Started quilting the Dresden plate quilt

Last weekend, I started quilting the Dresden plate quilt.  I put the quilt on the longarm thinking to just baste the quilt, to be quilted on my domestic machine later.  I am still very new to quilting on my longarm, since I only got her at the end of December and only get a chance to use her on the weekends and usually only the one day, as I am still busy helping my mother.

I started basting the quilt in large stitches across the quilt spaced out every four inches.  I get to the end of the quilt and feel happy that I was able to get that part done fairly quickly.  While I was basting it, I kept telling myself that I should give it a try.  Try something simple, something that if it didn't work I could take out and go with the original plan.

So.....I started doing in the ditch of the outer edge of the Dresden plates.  That went so well, that I decided to try my hand at rule work and used the straight edge ruler to make the lines going up and down the side edges of each petal. 

  

I had to take some of the stitches out, as the ruler may have slipped or I didn't have the spacing quite right, but I am thinking it looks good. 

I did the whole top row of Dresden plates and I was feeling great.  This was my first attempt at ruler work and it was going relatively well.  It boosted my courage to try my hand at curved rulers.

Before advancing the quilt, I started quilting the curves of my small border.  I can still use a bit of practice, but they are not bad at all.  The curves line up nice.  It's the points I need to work on, to get a more pointy point.  The spacing is good and the placement is too.  

After I completed this small border I was so happy, I had to do a happy dance.  The family thought I was crazy, but oh well, what else is new. LOL.  It's these little things that make me happy.  Quilting puts me in my happy place.  Best stress reliever there is.

After I did the small border, I realized that I still needed to do the centre of the Dresden plates.  I did one of them in a 1" grid straight up and down and across sideways.  Didn't care so much for it, so I did another one in a curved grid, on a diagonal.  I didn't like that one either, so I tried the curved grid up and down and across sideways.  I still didn't like it.  Finally, I decided to go back to the straight 1" grid, but this time I did it on a diagonal.  Voila!  This looks better. The Dresden plate blocks are an older, traditional block, that are calling for some good old fashion traditional quilting.  The grids stand out more than they will in the end, because I did not remove the chalk lines yet.

As I knew what I wanted, I set myself to removing all the other centre stitches and stitched them back up again the preferred way.

I am now half way done the Dresden plates.  I will need another day to get the others done, plus work on the small border at the bottom of the quilt, before I can remove the quilt to turn it around and get the last two side borders.  I am really happy, this is turning out well.  I am not courageous enough yet, to do the fancy design that I want to do between the plates, but that is ok.  Progress is progress, no matter how small.

And tomorrow is another day....