The Peacock Quilt

During my blogging break, I've been trying to clean out and rearrange cupboards and working in my yard which was done a long time ago due to the extreme heat and lack of rain back in July.  I have just about everything cut back and ready to try again come Spring.

It's been a tough Summer, losing my Simba in May and then my mom's Lakota in August.  But I have worked on some projects.  One of them is my Peacock quilt.  You may remember me posting about it quite awhile back:

I finally pulled it out and stitched on it:

Here are closeups of the side panels:

You can click on the photos to see larger versions of them.  Most of the seam treatments were worked from Volume 1 & Volume 2 of my Elegant Crazy Quilt Seam Treatment books.  I will be working on putting Volume 3 together soon.

And here's a closeup of the embroidered peacock:

This was a pre-stamped design on black satin.  I stitched it back in the early 80's but never sewed it into anything.  I came across it a few years ago while rearranging my stash and thought it would make a nice focal point for a crazy quilt.  I added crystals to the eyes in the feathers for added sparkle.

I'll put this together soon and post an update when it's done.

Frames For Peacock Crazy Quilt

Yesterday, I shared photos of my Winter Crazy Quilt Project which will be a Peacock Quilt.  Deb at Mosaic Magpie blog asked if I would post a photo of the frames that my dad made for me.  Here are the frames:

Since I want to stitch on the side pieces simultaneously, I asked my dad to make me two frames. 

Here is a photo of the blocks which are now attached the frames with thumb tacks:

 I have never liked stitching without a hoop or frame to hold on to.  I stitched my Lucky quilt entirely in hand with out a hoop and I will never do that again!

Hoops or frames will hold the piece taught so that it doesn't get askew and out of shape from the stitching.  It helps to keep the stitching tension more even.  However, with crazy quilting, due to the fancy fabrics and embellishments, a hoop or frame that fits the entire piece is necessary.  Hoops will leave marks on fancy fabrics and it's too hard to move a hoop around once the embellishments start to go on. 

I'm very fortunate that when I need a custom sized frame, I can ask my dad or my husband to make me them for me!

Winter Crazy Quilt Project 2011 - 2012

I won't start on this until the end of October or the beginning of November but it's ready to stitch so I thought I'd share it with you today.

My Winter Crazy Quilt project for this will be a Peacock Quilt:

This beautiful peacock design was a pre-stamped design on black satin.  I stitched it back in the 1980's and never finished it into anything.  I think it's the perfect focal point for a crazy quilt!

I want to stitch on the side pieces simultaneously so my dad made me 2 custom sized stitching frames.  I've already added the blocks to the frames and secured them with thumb tacks so this project is ready to stitch on.

If you're new to my blog, I cope with Seasonal Affective Disorder Syndrome, which has already set in by the way!  And it's only the end of August!  Anyway, I've found that having a Winter Crazy Quilt project to work on throughout the cold, snowy and dreary months, helps me to get through until Spring which is my favorite season.  By March or April, I'll have a nice finished crazy quilt to hang in my home.  This quilt will hang above the television in my bedroom.