Tag: Crazy quilting

Quilting the Crazy

Dear Liza,

It seems weird to say, but most of the Crazy Quilt isn’t about the quilting. I’ve been at it since October and am just NOW doing the quilting.

The piecing and embroidering have taken a long time. The quilting, the step that holds the top, middle and backing together, the part that makes it a QUILT, goes the fastest. And it’s exhausting!

First, the quilt is heavy, and moving it around is a challenge. It is big, at five by seven feet, and the edges are bulky and floppy. Our living room is too small for a free-standing quilting frame, so I needed to find another way.

I tried working in my lap, but got a neck sprain. Using the biggest hand-held quilting hoop kept the quilt stretched, but was still unwieldy.

While watching Katharine Hepburn’s Eleanor of Aquitaine do needlework in “Lion in Winter”, I saw the answer. I needed something to support the heavy quilt at a good angle to work on, while keeping it stretched.

Turns out, two kitchen chairs work just fine! I sit on one, lean towards the other one, and can work for quite a while before I get worn out.

If I can work a little everyday, I should have the whole thing quilted and edged before Cousin Kestrel’s school year is over. I promised her she could take it to her Textiles Class for show and tell.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Pulling the Crazy Together

Dear Liza,

Once all the blocks were sewn, the Crazy Quilt came together pretty quickly.

I moved some furniture so I had room to spread all 140 blocks out and make sure they looked good…. A nice balance of darks and lights over the whole area of the quilt. I look like Gulliver standing over the landscape!

I labeled each block as part of a grid (A1, A2, etc.) so my careful arrangement would not get mixed up.

Then, there was the very careful sewing of the rows together…about 150 seams, 6 inches long. It took about 4 hours, including some time for peeling the vegetables for dinner. Then ten long seams, and all was well.

I used random leftover fabrics for the backing of each square, which will never be seen when the quilt is finished.

I can’t believe I sewed the WHOLE thing!

Love,

Grandma Judy

The Next Level in Crazy

Dear Liza,

I can’t believe that I have actually gotten 140 crazy quilt blocks pieced and embroidered! I finished the last one today while waiting for Cynthia to come visit.

The next step is trimming all 140 blocks so they are EXACTLY the same size so they piece together nicely. In this case, a 6 and a half inch square. Bridgett’s hand-cut template makes this easy to get right.

The procedure is simple enough. Place the template, hold it down, and firmly roll the rotary disc along the edges. That rascal is wicked sharp, so I am being very careful.

And I am making good progress. This afternoon I got 40 blocks cut before my wrist let me know it was time to take a break. I made myself stop. But tomorrow is another day!

I can’t wait to show you what comes next!

Love,

Grandma Judy

How Much Crazy is Enough Crazy?

Dear Liza,

When I finished sewing curtains and walking in the sunshine the other day, I counted my pieced and embroidered crazy quilt blocks.

There are almost 100!!! When laid out in a 10 by 10 square (ish), they cover about a five foot by five foot area. I am so pleased!

I love how the colors, shapes and embroidery work together. I love the “aerial photograph of a fantasy world” look. I love the map-ish-ness of it. I want to get tiny and go for long walks on this quilt.

Cousin Kestrel has even been doing some embroidery when she comes by, and Auntie Katie, too.


Auntie Bridgett cut me a strong template from an old book cover (left from our friend Melody Bush’s book excavation art) so I can make sure the blocks are straight and even before sewing them together.

But is it enough? I still have enough fabric to make more blocks, and there is certainly no hurry to finish it. Hmmmmmmm….

I will take a break, think on it, and let you know soon.

Love,

Grandma Judy

More Crazy-ness

Dear Liza,

With the holiday / sick in bed season over, I can get back to some projects I love. The Crazy Quilt, for example.

Here is my progress so far. 75 blocks pieced out of the 120 I will need, and all but 15 of them have been embroidered. In the picture, there are 20 blocks in each baggie. So, mathematically speaking, I am more than half way done! (With the “block making” step, there are a half dozen more).

I am getting more inventive in my piecing, using tiny scraps to make bigger chunks to apply. This uses up the tiny scraps and also gives a nice contrast of large and small pieces.

I am also having fun with the embroidery, following some curving lines and generally making things up as I go along. I am really enjoying it!

I like how some of the blocks are like their own little work of art, and how others look like an aerial photograph of a really interesting farm.

I’ll keep you posted on the progress!


Love,

Grandma Judy