Tag: making crazy quilts

Crazy Progress

Dear Liza,

I have been taking a break from the Crazy Quilt for a while, but am now back at it. I have gotten better at piecing, and can do two six inch blocks in about 30 minutes.


After three blocks, I take a break because the hunching over to sew and iron makes my back tired.

Once I get a good stack of blocks done, I start embroidering. This is fun, because I just start stitching along the edges of the piecing.

Sometimes I go astray, and that’s fun too. I can even sew around the edges of the flowers. It’s up to me.

So now, I’m working on about the 50th block. I’ll need about 140, so my first Crazy Quilt is still a long way from being done!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Starting the Crazy Quilt

Dear Liza,

Having collected fabric from my own big stash box and Auntie Katie’s, it was time to start piecing my very first crazy quilt.

I put the giant pile of strips of fabrics close at hand, and set up my sewing machine and small ironing board at the kitchen table, because every seam needs to be pressed as it is sewn in place.

I’ve watched a lot of videos on laying down the bits, and have a fine book on the subject, so I thought I had it all figured out. I began with confidence, laying down strips in the colors I had chosen.

But I lost focus somewhere and forgot that acute angles are a big no-no… and ended up with a hole that needed a clumsy top-stitched piece to hide it. See it? That almost- triangle where the white backing shows through? Ugh.

I took a break, had a snack, and watched the videos again. Back at it half an hour later, I was more careful about trimming to make straight edges and, by my third block, seem to have learned a bit.

I still have some issues…. Proportions of light to dark, and making some pieces too big and others too small. Or maybe these are part of the “Crazy” charm. I’m still working it out.

Anyway, here are my first three blocks, in order from left to right.
And here are the next three… I think I am improving!

Love,

Grandma Judy