere, but I hadn't taken the time to buy one. I made a big stink about how I was so excited to use it, then I put it down for the past 4 months or so as I've tried to finish Christmas gifts and other misc. projects.

Of course, with just over a month left until Christmas, I decided it was time to try using the ruler and tackle some of my scraps.

My first attempt was more scrappy - I wanted to use this fabric with these cute little kids on it. Here's what I ended up with:

I have an overwhelming not-so-subtle love for polka dots (like every other quilter in the world), so I pulled some of my polka dots and tried my hand. I love how the little boys and girls alternate. I also have a little story for them all in my head.

After that block, I wanted to go with a darker color scheme. So, I started playing with my scraps and the end result was:

I am particularly tickled by the addition of the Ghastlies Gal. I seriously love the Ghastlies, and I would add them to every quilt if I could get away with it!

I really liked the black/orange combo, so I made a black/green block next:

The pear in the center was from a fabric scrap that I'd purchased from Teri at Sew Fantastic. Seriously, I love when quilting peeps destash scraps, It gives me the opportunity to play with some fabrics I never would have purchased on my own! 

To attach the circles, I'm doing that method where you use interfacing and sew the fabric and interfacing together, then cut it and flip. I did a poor job of describing it - if you're looking for the tutorial I learned from, you can find it here. I normally don't like doing little hand stitching that much, but I've been really enjoying trying to make my stitches line up half-way decently. I'm day-dreamining about what this quilt will look like when it's finished. I'm so excited that I've finally delved into this awesome way of showcasing small scraps of fabric while still leaving such a powerful impact!

While we're at it, it's officially Thanksgiving, and I have so much to be thankful for. I know I could go on for so long about all the things I've been blessed with, but here are the highlights of what I'm thankful for:
- My ever-supportive parents.
- My loving, long-suffering boyfriend.
- My best friend who understands me on a whole different level.

- The fast friends I have made through the online sewing community.

- Having a space to sew and leave my fabric all around.
- Finding my sweet dog and being able to afford to give him a good home.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by people you care about.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. 

Until next time.