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Crazy Quiltingam no longer a quilter--that last Baltimore Album quilt slapped it right out of me. But I love crazy quilts. Embroidery in all its forms, is what I love, and this is the medium to play with textures, fabrics, buttons, beads, rocks, gems, threads of all kinds, laces, pieces of embroidery and clothing, and any memorabilia you make stick! "The beauty of a crazy quilt lies in the greatest variety of stitches." Boy, that's for me!! There are no rules. No pattern is wrong. No mixture of stitching techniques is improper. No mixing of threads can threaten the washer. All color combinations are allowed. You simply can't do it wrong. You can combine threads, fabrics, and all manner of objects, because this is the quilt that is for viewing not using. It's the no-holds-barred policy that can bring out the gypsy-designer in all of us! Crazy quilts from the past are amazing collections of techniques, history, and fantastic skill. Since a crazy quilt isn't the best textile for determining its own age, I urge everyone to sign and date it...like crazy!!! Crazy quilting tore through our country in the 1890s and has reappeared in the last couple of decades with a vigor unmatched in Victorian times. Godey's Lady's Book was filled with suggestions, patterns and hints for the making of these creations, and women ate them up. Filet crochet was very popular at this time, and the savvy sewer used the patterns for embroidery and could well decide to put the practice pieces on the quilt as a testimony to her needle's prowess. Leisure time was the ultimate luxury in Victorian times. (Isn't it still??) If a man could work hard enough to provide his wife with luxury time, she was expected to fill that time with the fanciest stitching, and show it off! Where better than on a piano cover, over the back of the sofa, or thrown on a footstool? This was considered a successful state of affairs. Judith Baker Montano is the woman most often credited for bringing the art of crazy quilting to the attention of so many of us in the last couple decades. Her work is wonderful, and while she may not be the first, she is certainly the most noted designer of crazy quilting, and first used silk ribbon on her designs in a big way, so that the rest of us can now buy these beautiful ribbons and threads at last! Use them on cottons, silks, velvets, polyesters, and blends. Anything goes. Josephine Ruth Paine has worked in this field, and had a one-woman show in 1999 featuring garments in this style! Needlearts Magazine. Eileen Johnson teaches. Anne Johnson also writes on its history. There are other authors, too! Penny McMorris, Dixie Haywood and Janet Haigh, J. Marsha Michler, and Carole Samples for example. It's a wonderful way to use up the last of a favorite fabric or thread, or least favorite. Nothing is wrong with mixing and not matching. Explore, have fun, and send me a picture!!
Those first two words grabbed me over a month ago
and I’ve not been able to shelve the book yet. I highly recommend this beautiful book to any and all who have even a passing interest in crazy quilts. It certainly stole my heart.
Samples, Carole K. Parks. Treasury of Crazy Quilt Stitches. This is a wonderful treasury of stitches, literally thousands!! I love my copy and recommend it to anyone who wants to start. If you can have only one book for combining stitches, this is the one!! All pages are an off-white, almost parchment, so I could read it in the sun without going blind. All pages are glossy, too! Each chapter begins with a black and white photo of a crazy quilt block, all of which are shown at the beginning of the book in color. And all those drawings showing how to combine, use, and mix stitches are invaluable. Links: Caron's webpage: Oooh, check it out. Betty's work is lovely!! Some more wonderful books on Crazy Quilting: Arnett, M. V. Pieces from the Crazy Quilt: The Childhood Memoirs of a Great-Grandmother
Bond, Dorothy. Crazy Quilt Stitches. Causee, Linda. An Encyclopedia of Crazy Quilt Stitches and Motifs. Haywood, Dixie. Crazy Quilt Patchwork. ______________. Quick-And-Easy Crazy Quilt Patchwork : With 14 Projects (Dover Needlework Series) Haigh, Janet. Crazy Patchwork. Keller, Jan. Pieces from My Crazy Quilt McMorris, Penny. Crazy Quilts. This has been out of print for a long time, and she refuses to allow it to be republished...the ones out there are more valuable that way. Try a used book service, as this one is supposed to be a good one. One of the first. Michler, J. Marsha. Magic of Crazy Quilting ______________. Crazy Quilting by Machine Montano, Judith Baker. Crazy Quilt Handbook. and the Revised Second Edition is even better! This is the lady that started it all for me, from one small article in an embroidery magazine. It feeds the "gypsy" in me, too. _________________. Elegant Stitches. This is a lovely little book, glossy pages all through, and her signature sketches along with lovely photographs makes this a wonderfully inspiring book. _________________. Floral Stitches. _________________. The Art of Silk Ribbon Embroidery. This is a gorgeous book that focuses on how to use silk ribbons on crazy quilts. Samples, Carole K. Parks. Treasury of Crazy Quilt Stitches. This is a wonderful treasury of stitches, literally thousands!! I love my copy and recommend it to anyone who wants to start. If you can have only one book for combining stitches, this is the one!! All pages are an off-white, almost parchment, so I could read it in the sun without going blind. All pages are glossy, too! Each chapter begins with a black and white photo of a crazy quilt block, all of which are shown at the beginning of the book in color. And all those drawings showing how to combine, use, and mix stitches are invaluable.
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Crazy Quilts: History-Techniques-Embroidery Motifs