Dresden Plates

My almost daughter, Amy Kate found a cute idea on Pinterest for Quilted Chair Decorations for the wedding reception.  She asked me to make them and the fact that I had never made a Dresden Plate square didn't keep me from saying No.

We spent several fun hours at Hobby Lobby & JoAnns picking out fabrics in all the wedding colors.

Then the fabric sat on a shelf on my sewing table for months.  Just sitting there staring at me, waiting for me to get my nerve up.  In December, I decided I had better get busy.

I traced and cut out all the pieces on one day.  And started sewing the next day.

I got the blocks done and then started attaching the embroidery machine parts to the sewing machine to embroider the Mr. & Mrs. into the middle of the plates.....and it would not connect.  A wire connection wasn't reading on the computer ~ I tried for 45 very frustrating minutes.

Then I picked up the handy phone and called my friend Angel ~ she took the squares, embroidered them for me, and saved me more frustration!  After the embroidery was done.  The "plate" pieces were pinned onto the squares and sandwiched with the batting and backing & then the hand quilting started.  The piece of the fan is quilted & the outer rim of the "plate".  Hand quilting is a great thing to get done while watching TV at night.

The original pattern called for the squares to be "framed" into cross stitch hoops and hung on the bride and groom chairs with ribbon.  My squares turned out so large that I couldn't find hoops to fit....14" is too small and 18" is too large.  And there was no 16".  (Well there was online but they wanted $35 each for them.)

Greg and I wandered around Hobby Lobby on Sat. and he came up with the great idea of using styrofoam wreath forms.  We bought 2 large ones and he trimmed a little off the outside of each.

They are each wrapped around the styrofoam and held on the underside with pins.  A piece of fabric is tacked to the back of the wreath to cover the messiness and the wreaths are "wrapped" in a floral ribbon to neaten it up some. We had seen some gorgeous frames but they would be too heavy to hang on a chair!

I am pleased with the result & I know Amy Kate will be...

but these could be the only 2 dresden plates that I ever do.  There is probably an easier way to do these that I don't know about ~ but I was winging it!

I've got white satin ribbon to sew on the back of each one ~ so they can hang on their chairs at the reception.  We are using them the night before at the rehearsal dinner also ~ but there will be a rectangle of paper pinned right about the Mr. & Mrs. that will say....Almost!

Love to you Andy & AmyKate

from your 2nd Mom (Donna)

I am linking up with
http://raisinghomemakers.com/2013/homemaking-link-up-110/
and
http://mysimplecountryliving.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-country-homemaker-hop-54.html
and
http://mississippimamaof7.blogspot.com/2013/02/dresden-plates.html