Giant Dresden Bee Quilt Progress

I’ve made some good progress on the Dresden Bee quilt lately! This week, I managed to cut all the background pieces for the Dresden blocks, and I finally made a firm decision on the layout—always a big milestone. I’ve also figured out how I want to piece the giant Dresden block together with the scrappy patchwork border panels I’ve been working on.

Right now, I have five completed panels, each framed with a scrappy border. But here’s the twist: those patchwork panels ended up feeling so small next to the 24″ Dresden block, which truly lives up to its “giant” title! The scale difference really challenged my layout plan.

In fact, I originally cut the border strips for those panel pieces a little too narrow. Once I laid everything out, it just didn’t feel balanced next to the large Dresden. So I decided to go back and recut the borders, this time making them wider to better anchor the design. It was a little extra effort, but totally worth it!

I also ran into a bit of a hiccup—I’ve run out of the fabric from the original collection. Since it’s from an older line and I’m intentionally working from my stash, I tried a few alternatives. But the colors just seemed slightly off. It’s funny how a small mismatch becomes so obvious when you’re working within one fabric collection. It’s much easier when you build a quilt from mixed stash fabrics from the start—there’s more flexibility. But when the whole quilt leans heavily on a single line, even a slight variation can feel distracting.

To make it work, I added a solid background border around the Dresden to bring everything to size. I’m still figuring out the best fabric to use for the sashing strips in between the blocks. Ideally, I’d like something that doesn’t stand out too much but still adds a soft frame to tie the layout together.

For quilting, I’ve decided to use the quilt-as-you-go method—quilting each block individually and then joining them. I’ve shared more about this technique in a previous blog post HERE>. Sometimes, the ideas just need a little time to marinate, but once the plan clicks, everything flows so much more smoothly!

I’ll continue piecing and keep my eye out for the perfect sashing fabric. Since the Fat Quarter Shop is having their Birthday Bash Sale with over 300 items on discount, that’s where I’ll be looking first—fingers crossed I find the perfect match! Come and check out some of the sale item HERE>

More updates to come soon!

Quilting Tools and Notions I used:

• My trusted workhorse, Janome Horizon Memory Craft QCP8200
• I used Superior Thread Snow for piecing this quilt
• My favourite Ergonomic Rotary Cutter – this have saved my wrist a lot!
• Large cutting Mat
• Dresden Plate for 10″ Squares
• Wool ironing Mat (absolutely love this giant mat! Especially for making quilts – this makes such a difference for this quilt in particular with the giant blocks!)
• Oliso Pro Iron (I love this Iron, it lifts as you let go, saving the wrist from too much work and it gives a good heat and steam)
• Portable Design Board
• Quilter’s Clapper
• Wooden Seam Roller
• Diagonal Seam Tape –  the tape I have on my machine to guide my 1/4″ seams and diagonal stitching. Game changing! Buy the original, it’s worth it and it will last for a very long time.
• This set of super sharp Pins 

Till then, Hope you have some fun quilting time this week! I’ll share more progress soon—can’t wait to see this one come to life!

Linking to Design Wall Monday, Monday Musings, Ninasayers, Put Your Foot Down #289, Wednesday Wait Loss,