What is it about crazy patchwork that attracts me?
- The beautiful and rich social history told by antique Crazy Quilts
- The beautiful and rich social history told by modern Crazy Quilts.
- The fascinating variety of materials, methods and techniques used in Crazy Quilting.
- The use of symbolism and imagery in Crazy Quilting.
- It completely justifies my tendency to hoard fabric, bead, charms, ribbon, lace, and thread.
- I can recycle my favorite clothes, jewelry, buttons and more.
- I can incorporate all my favorite surface embroidery, quilting and beading techniques into one finished item. I can even add crochet and tatted items to my CQ.
- I can make blocks fussy or plain, use cottons or fancies, and NEVER be wrong.
- I like using the words "encrusted" and "encrustations."
- Other Crazy Quilters nod knowingly when I tell them I bought a four damaged prom dress at a salvage store for $20.
- I can cut up my wedding dress to use it for something else and not feel guilty.
- I can buy evening wear and bridal clothing and fabrics with no intention of actually wearing them.
- I like other Crazy Quilters that I have met and feel a real bond with them.
- I am a little crazy myself.
I guess the real answer is "All of The Above!"
My favorite thing is to work on other people's blocks.
I am always inspired by what I see and love the challenge of coming up with
something to complement another person's work or style. The photo on the
right shows a faux pearl spider and Kreinik metallic cord spider web that I did
on Gwen's block. I plan to do an article on making this type of beaded
spider for CQMag.com.
I can and do piece my own blocks, but I just don't like it. I have one method for doing sew and flip that works with a machine or hand-sewing. But it does mean that most of my unembellished blocks look a like! Once I have picked my fabrics, I usually let them sit for a long time before I make them into anything. I much prefer the fun part, embellishing those blocks!
Most of my CQ has been small scale. Like needle books, buttons, ornaments and blocks for swaps. I have never attempted a full quilt, but I am very interested in doing blocks for an Autograph Quilt as my first one. I also have had a footstool in my to do list for over two years now! I got out my muslin, made a pattern and marked it for piecing, then got distracted. I wonder how that happened?
Recently, I was asked to contribute articles to and join
the staff at CQMagOnline.com. It has been an adventure trying to get my thoughts
together and everything coded, but it has been fun too. It got me started
charting some seam treatments and working on patterns for diagrams that have
been sitting on my *to do* list for too long. Then when I got all excited
about hosting an Autograph Quilt Block Exchange that was open to everyone in the
online CQ Community, they were right there to support me. Let's hope this
is the beginning of a grand adventure! If you are
interested in my personal experience making blocks for this swap,
please click here.
The scan to the right is of a piece of wonderful material that looks like antique envelopes with foreign addresses. I used it as a teaching piece, to demonstrate how effective beaded embroidery can be as an accent on fabric with a design, but it also clearly demonstrates how well these stitches would translate as seam treatments in CQ. There are diagrams for most of the stitches used in this class sample in the Stitch Dictionary.
It recently came to my attention that people were interested in my faux pearl spider and I recreated him on a smaller scale on a few other blocks. The webs are made with Kreinik metallic thread and the spider is various sized faux pearls, sewn onto the block with beading thread.
If you are lucky, you can find samples of some very expensive fabrics. I bought this pack of 4" squares from a fabric store for $2. This is 100% Silk Peau de Soie, sometimes called Silk Peau or Duchesse Satin. I also sometimes bid on small pieces of Duchesse Silk Satin on eBay, but only rarely do I buy yardage, because it is so very expensive.
I was able to view one of the most spectacular antique crazy quilts on a recent trip to Louisville, Kentucky. This fantastic quilt is on display behind glass, so it is difficult to photograph well, but it really is magnificent. It is truly inspirational.
