#ProjectQuilting – Charm Squares

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This week’s Project Quilting challenge, “It’s a Charm” was all about using charm squares. I love using charm squares in my projects, but this challenge was a little difficult for me because I could *only* use charm squares for the front of the quilt.

I’ve been thinking about making myself a Dresden plate quilt, and I though that this would be a great chance to try out the process on a small project. I started with a tutorial on cutting Dresden slices from charm squares from Bloom and Blossom, pulling all the pink/red/orange charms from a pack of Kona Sunrise charms that I won during #QuiltTalk a few weeks ago.

I then used a few of my yellows to make the centers of the flower sections, and the greens for the background. I didn’t have quite enough greens in the pack to do the entire background so I pulled the greens from a second pack to complete the background fabric.

dresden flower progress

Once all the pieces were completed, I used my handy dandy stick of Elmer’s Glue to hold the top together for quilting.

back

For the actual quilting, I went with a edge quilting to hold the flowers in place. I think it lets to colors in this quilt really shine (especially in the dreary weather we’ve had lately).

charming quilt

charm quilt closeup

I absolutely love my Charming Flowers. It’s the most interesting thing I’ve ever made with charm squares. The quilt finishes at about 22.5×18-inches and will probably lay over the top of one of the chairs in the living room.

Sharing over at:
Project Quilting at Persimon Dreams, Inspiration Monday at I Should be Mopping the Floor,
Much Ado About Monday at Huckleberry Love, Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun than 
Housework, Made by You Monday at Skip to My Lou, Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story, Let's
Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts, WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

23 Comments

  1. Liz on March 20, 2015 at 6:27 pm

    This is such a clever way to use charms. I love the spring-y theme of this mini!

    • Andrea on March 20, 2015 at 7:12 pm

      Thanks so much Liz! It was really fun to make, and doing this as a small project was a good way to try out the Dresden Plates.

  2. anna in spain on March 21, 2015 at 2:33 am

    I love those colours!! Solids are so beautiful when they are well combined, and you’ve done that for sure!! I always find Dresden Plate a tough pattern to work with, but you’ve done it beautifully.

    I’d never have thought of using glue to hold pieces for quilting, but then I’m a very slow hand quilter!! By the time I finished them they’d be all over the house. LOL

    • Andrea on March 21, 2015 at 10:15 am

      It was very handy to use the glue to hold the pieces together for quilting. It kept them from slipping around on my machine, and I’m sure it would help with hand quilting. It doesn’t add any bulk, and the Elmer’s brand school glue washes out. I like to use the kind that goes on purple and dries clear. That way I can easily see where I’ve applied the glue. Then I stick it down and press it with the iron. It seems to do the trick. Let me know if you try it.

  3. Kim of Persimon Dreams on March 21, 2015 at 8:44 pm

    This is absolutely fabulous! I just love how you thought outside the square for this challenge! Wonderful job and I’m also super happy you joined in the Project QUILTING fun this season!

    • Andrea on March 22, 2015 at 6:31 pm

      Thanks Kim! And thanks so much for doing Project Quilting! It was loads of fun. I really enjoyed having a challenge to work from.

  4. Jasmine on March 23, 2015 at 5:00 pm

    I love how you grouped the colors for your dresdens. They look so pretty on your green field. Great job!

    • Andrea on March 23, 2015 at 6:35 pm

      Thanks Jasmine! It was really fun to play with this pack of charm squares. The colors really were great.

  5. Cynthia Brunz on March 23, 2015 at 6:44 pm

    Great summertime colors in your dresdens. Thanks for sharing with Oh Scrap!

    • Andrea on March 23, 2015 at 9:42 pm

      And thank you for hosting Oh Scrap! I’m always finding amazing inspiration there.

  6. Maartje Quilt in Amsterdam on March 24, 2015 at 12:49 pm

    Amazing!!! What a beautiful colors and design. Congrats with this finish.

    • Andrea on March 24, 2015 at 1:41 pm

      Thanks Maartje! I really enjoyed working with this fabric pack. It’s so nice to have such a varied palette in one pack of fabric.

  7. Debbie H on March 24, 2015 at 1:15 pm

    What happy colors and I really like the quilt. Makes me smile.

    • Andrea on March 24, 2015 at 1:41 pm

      Thanks so much Debbie! It makes me smile too.

  8. Megan Null on March 24, 2015 at 9:15 pm

    So super cute! Your charm pack was lovely to start with…. good base for flowers. These small dresden plates are beautiful and the quilting lets the fabric shine. You should be proud. It’s a great piece. 🙂

    • Andrea on March 25, 2015 at 8:19 am

      Thanks so much Megan! This is the 1st project I’ve done using entirely solid fabrics. It was an interesting change for me.

  9. Mari on March 25, 2015 at 9:59 am

    This is so darling! It looks so cheerful–just what we need right now. Beautiful job on the challenge.

  10. Bernie on March 25, 2015 at 1:36 pm

    Great project – cheerful and happy. Nice use of charm squares too.

    • Andrea on March 25, 2015 at 3:43 pm

      Thanks so much Bernie! I had a lot of fun with this project, especially working with all of those bright colors.

  11. Lorna McMahon on March 25, 2015 at 3:54 pm

    Wow! What a beauty! This sure will look fabulous in your living room. Love the bright solids you chose for this project. Sure packs a punch!

    • Andrea on March 25, 2015 at 4:05 pm

      Thanks so much Lorna! The Kona sunrise charm pack was perfect for this project. I don’t usually work with many solids, but all that bright color just says spring.

  12. Kaja on March 26, 2015 at 2:21 am

    What a pretty project. I love the colours, really bright and cheerful, and your clever design.

    • Andrea on March 26, 2015 at 9:29 am

      Thanks Kaja! I really enjoyed working with these fabrics. And the Dresdens were a lot of fun.

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