Student Crazy Quilt Blocks

I have some pretty completed blocks to share today.  The first is Kathy's completed Lesson 4 - Flight Of The Bumblebee:

Kathy did a wonderful job with Lesson 4.  A nice variety of stitches, I see some pretty floral vines, a few extra bumblebees - Kathy are those little ones embroidered?  Kathy did a wonderful job filling the negative space without covering up the entire block.  Notice how your eye moves around the block.  There's a nice flow to this block.  And a lovely combination of colors.

Next, I have Maria's block from Lesson 7 - Proud As A Peacock:

Maria's peacock is gorgeous!  This lesson required that all seams be stitched with the Feather stitch.  Maria has several variations of it on her block.  Notice the cast-on stitch to the left.  Lovely!!!!  I also see the buttonhole stitch used on the leaves of the branch and some pretty yo-yo flowers at the top.  Again, Maria did a wonderful job creating movement.  All the required elements are here and the colors in this block are just beautiful!

Finally, I have Karin's Lesson 7 block:

All I can say is, beautiful!  That peacock is just stunning!  Karin outdid herself on this block.  The feather stitch is used on several seams, the long and short stitch on the peacock's upper body is perfect and the white flowers create a wonderful balance with the white peacock.  I see the ribbon and yarn vines at the top some pretty satin stitched leaves on the branch.  Karin, is that a vintage brooch on the peacock tail?

I have to say, I'm blown away by the beautiful work that is coming from my students.   I'm seeing an awesome amount of creativity added to the requirements for each block.  Excellent execution of the requirements, and very good balance.

Thank you Ladies!  Ya'll did a wonderful job on these blocks!

Lesson 8 will be available soon.  If anyone is interested in taking my Crazy Quilt Color & Composition Classes, you can start anytime.  Feel free to join in the fun!  And be sure to email photos to me of your finished blocks!

Color And Composition Lessons General Supply List

I thought I would go ahead and post the general supply list for our Color & Compositions Lessons starting in January 2013.  These are the supplies used for basic crazy quilting:

*A variety of fabrics in a variety of colors. Some prints, some solids and some textures.  I offer a Crazy Quilt Fabric Variety Pack in my Etsy shop.  Please keep in mind that only small pieces of fabrics are necessary for crazy quilting.  1/8 yards are more than enough.

*Threads - again, lots of colors are nice to have on hand.  You can use DMC 6 strand embroidery floss, #5 Perle cottons, Kreinik #4 or #8 Braids, basically whatever you like.  One of my favorite threads to use is Watercolours by The Caron Collection.

*Printable Fabric Sheets - these are available in sewing and craft stores such as JoAnn Fabrics and Hobby Lobby.  I use the June Tailor cotton fabric inkjet sheets.

 *Beads - lots of beads!  That's if you want to do my style of crazy quilting.  I use a lot of seed beads and a lot of glass pearls.  Also, flower beads and anything else that you like are nice to have on hand.

*Buttons - any type of buttons you have on hand is fine.  I use lots of plain old sewing buttons along with some pretty vintage glass buttons and inexpensive novelty buttons.

*Beading Thread or Dental Floss - it's best to attach beads with a sturdy beading thread but I've never found one that I like so instead, I use dental floss.  Just plain waxed dental floss from the dollar store.

*Needles - I'm sure most stitchers and sewers have a variety of needles on hand.  I use tiny quilting needles for beading and just a plain sewing needle for everything else.

*Pins - Another thing that every seamstress or stitcher should have on hand!

*Waste Canvas - yes, we will be working with my waste canvas technique.  I suggest either 8.5 count Waste Canvas or 10 count Waste Canvas.  If you have trouble finding it, 123Stitch.com carries it in both sizes.
Also, if you've never done counted cross stitch, you might find this YouTube video helpful.  If you prefer, this tutorial will help too.

*14 count Aida - we will be doing some cross stitch so I suggest have some in white and some in cream color and any other color that you might like to work with.

*White Felt - An 8 1/2 X 11 piece should more than enough.

*E6000 Jewelry Glue.  We'll be using this to attach anything that can't be sewn on.  It's available at Walmart, JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby and Michaels.

*Laces & Trims - again, variety in color and width.  Flea markets and antiques shops are a nice place to find vintage pieces but some nice things can found in craft and sewing stores as well.

*Small Fabric Flowers - Little satin roses and other small flowers that can be sewn on are nice to have on hand for crazy quilting.  Etsy is a great place to find these things for reasonable prices.

*Sequins - what can I say?  I love glittery things and nothing adds glitter like sequins!  I buy mine from http://www.ccartwright.com/

*Charms - little brass charms like butterflies, bees, dragonflies and other bugs are a nice stash addition.

*Muslin - I use a medium weight muslin for my foundation piecing.

*Silk Ribbon - it's a bit pricy but it adds so much to a CQ piece.  I buy mine in white and hand dye it myself.  We won't go into hand dying but if you'd like to try it, I've written a tutorial for dyeing ribbon with inexpensive Rit dye.  I purchase my 7 MM and 4 MM silk ribbon from Threadart.  You can also purchase solid colors from them as well.

*Vintage or broken jewelry - again, this up to you.  Just look around and see what you have on hand that you might like to use on your crazy quilt.

Well, that's the basic supply list for Crazy Quilting.  Each of our 25 blocks will have their own supply list but much of what we use will be from this list.  There may a couple of things for you to pick up here and there but nothing expensive or excessive.

If you're completely new to crazy quilting, I suggest that you review this tutorial on Foundation Piecing.  This is the technique I use and we will be covering it in the first Lesson but I thought it'd be a good idea for anyone who's new to this to get an idea of how foundation piecing works.

So that's the general list everyone!  Here's a little eye candy for you.  These will be heart shaped Christmas Door Knob Hangers:

I plan to sew these up over the weekend and add them to my Etsy shop.

More On Our Color and Composition Lessons

Just wanted to update everyone a bit on our Color and Composition Lessons.  I've put a ton of thought into this and I think the idea of making a 25 block quilt will be a lot of fun and a great way to learn how to work with these concepts that seem to elude many stitchers.

If I may reiterate, you will learn how to work with color and composition through the repetition of doing it and working with my guidelines.  You will also learn some cool techniques as you go along!  And of course, there will be lots of helpful hints and time savers.

I was asked if there will be a supply list.  Yes, I am working on a general supply list and I will post that in the next day or so.  These items will be necessary things for the overall project.  Then, there will be a supply list per block.  Specific things that will be needed for that project.

 I do encourage you all to work from your stash rather than buying a ton of new stuff.  Although I would never discourage anyone from buying new stash either!  I'm a firm believer in stash addiction addition!  LOL!!!

Honestly, if your budget is limited, you might have to get creative....and that's what this is all about!  These lessons will spark your imagination and encourage your creativity. 

There is a tab at the top of my blog called Crazy Quilt Color & Composition Lessons.  News and information regarding this project will be posted there so for those of you who are working the lessons, you can find the information as needed.

Again, you can do as many or as few as you choose to but the more lessons you do, the better you'll get at working color and composition.  If you do all 25 lessons, you'll have enough blocks at the end of the project to make a beautiful crazy quilt!  I myself will be putting my 25 blocks together into a wall quilt as well.

Please start spreading the word about this.  The more stitchers we have, the more fun this will be and the more inspiration we'll all have.

Crazy Quilting From Start To Finish Class

I have a sweet lady coming up to my home in McHenry, Illinois to take my Crazy Quilting From Start To Finish class.  This is a 2 day class and the title says it all!  Learn how to Crazy Quilt from foundation piecing to stitching, to embellishing to finishing into something useable!

We're looking at the 3rd weekend in September and I would love to have at least 1 more student.  We'll be making a small Crazy Quilt Door Pillow:

A healthy, homemade lunch will be included for both days and there are always freshly baked muffins and my famous cookies here!  It'll be like an elegant ladies tea party!!!

If anyone is interested in taking a weekend class Sept. 17th & 18th to learn the elegant art of crazy quilting, please give me a call at 815-344-3442. Class Fee is $130 for the 2 day class, 7 hours each day.  We'll have loads of fun!  You'll get to see my crazy quilts in person, meet my awesome husband and see our beautiful Model A!