Saturday, October 18, 2014

"It is what it is": antique Dresden plate finish!

"It is what it is." Not my favorite saying, especially since my favorite uncle, who I always considered wise, started using this phrase glibly in relation to just about everything around the time of my father's death 7 years ago.

But, sometimes, the saying fits. This antique Dresden plate rescue is what it is.


First, I ran out of indigo fabric. Then, I ran out of blue. Then, I ran out of blocks. I had 19. Nineteen is divisible by nothing. So I made a ghost block with 19 petals, just like the 19 other blocks had:


The blocks as I received them were not well behaved. They did not lay flat. I had to redo most of the seams before appliqueing them onto my background. Some of the original fabric was even stained:


You might ask: Why put so much effort into something that is irredeemably damaged?

You might ask: If you are going to put so much effort into a quilt, why not plan ahead or at least search for fabrics that match to make your background uniform?

You might well ask.

But I would answer, "It is what it is." And I would be right.

7 comments:

  1. Greta this antique finish is what it is, beautiful!! lol

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    1. thank you, Caroline! I love it so much I may have to keep it.

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  2. You did it! Genius to add that ghost block. Two thumbs up!

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  3. Thanks Zenia, I hope the quilt will be on the couch downstairs to add a little oomph to our living room. It will be folded so maybe the oddness of the layout will create interest and not seem so crazy.

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  4. You rescued the quilt from 'incompletenes' and turned it into something useful. You added to its story, and that is lovely. As is the quilt. Bravo!

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    1. Sorry, that should say 'incompleteness' -- as if that's even a word but I could spell it right.

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  5. Actually, I really like it - a very modern take on an old block, and a great way to save those lovely feedback dresdens! And the ghost block was inspired - I need to remember that idea!

    PS I wanted to respond to your comment on my blog - tried to email but you left your blog address rather than your email address. Yes, that crazy quilt is a cheater fabric - but it turned out amazingly nice! Most cheaters aren't that beautiful. And if you want to fix your "no-reply blogger" problem, check out this post: http://janesfabrics.blogspot.com/2013/01/are-you-no-reply-blogger.html

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