pink+tan dresden {blogger's quilt festival}

This pink+tan "dainty dresden" is my first entry in the Blogger's Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side (baby quilts category).  A huge thanks to Amy for hosting, and welcome to everyone visiting from the festival ;)

A handful of you might have seen this before, but as it was my first ever blogging post back in January, I'm guessing not too many have.  Honestly I'm fairly certain I was the only person reading my blog back then ;)

I designed this for some dear friends of ours who welcomed their {absolutely adorable} little girl this past winter.  When we found out they were expecting a girl, I quickly learned that her mama was planning the nursery in pink + brown.  Not wanting to be too matchy-matchy, I swapped out the chocolate brown for low volume tans and off-whites to add a timeless (I hope) touch.  I wish I had more pictures, but as this was a gift, in the usual {no} hats style I was stitching up the binding the morning of the baby shower and only managed to get the single full shot above before getting a bow on it ;)

I did take a couple (literally, two) progress shots.  Here's one of the freshly cut dresden leaves against the background squares:

And another of the first plate:

And that's it ;(  Short, but sweet!  The finished quilt measures 45" x 60".  It was machine-quilted by yours truly (mostly straight lines, but I echo FMQ'd some stars in the dresden centers for a little added flare).

Thanks for stopping by!  And be sure to check out the other quilts on display (or enter your own!) over at the festival...  {Including my two-color quilt entry, "sea crystal + plaid" ;)}

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finish it up friday

isn't she lovely: dainty dresden

Made this for a truly lovely little lady who arrived last month.

When we found out one of my husband's closest friends and his new bride were expecting a baby girl, I couldn't help but spoil mama+baby with a splash (okay, flood) of pink.

Here are a couple shots I snapped as the quilt was underway...

Matching up the shades of pink and tan.

Admiring a pieced (and crisply ironed) plate.

I first discovered the dresden block a couple years ago when I picked up a copy of Material Obsession's first book by the same title. I still haven't made their Dotty Dresden (it's the one on the cover), but you'll be seeing it one of these days! (I'm thinking Riley Blake Ombre dots?)

Alas, I digress.  A simple dresden just seemed like a natural fit for this joyous occasion.  My favorite thing about this quilt is the order and repetition:  simple, yet striking.  But then again, "repetitive gradient" is sort of my MO (just you wait!). I used an (orderly) array of white <--> beige fabrics for the background to add a little variation, but otherwise kept the pink plates as uniform as possible.  Needless to say, the design will definitely remain a staple in the {no} hats pattern collection for years to come ;)

This beauty was hard to part with, but I know it's got a lifetime of love (and adventure!) in store in its new home.

On to the next...!