Alternate titles could be:
crazy mom takes a stab at crazy quilting
(you know it was only a matter of time...)
or
what's wrong with adding yet ANOTHER work in progress (or two) to the list?
So, my friend Tara came to visit this past weekend. The trip here was her birthday present and I love that I got to take part in celebrating with her. We had a BLAST! (With the exception that my boys shared their colds with everyone.)
We made a stop at IKEA. We did some playing with fabric and yarn. We did some sock knitting. (And some frogging and re-knitting.) Tara did some free motion quilting on the Juki. I started 2 new quilts. (Why start only one?) We visited my favorite yarn shop and my favorite quilt shop.
At the yarn shop we found a few things to purchase (of course) and in the middle of our transaction, Pam (the wonderful yarn store lady) excitedly remembered that someone was purging their fabric stash and told us to go take a look. (She knows that I'm a quilter.) I was skeptical that we would find anything good, but how wrong was I?
Very, very wrong.
We found lots of vintage silks. And some velvets. And linen. Some woven cottons and a few batik pieces. Most of the pieces were once clothing pieces. There was a wonderful variety of colors and prints. We left with a bag and a box full of fabric. Full of FREE fabric. :) It was a fabulous find.
The fabric find led to some crazy quilting experimentation. The plan was to make a few squares to turn into pillows, but I switched from pillows to a quilt in no time flat. I think I neglected to tell Tara, which was very funny. But making quilts is what I do.
Here are the first two blocks. I rather like them a lot. The bird piece on the right was part of our find as well and I think that it will make a wonderful (funky) addition to the crazy quilt. The piece on the left is my very favorite of the whole lot. It's is a GREAT red polka dot. I wish I had yards and yards.
Happy Monday to you!
39 comments:
Oh, lucky you! To be able to share what you love with your best friend! :-) I love your wall hangings -- you are such an artist. Thanks for sharing. :-)
It sounds like you had a fantastic weekend! You're always so cool -- your variety of projects never ceases to amaze me!
Oh, how do you top a day with a great friend and FREE fabric??
How fun! I love your quilt blocks!
Wonderful find!! Your blocks are really pretty... should make a great quilt.
seems you'll be playing along with me soon... ;-)
So much fun! How could we possibly explain it any better!
spending time sewing with a friend and free fabric. Doesn't get much better!
So, I see that you do not have a list of your WIPs on the sidebar. What's up with that? No guts, no glory, my friend. ;) I, of course, see nothing wrong with starting another project or two. That is my joy in life -- STARTING projects. Yeah, it was inevitable that you would make a crazy quilt. Congrats on all the free fabric. Love that!
Love it! .....and a big p.s......you mentioned sock knitting.....sure would LOVE for you to share your sock knitting pattern!!!
Alyssa
maa070607@yahoo.com
Every quilt has to start somewhere...why not with you. I'm a big believer in multiple projects.
You hit the gold mine! Have loads of fun with your treasures.
what's not to love about free fabric. Love scrappy quilts and I know yours will be fabulous
Lovely finds, Amanda :-)
Your blocks are fantastic... Great way to celebrate these beautiful vintage prints!
I'm jealous! Sounds like you had great fun. :)
Crazy beautiful is what it is!
Kind of looks like the fabric could have came out of the cedar chest.
How is quilting with the many different types of fabric? I inherited a bunch of fabrics from my grandmother, who was an apparel sewer, and I am trying to figure out what to do with it all. I thought I might try to make some clothes but haven't found the motivation to do that because I wouldn't really want to wear most of the prints she had collected...but a quilt...
A lot of the fabric seems to be a cotton/poly blend with some linen, corduroy, velvet and twill thrown in.
Sweet! That quilt is going to be so fun- and have such a great story!
What is it about red polka dot fabric? Lovely!
Would also like to see the sock knitting :)
I have bags and bags of scraps of saree's i collected in India while I lived there that I have wanted to make a quilt out of but couldn't figure out how. Your quilt blocks seem perfect for it! Thanks for the inspiration!
Too funny....just a couple of hours ago there was a post annoucing what Round 10 will be on the Old Red Barn Co. Quilt-Along....can you guess?!! Crazy Quilts!:)
Free fabric is always a plus--besides if you don't like what is given to you there isn't any emotional attachment to it when you then pitch or donate it elsewhere.
Free fabric is so much fun to get....your blocks are really good....I love to crazy quilt and have several in progress....they are very addictive....will you be hand embroidering them or leaving them as is.....
See it on your design wall just makes me think how lovely it would be with white sashing!
What a lucky fabric outing. :)
fabulous! im in the red polka dot clan too- cant get enough of the stuff! your quilt is looking interesting - but its playing havoc with my sense of order!!
What a great find. There is a piece of fabric is your photo that looks like a piece that I have in my stash too.
Can I ask about your design wall and what is it made of? Looks like a lot of fun.
What a lucky find. There is something special about "stash fabric". It needs to be loved. Sounds like it found a good home!
I'm surprised it took you this long to just sew stuff together with no rhyme or reason. I've been doing that with my "cuttings" for months now and it's amazing what comes of it. Always a surprise to be sure! Can't wait to see this beauty of yours come together!
sounds like a fun weekend! I love hearing about sewing bloggers getting together in person. Love your new crazy quilting project. Such a great way to use fabrics someone else didn't want.
You must have had a wonderfull time together! The blocks are very happy. I too love the polka dots!
groetjes
Annemieke
You have quite the eye for picking up fabrics and the talent for making them look great together in blocks. Thank you for sharing and inspiring!
More Than A Mom @ morethana-mom.blogspot.com
One of the eternal quilting rules:
If thou sends one box of scraps out into the universe, the generosity shall return to you two fold.
Further evidence that the scrap pile will never decrease...the goal is FLOW!
Sounds like a fun weekend...and I love the bird! Can't wait to see it in quilt form!
Sounds like a fab time! I love that bird fabric! I just finished (the top of) a crazy quilt ~ but I haven't the energy or inclination to do any fancy stitching on it.
Hope those colds don't last too long.
Cheers,
Dionne
Your crazy blocks are beautiful!
Making a crazy quilt is on my to-do list--someday! I made a crazy pillow when I was young and love the idea of adding all sorts of embroidery embellishments to crazy blocks.
But since I'll end up making it a monster-sized task, with all the hand-stitching, that quilt is on my list titled: To Do When Children Have Grown Up and Moved Away From Home.
I love the craziness of the quilt. I am doing a themed blue one right now. The addiction I have is shocking. I cant stop either.
What pretty blocks! I really like that red & blue bird fabric on the right! Lucky you, what a great find! :)
A hint. Start with some irregular five sided pieces when doing a crazy quilt. This will offer you more variety in your blocks. I love fabric so much and your crazy quilt will display a lot of it! I'll be watching your progress.
I love your quilt blocks and have been trying to find any instructions for making a crazy block quilt. Can you share any of your tips or recommend a pattern? Thanks, your blog is my favorite quilt blog FUN and Informative!
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