The American Crazy Quilt Exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art has sadly ended, but I (Teri) had many more pictures from my visit that I wanted to share. Kara and I are working on a crazy quilt sampler for a six-month class we are going to be teaching at our local quilt shop, and the inspiration in these quilts abounds. We hope you will be as inspired as we are. Enjoy! Crazy Quilt with Striped Ribbon Border, c. 1885; made by Annie Shakman Heller, possibly in Baltimore, MD I loved this sweet little umbrella! Crazy Quilt with Ice Cream Cone Border, c. 1885; American Close-up of ice cream cone border This silk bookmark was an English import. Crazy Quilt with Peacock Medallion, 1881-1889; attributed to Katie Mattingly Edwards in West Virginia Peacock feather detail. What wonderful combination seam stitches! Crazy Quilt with Wheel Motifs, 1887-1888; made by Roberta Lee Barnes in Baltimore, MD Printed designs, sometimes "cigarette silks," were often included in crazy quilts. Center medallion, Dresden Plate, with the maker's initials One of the fan designs A corner block Crazy Quilt with Center Star and Blue Velvet Border, 1883-1888; made by Augusta Adèle Smith, in Baltimore, MD Lazy daisy flowers Artist's palette Crazy Quilt with Initial "M," c. 1885; made by Minnie K. Minderlein in Baltimore, MD Ribbon flower with chenille stems and leaves Ribbon buds Wheat: ribbon and chenille thread Wheat: ribbon This quilt was full of beautiful botanicals. Queen Anne's lace Tiger lily Pansies Calla lilies Such stellar stitchery! To see our first post of photos from this exhibit, click here. Now I feel the urge to go do some stitching on my own crazy quilt blocks. We'll share our final mini-crazy quilt in a few weeks. Happy stitching!

Everything in the world is not in pinterest...... And I've made a few quilts as coverlets.... yep... tooooooo short to cover the bed....

It Will be Pretty in Simple Patchwork, Too! This charming crazy quilt bag is rich with color and texture. Hand stitching adds wonderful detail, but machine embroidery stitches can also be used. Add buttons and charms if you want, for extra detail. Choose pretty fabrics then do as much or as little embellishment as you …

Well, maybe we aren't CRAZY, but we do have a slight obsession with crazy quilts. Both Teri and I (Kara) are fascinated with crazy quilts of all kinds, and we have our good friend and author Janice Vaine to thank for it. At the end of the 2013 Elly Sienkiewicz Appliqué Academy, Jan showed us her latest quilt purchase and her thoughts and ideas for it to be the subject of her next book. When we saw this quilt, it was love at first sight. Embroidery and Patchwork Revisited, by Janice Vaine. See grahamcrackercollection.com for more about Jan. We immediately volunteered to help Jan stitch some samples, and much to our joy (and trepidation) she took us up on our offer. Thus, our fascination with crazy quilting began. Oh, the threads, the stitches, the combinations, the colors! So many options were there for our choosing that sometimes we just had to put it down and walk away. At the next Appliqué Academy, Jan unveiled her beautiful book Patchwork and Embroidery Revisited, and we were able to see the fruits of our labors put into a splendid quilt. Last spring our local quilt shop mentioned that they had some customers who were looking for a crazy quilt class and asked if we would be able to put something together. We of course said yes and put together a couple of samples for the new class that would take place in the fall. Kara's crazy quilt sampler Teri's crazy quilt sampler In both samplers, we used a few motifs from Jan's book, and found inspiration for others from pictures or in our gardens. During that summer, we were at Quilt Odyssey in Hershey, Pennsylvania, perusing the vendors when we came across a booth selling vintage items. Our eyes were immediately drawn to an all velvet crazy quilt hanging on the wall. The velvets were all in the most gorgeous jewel tones, yet the embroidery was simple, which only enhanced the velvets. As we were drooling gazing upon this beauty, the vendor approached us and asked if we needed help (most certainly we did). We asked where she had found the quilt and if there was any information as to its provenance. All she knew was that it came from a small town in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and probably was old. That was it; no more details about such an amazing quilt. Teri asked the price and seriously contemplated purchasing it but wanted to think about it first. After all, we were teaching a crazy quilt class soon, and what a great teaching tool it could be! We walked away from the booth and I tried to play the devil's advocate (her husband doesn't believe that part), but we didn't even get two booths away before the decision was made. We walked back to booth and the quilt was gone! Fortunately, the vendor had set it aside with thoughts of keeping it for herself, but relinquished it into Teri's loving hands. All velvet crazy quilt, approximately 72-inches square, dated around 1930. Detail: each block is about 18" square. Note the tree embroidered in the center, found in the center of each block, always placed on a red patch. Since there was very little information about the quilt we began to get creative, wondering how someone could acquire all those different velvets. Did they work in a violin case factory, or better yet, did they work in a place that lined caskets? Those were just a couple of the crazy ideas that we suggested, (because it seems that if one doesn't know the story of a quilt, making up its history is the logical result.) Upon further research, we found out that packs of velvets were able to be ordered, and we also discovered that the pattern for the tree design embroidered in each block was published by Singer around 1930. Those questions were answered, but many more still remained. Who made this quilt that had such thoughtfully placed embroidery and colors? Was it made for anyone in particular? Did the maker nearly lose her mind while piecing all that velvet? We will probably never know. Our crazy quilting class was such a success and the demand so high that we ended up teaching two classes this past fall and have another one scheduled this month. We were both surprised at the response to our class, but shouldn't have been surprised that many others shared our love for this particular quilt genre. What is it about these quilts that catches our attention, and how did this style begin? Piecing small pieces of worn out garments into blankets had been a practice since the Colonial times, but it didn't become an art form until the Victorian era. Some crazy quilts were made with nostalgia in mind and might have scraps of garments that brought thoughts of special people or special days. Other crazy quilts were made by wealthy ladies as a way to showcase there needlework talents. Japanese art greatly influenced the motifs and settings in these Victorian-era quilts. When I was in Maine this past fall, I was fortunate to see an amazing crazy quilt. The stunning quilt was a fine example of a Victorian-era quilt. The embroidery was mostly done in vibrant shades of silk perle, and the motifs and edge stitches were clever and creative. That quilt was a splendid example of why I think crazy quilts are so intriguing—that you almost always see something different every time you look at them. Carla's quilt, detail Yesterday, Teri and I stopped into Patches, our local quilt shop, and saw this gorgeous quilt hanging. It was made by Carla Fultz, who works there and took our class last fall. We were stunned by the beauty of her quilt and loved her color selections. Carla's creative motif choices add quite a spark of interest to her quilt. We were honored that she allowed us to share it with you. Carla's crazy quilt Given our penchant for stories, we found this adorable reprint of a Victorian postcard that depicted Little Red Riding Hood at Grandma's house and have pieced this block using more embellishment. At some point in the future, this will be another class and will allow our students to broaden their repertoire of skills that can be used on their crazy quilts. Little Red Riding Hood, as stitched by Kara The sky is the limit nowadays as to what a crazy quilt can look like and what fabrics, fibers and details can be used. Some are simple with just embroidery, and some have fantastic embellishments throughout. A crazy quilt can be themed with a story, or with color elements, or even using one type of fabric such as silk or velvets. Every crazy quilt is unique to its maker and his or her tastes, and not necessarily a reflection of the maker's mental state . . . well, okay, we may be a LITTLE crazy!

Just Beachy Karen K. Stone Image Source Page: http://alderwoodquilts.com/shopping/category.asp?c=patterns&p=1

A blog about fabric, quilting, patchwork, sewing, embroidery, quilt shows

Lately it seems as if everyone is always on the go and crunched for time, trying to fit in a little sewing between finishing work and making dinner or while waiting in the doctor's office or at the bank. Maybe that's why portable handwork has become so popular again—from wool appliqué to English paper piecing hexies, there's a huge variety of options that just cry out to be brought along everywhere and sewn in small bits. And crazy quilting is no exception! You can easily lose yourself in the sumptuous stitches and enjoyable embellishment of a crazy-quilting project, escaping from the stress of your daily life, if only for a short time. Never tried crazy quilting before? The best book to start with, hands-down, is Judith Baker Montano's The Crazy Quilt Handbook. It covers all the embroidery and silk-ribbon stitches you want to know, as well as piecing, appliqué, choosing fabric and colors, beading, dyeing, and so much more! Plus, there are twelve projects perfectly sized for portability. Let Judith's expertise introduce you to the absorbing world of crazy quilting! Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Date: ca. 1900. Geography: Made in United States. Culture: American. Medium: Cotton. Dimensions: 76 1/2 x 75 3/4 in. (194.3 x 192.4 cm). Classification: Tex...

That last potholder grew out of a need for mindfulness in my life. This one, on the other hand, was sewn out of jealously. If you follow the lovely Kayanna on instagram (@junecraft) you already kno…

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with-grace-and-guts: Vintage quilts | via Moon to Moon

Here's an old pattern with an art deco look. You see it most often in wools with seam-covering embroidery--- relatives of the crazy quilt. Kansas Museum of History Sometimes in silks. But more common in wools and blend Most are from online auctions From dealer Mark French Polyester from the Wyoming Project and the Quilt Index The pattern was published several times. It's #3345 to 3347 in BlockBase Clara Stone published it first about 1900 as Sunshine or Friendship Fan, which may have been the inspiration for many of the wool examples. Eveline Foland at the Kansas City Star recognized the modern possibilities in the early 1930s. "Choose floral or figured fabrics in pastel color for the prettiest results." Green sashing. The Star published it at least twice as a full circle. "The Thrifty Wife" This cotton circle variation is older than the Star pattern. Feather stitching around the circles. Tim Latimer found one on the Quilt Index from the Nebraska project by Mabel Fletcher Hornaday, probably made from the Star pattern. International Quilt Museum collection Spectacular version that's a memorial to soldiers serving in the Spanish-American war. Rectangles--more string than fan. The fan arc is rather flattened out here Recent quilt Air Frais by Josette Schnegg, quilted by Paulette Capt Tim Latimer's version has a corner triangle rather than an arc. Here's one with an extra arc. Nancy Cabot at the Chicago Tribune called this variation Friendship Fan in 1933. From the 1930s or '40s There's a lot of pattern potential. You could just piece diagonal strings over a foundation and pop a quarter circle in the corner. Or here's an 8" pattern from BlockBase

A few of the quilts that caught my eye at PIQF this year.

Last week found me enjoying a few days away in Wales and en-route I popped into The Welsh Quilt Centre because I had read about it in Homes and Antiques and because they have some Kaffe Fassett qui…

Sometimes you just need a feel-good sewing project, like these two scrappy pincushions! Amanda Jean from Crazy Mom Quilts had a month long...

Finally I can show you my centre piece for Mountmellick, the Di Ford Mystery. I completed it last night. Ik kan jullie eindelijk mijn middenstuk laten zien van Mountmellick, de Di Ford mystery. Ik heb het gisteravond afgemaakt. Doing my own thing with this mystery proved harder than I had thought. The 'flower arranging' was finally done late last night and I can now share pictures of what I did. Zelf stofkeuzes maken voor deze mystery bleek lastiger dan ik had gedacht. Het 'bloemschikken' was gisteravond eidenlijk klaar en nu kan ik foto's laten zien van wat ik heb gedaan. I stitched the stems using mostly the Hungarian Braided Stem Stitch and for the tendrils I used the normal stem stitch. Ik heb de stengels geborduurd, grotendeels met de Hungarian Braided Stem Stitch en voor de ranken de normale steelsteek. Instead of the broderie perse flowers in between the swags, I made circles of my favourite ochre fabric with roses. In plaats van de roze broderie Perse bloemetjes tussen de guirlandes, heb ik rondjes gemaakt van mijn favoriete oker rozenstof. Borders 2 to 5 are mostly almost completed, so it should go a bit faster from now on. I cannot wait to attach border 2, to see how my focus fabrics - mostly by Judie Rothermel - work with this romantic and soft feel of the centre piece. Randen 2 tot en met 5 zijn grotendeels klaar, dus het zou vanaf nu wat sneller moeten gaan. Ik kan niet wachten om te zien hoe rand 2 met mijn basiststofjes - grotendeels van Judie Rothermel - staan bij de romantische en zachte middenstuk. Back soon with more news of Mountmellick, and of some lovely Christmas presents I received over the past weeks. Tot gauw met meer nieuws over Mountmellick en over leuke en mooie kerstcadeautjes die ik de aflopen weken ontving.

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BERNINA offers over 100 presser feet to give you free rein with your creativity! Let's take a closer look at the best feet for garment sewing.