Country Crazy Quilt

My quilting friend, Noell, came back from her winter down south with this lovely crazy quilt pattern that she shared with the Dalemead Quilt Guild that meets southeast of Calgary, Alberta.

The blocks are made from 5 fat quarters of fabric. I had a half meter of the darkest fabric and this baby quilt used up all the fabrics. There is a piece of the larger fabric left, but not enough to even make the binding, so if you want binding, you'll have to add fabric for that.

Step One: Cut four 8" squares from each fabric. We stacked our fat quarters and cut through all 5 layers at once to make 4 neat stacks of 8" squares. Set three stacks aside and work with one stack at a time.

Step Two: Cut your stack of squares into 5 pieces. Avoid parallel cuts, sharp points, and intersections at outside corners. You may want to sketch out your cuts on paper before actually cutting your fabric. As you cut, label the pieces that are cut off from 1 - 5 (1 being the first piece cut off and 5 being the last piece). You may cut all stacks the same or treat each stack differently - the latter will make a more interesting finished piece.

Step Three: Scramble your pieces using the following directions before sewing them back together:

• LEAVE STACK #5 IN ORDER
• STACK #4, MOVE TOP PIECE TO BOTTOM
• STACK #3, MOVE TOP TWO TO BOTTOM
• STACK #2, MOVE TOP FOUR TO BOTTOM
• STACK #1, MOVE TOP THREE TO BOTTOM

Step Four: Sew blocks back together with scant 1/4" seam in REVERSE ORDER (piece 5 to piece 4, then add piece 3, add piece 2, add piece 1). You will notice that seams might not match perfectlyl. Don't worry, you will trim them to size later. Press as you sew and when finished, trim your first stack of blocks to 7"x7". If you can't get 7" out of your blocks, just trim them all a little smaller - as long as they are the same size, your quilt top will look fine!

Repeat until all four of your stacks of fabric are sewn into blocks. (Makes 20 blocks)
Arrange your blocks however you like - 16 blocks will make a nice table topper and as you can see, 20 blocks makes a great start on a baby quilt. Add a border or two, use a decorative stitch from your sewing machine to dress up the crazy patch, the possibilities are endless!

--Ann

Early Influences & 1 Year of Blogging!

Wow! I can't believe it, but I've been blogging for a full year! I hope you're enjoying reading what I have to say! I still feel it's a bit presumptuous to think people really want to know what's on my mind! Often, while I'm sewing, I think about why I love to make things and who or what encouraged me along the way. Being creative is something that feeds my soul. I don't ever remember a time when I didn't have that urge in me to "make" something.

My parents had their own business and when I was there with them, I loved to pull out the coloured papers that were there for the photo-copier and a pair of scissors, pencils, markers and pencil crayons. I would happily cut and draw and colour for hours and although none of my creations survived the passage of time, the time was well-spent.

From Red Pepper Quilts

Later, sewing, crocheting and knitting were added to my crafting skills and I made doll clothes, blankets and gifts for those around me as well as for myself. I remember going on a school field trip and one of the parent supervisors had brought along her fabric hexagons and was making a tea cozy - I no longer remember the purpose of the field trip, but the process of turning bits of fabric into a useful item was burned into my memory.

A librarian suggested a book for me to read in the 4th or 5th grade. It was called "Calico Bush" and was about a young girl who was "bound" or indentured to a family as their servant until she came of age and how her life was brightened by the quilts she was allowed to make and be part of making. It was then I decided that I would make at least one quilt in my life-time!

Like many quilters, my first quilt was for my first-born (he's now 27!) and because it wasn't made from quality materials, it didn't last past the 2nd child! The second quilt was a double wedding ring quilt that was made from sewing scraps. It took 9 years to piece together by hand and to hand-quilt. Sometime along the way, I discovered rotary cutters and tried easier patterns and have made many more quilts.

What was your inspiration to start quilting? Do you have any stories about your earliest exposures to quilting?

--Ann

Wedding Quilt Finished!

This custom quilt was a joy to complete from start to finish. Although paper piecing is not my first choice for constructing a full-size quilt, this quilt pattern needed the precision that paper piecing provides.

Click to see close up of the quilting!

I loved the fabrics and this quilt pattern works well with the fabrics chosen. Marie of Blueberry Hill Quilts in Chestermere, Alberta, did a beautiful job on the quilting (as always!) and selected a paisley floral pattern that is just stunning on the completed quilt.

Looks great on my wall - maybe I should make one for me?

Someone will need to remind me to take pictures of the FINISHED quilt - the pictures I took were before the binding was sewn down and I packed the quilt up and forgot to rehang it and take some pictures before packing it up.

--Ann