I have been thinking of trying my hand with a crazy quilt. I"m not very good with fancy stitches, but I can zig za g and add lace. Hints help and advice is welcome, in fact that is what I'm here for. thanks :lol: in advance

Ruth, I just bought every book I could find on the subject. Now that I've read them all, I am out of excuses for finally starting mine. Maybe we can learn together...I know a good foundation fabric is important and I have decided to cut my blocks 9X9. The rest is supposed to be the fun part. I take it, we just have to dive in and get our feet wet, I too will take advice from a "veteran"..I will share a book or too if it will help. Janie

I am a little confused on how you attach it to the foundation. Is it only attached by the fancy stiches?
I need to get to the library for some books, but it is snowing might get three feet and it is windy and wind chill below zero. I wish all my family would move somewhere warm then I could visit. :wink:

Dear Ruth,
I have made a couple sample blocks, just cut from muslin and have added a few pieces of pretty stuff like velvet and satins with bits of lace or ribbon with a flip and sew method, you can do whatever you like, just cover the entire foundation block with the pretty scraps, sew them down, trip off the extra on the edges and then you do your embroidery and fancy stitching on the seams or whatever you want. That is the beauty of it and there are a zillion crazy quilt websites. So, I am out of excuses and I will get my pretty fabrics out soon and start pressing....Today is the day....maybe we should challenge eachother to get off our tails and get busy....let me know after you have tried a few sample blocks....the offer for a good book swap still is on the table...janie

Oregon has been spared such bad weather this year, but I sympathize....YOu don't live in NY do you? I can't even fathom 10-12 feet of snow....
Stay warm and safe...Janie

Having been fascinated by Crazy Quilts forever, I gave it a shot. It is easy and it frees ones creative side, but talk about labor intensive!!! Just in the decorative stitches, mind you. I wanted really elaborate. After I realized I wasn't going to live long enough to finish a quilt (I figured at least 100 years), I decided to make a Christmas stocking out of it. No pics, I gave it to a friend for Christmas, but it turned out beautiful. And I actually got it done. No, it is not still a UFO lurking in the recesses of my sewing room. If a Crazy Quilt seems overwhelming to any of you , consider a smaller project.

This is part of my first 12 inch square I want to add a little more to it. I'm not happy with it. Next I will try one color.
At 12 inches will make a nice crazy purse :roll:

I have wanted to make a crazy quilt for long time Neva

Ruth I sent you a PM, Did you get it.

Does anyone know how many yards it takes to make a stack and whack?

To 'stack and whack' we were taught to take a grouping of however many you want to stack. Let's say you have 6 different square fabrics. We cut ours all the same size to begin with. I had about a 10" square. You stack them neatly on top of each other. Then cut...(whatever angle or direction you want)put the top right piece under the right side stack. Sew them all back together. (Now they don't match fabrics) and, you continue this process 6 different times (because of 6 layers) Each time taking the right fabric once cut on top, and put on the bottom right side stack. How much fabric it takes could be however big you want your quilt. This is a fun project and the bright batik's look super this way. Skeat

Our quilt guild is doing a small project of different quilting techniques (applique, molas, trapunto,chicken scratch, and paper piecing) the projects can't be more than 4 inches because the are the center of an eight in paper pieced crazy quilt block. I decided that I was going to make a crazy quilt wall hanging out of my blocks. I made 12 blocks all together and also made 16 x16 block for the center. Now I am adding lace, stitches and old pieces of jewlery that were my mother's. Want to see if I can find a book this weekend on silk ribbon embrodery to add more to it.[img]

What a great idea!! And you work is beautiful. The small squares really cut it down to a managable size.

pretty cool

I love it. But I love crazy quilt. reminds me of my queen crazy quilt. I've made 2, and Going to make another one. I'm even going to make a crazy quilt rag coat. I LOVE all the embellishments. I just acquired a pattern for a crazy quilt star pillow. I'm going to make it to match my next crazy quilt.
They are beautiful, You GO GIRL

Those wanting to make Crazy Quilts and were stopped by considering the embroidery stitches covering the seams. Hey, have you girls forgotten all the beautiful stitched on your machines? I'm lucky to have two different machines so have lots of stitches.

it wasn't the embellishing that "scared" me. it was the requirement for random colors and shapes. i am so left brained that random is almost impossible for me to cope with. thanks to Skeat, though, i now know how to take a logical approach to random patches. I finally see a crazy quilt in my future.

still need somebody to teach me how to cure my obsession with making sure all the colors "go together", though.

ironic, ain't it? i'm too crazy to be able to make a crazy quilt.
:shock:

Patrice,
I also have the problem w/ random selection of any type. So I must be ALL left-brained. LOL. Would mind sharing how "Skeat" helped you "take a logical approach to random"?

Near the end of the 1st page of this topic, Skeat wrote the following:

"To 'stack and whack' we were taught to take a grouping of however many you want to stack. Let's say you have 6 different square fabrics. We cut ours all the same size to begin with. I had about a 10" square. You stack them neatly on top of each other. Then cut...(whatever angle or direction you want)put the top right piece under the right side stack. Sew them all back together. (Now they don't match fabrics) and, you continue this process 6 different times (because of 6 layers) Each time taking the right fabric once cut on top, and put on the bottom right side stack. How much fabric it takes could be however big you want your quilt. This is a fun project and the bright batik's look super this way. Skeat "

I'd probably start with 15" squares. You'll lose 1/2" overall size for every two cut & sews. you'd have to do it in increments of 2 if you needed to end with squares and not rectangles. starting with 15" squares should give you a fighting chance of ending up with smallish "patches" in a decent size block.

Thanks that makes logical sense and I wouldn't be wasting fabric.(I was raised by depression era parents who taught us not to waste anything.)
Something that has helped me is to purchase bundled fat quarters or similar fabrics by the yard. But when it comes to knowing light, medium and dark or what colors go together...I get flustered. It's probably one of those things that you learn the more you do it. :wink:

Sis

Great job Mae: At least you have gotten started. I need a kick in the pants to get going and I don't have one excuse....I loved your work. Janie

THANKS JANIE : FOUND A BOOK FOR THE RIBBON EMBRODERY SO AN STICHING UP A STORM. I HAVE UNTIL JUNE WHEN THE GUILD IS MEETING FOR A RETREAT TO PUT THE BLOCKS TOGETHER, I THINK IT WILL PROBABLY TAKE THAT LONG TO FILL IN ALL THE LINES. LOL. I DON'T THINK I'LL EVER MAKE A BED SIZE QUILT. ( WON'T LIVE THAT LONG HA!)

Mae, be of good cheer, everyone that does a crazy quilt says that but Judith Montano and Marsha Micheler have finished dozens....maybe they didn't have spouses, kids or pets, who knows. Please post your blocks as you finish each one. We all need a little fresh inspiration from time to time and you just may be mine....Janie

http://www.qorsite.com/styles/crazy/crzayqlt.htm

This might be of some interest

You certainly encourage me to keep going. these three blocks are my lates that I added to. I think they are probably done mostly done but everytime i go back and look at them I think they need more.

I suspect you just need to study my quilt blocks Patrice. You can tell I ain't too friendly with a color wheel.

Step 1.) Drum into your head... "It's my quilt and I don't care if you don't like the colors."
Step 2.) Never ask anyone... "Do these go together?" They might actually know.
Step 3.) I like that Stack and Whack concept. Because you are so LB'ed, put all your dissimilar colors in the stack and rotate through them Mathematically. You get no choice as to what goes with what that way after you have set up the stack. Make more than one stack at a time with different fabrics. Halfway through, pull half the fabric squares off one stack (mathematically) and replace them with the fabric squares from the other stack. Keep cutting.
Step 5.) If it seems right... "Don't use that combination."

There is no step 4.

tim in san jose

you had me until you said "math". why you wanna cuss at me like that?

:shock:

:mrgreen:

I took a crazy quilt class using 12 inch squares from muslin. Then
sewed different fabrics onto it. I used the feather stitch and changed
thread(embroidery) colors. Its fun to do, makes a great quilt.

I am not really a "quilter" as most people describe them, but I have made a few and my mother made many in her lifetime. I remember one crazy quilt she made that seemed to follow the old fashioned method of stitching blocks to a piece of newspaper to be sure they were on the square. :? I watched, but never did one myself, but this seems to be something that would fit that.

The lady who did it folded a sheet of newspaper into a triangle (once) and measured both sides to be sure they were 12 and 1/2 inches each. The extra 1/2 inch was the seam allowance. and then she cut the piece on the other two sides to make her square. She said that newspaper was alwyas on the square and there was no fear of "warped" pieces that way.

The next step was to lay a piece of fabric on the corner and add another random piece to it. She called it strip piecing, but it was a far cry from what the books call strip piecing. Her pieces eventually made a few strips, but mostly they were like the ones you show in your photograph.

The advantage I saw to her method was that the piecing went faster and the seams were very secure. She put each new piece onto the next one by laying it upside down where she wanted them to join. She stitched across to make a seam and then flipped the new piece down over the seam and pressed it. Then she was ready for another new strip or piece. She did not do the hand embroidery, but she did lap quilt each square before she put the whole quilt together. It really did look nice.

BTW, this is my first time posting, so forgive my mistakes on what/how to do it. I am a grandmother (GramMER) to 15 and need to get the show on the road if I am to make each of them a quilt before my time comes. :roll:

GramMER

I love the paper pieced blue bird and the oragami flower. They are beautiful. Just work on them till your heart says done, you'll know when to quit...

hey Patrice and Tim,
It actually sounds like something I would try but now I don't know. The "M" word did set me back abit. I have been watching the new show on tv, "Are you smarter than a 5th grader....the "number" questions get me everytime, Don't tell anyone cuz quilters are supposed to be good at this stuff....

if most quilters were good at math, nobody could make a living selling patterns.
:wink:

Janie- what are your favorite kinds of quilts to make and do you hand quilt or machine quilt. My husband bought me a hobby quilter from Nolting about three years ago and I do use it for plain block quilt designs that I make for gifts but for showing I hand quilt although it seems like my latest one is taking forever. can't seem to stay away from my sewing machine or crazy quilt. Don't think I'm going to make the April 30 deline for the currant quilt on the stretcher. May have to be next years entry at this rate.

I love your wall hanging. Great job and great ideas.

I've made 2 crazy quilts and I'm still working on the second one. It's going to be wonderful when it's finished. What I did was use a square of muslin with the same size square of batting then I sewed the pretty fabric directly on the muslin (batting on the bottom). I then sewed and flipped the pretty fabric like someone else spoke of doing. I liked the result then when the block was all together I went back and did my decorative stitching. My first project was a bag. I got hooked on crazy scrap quilting with that bag but it is labor intensive. I'll attach a picture of the bag and block and the back side of the block..the bag is finished, the quilt isn't, yet! :>)

Good luck, keep sewing.
Randy

I like that , now I want to make one of those. Would love to see your quilt when your finished. Did you use all machine stitches? It's hard to tell the difference. and I like your method

Randy's finished products have exactly the look I was talking about except that the cloth I saw was either silk, velvet, satin, or some kind of other fancy material. Colors were impressive too. It had a really glitsy look in addition to the embroidery.

Of course today's machines could easily do the embroidery--at least part of it.

GramMER

Hi, you have to determine how far apart the 'repeat' is on your fabric. The further apart the repeat the more yardage you need. I started a stack n whack in a class 2 years ago but never finished it, I hope to maybe this year. My first recommendation is to get one of the stack n whack books at your library and see what the directions are and what is recommended. I believe I bought 5 yards based on my 'repeat'. some of the gals in class got 7 yds, but that seems too much, maybe they just wanted to be 'safe', or use some for the backing, I don't know.

Patrice & Sis, and anyone who'se interested.
One way to get random is to take 3 sacks and sort your fabrices all the LIGHT into one sack (better label the sacks) the MEDIUMS another, and the DARKs into the third. On second thought don't label the sacks. You can put all the random sized scraps you have into the proper sack.
Now measure out your base squares (which ever kind you want, even newspaper...but be aware that the ink may rub off. ) Now, have you got your sewing machine ready to roar. Good. Starting at the lovwer left corner of the base square (if you're left handed it's okay to start at the right corner.) Pick a piece of fabric out of one of the sacks. Okay, label the sacks "1", "2" & "3" so you can keep track. Pin that piece at the corner right side up, now take a second piece out of a different sack, place it wrong side up,and sew it on to the 1st piece with a 1/4" seam, with the directions as given by another reply-er, turn the 2nd piece right side up and finger press it flat. Now take a 3rd piece out of a sack, and add it to base following the previous directions. Keep adding pieces until the base is covered.
You can take pieces from any of the sacks to add, no need to worry about whether the colors go together, or if they are light, medium or dark. Remember the quilts you've seen made with pink and orange, and even fushia (?). If the pieces don't quite fill the space, cover the "absent" spot with the next addition. Don't forget lace or ribbons, or something you have saved to use sometime.
When, at last piece is added trim the edges of the base and start the second base. Hope that helps the matching Addition. When you have all the blocks finished start the embelishing (?) Have fun! LOL, Cecelia

that would work for a normal person. in fact it's an excellent way for a normal person to approach a crazy quilt and many other styles of scrap quilts. i mean that sincerely and wish i could do it that way.

but i would have a nervous breakdown if i used a system that didn't remove as much choice from the process as possible. i guarantee you ... within 5 minutes i'd be fishing through the sacks looking for something that coordinated better. random really is nearly impossible for me to create. i like it when i see it. i just can't do it myself. if i create something that appears random, you can bet your bottom dollar it took me hours of painstaking effort to carefully place and coordinate each and every element so it ended up appearing to be random.
the real irony here is that my house usually looks like a bomb just went off. go figure. :shock:

(go ahead. let it out. it's ok to laugh. i'll be laughing right along with you. not all the nuts in Georgia grow on trees.)

i'm going for the stack 'em, slash 'em, sew 'em & switch 'em method. (and i'm going to get somebody else to make the stacks and the first cuts so there's no goin' back.) it's my only hope. LOL

For those who have specific color schemes in mind, purchasing is necessary, but if you sew much at all, there should always be enough scraps around to make a crazy quilt. Your friends and relatives probably have scraps and they usually are happy to share. I asked friends to save old silk ties for me, and intend to use them with other fancy cloth. I have seen some beautiful vests made from silk ties, but then I digress... :shock:

GramMER