Crazy Patch Purse

     And this crazy patch purse has been places it never dreamed of when it was mere scraps in my sewing basket.  I've had more coompliments on this bag than on any thing I ever made.  It was made on a whim from blocks used to teach crazy patch and quilt-as-you-go construction.  In this business you never know what will catch the eye of someone.

THEY KNOW WHAT I LIKE! :-)

My sister attended the National Association of Black Sstoryteller's Conference in November 2012, and bought this lovely wall hanging for me.  The center is felted and shows the three Wise Men coming to see the babe.  I love the colors and the stitching of the crazy blocks.

Then, my daughter took the crazy picture I've used all year on FB and this blog and made a mug of it for me.  Now, this  is my favorite mug.

Sister also purchased this book, which I didn't have in my collection.   I remember her asking to borrow this and finding out I didn't have it.  Clever girl.  The thoughtfulness of these gifts fills me with gratitude that overflows my heart.

My Sister's "CRAZY-TEE" Quilt

          For her retirement, she brought me a bag of T-Shirts and said, "Please make me a T-Shirt quilt. These are some of my favorite Tee's with memorable pics and sayings."
           I said, " Okay, no Problem!"
            The year was 2008.   And now it's finally finished!   TA! DAaaaaa!

Some of her favorite T-Shirts.

The Crazy side.

The T-Shirt side!

She really liked it.  I'm happy she's happy and finally has the finished product.

P.S.  Sometime between 2008 and 2012, she decided she'd like a crazy quilt too.

Amy's Creative Bloggers' Online Quilt Festival:: Spring 2011

Hellooooo Amy's followers.

Below you will find my entry into this year's Bloggers Online Quilt Festival. Since this is my first entry, I am very excited.

The quilt is titled Mountain Mama's Garden. I've done several quilts focused on the hills of West Virginia; the earlier ones were wall hanging sizes, but I've wanted to do a big quilt using this theme for quite some time. Last fall, I took a class in crazy quilting and decided to try a crazy quilt landscape. And VOILA!

The Process

I love the effect of light caught in facets of space that is created by the crazy block form and the mix of color values. I enjoyed making this quilt. Piecing the blocks was exciting and I couldn't wait to finish that part. A few weeks before I began this quilt, I'd purchased some gold and silver thread at a yard sale that seemed perfect for hand quilting the sun and a few rays.

A closer view.

My sun center rather resembles a bird.  Hmmmm, maybe a phoenix.

 I debated back and forth between hand quilting and machine quilting. I have a fairly new Handi-quilter 16 and decided quilting this piece would give me more practice in using it. So I machine appliqued a few clouds in the sky and  echo quilted around them. Then, I quilted the hills, and lastly the flowers. The machine quilting went well until I got to the hills and changed threads. It seems the tension went haywire. It didn't return to normal  even stitching until after I'd finished that section and changed treads again.  I learned that I need the same kind of thread on the spool as in the bobbin for smooth quilting.   Each time I use my handi-quilter, I learn new things. My handi-quilter is the sit down model, with the table, so all quilting is hand guided.  As I am still learning to machine quilt, tips and suggestions are very welcome.

Mountain Mama's flower garden.

I am so happy blogger is back up and I can participate in this spring's Blogger's Online Quilt Festival.