Good for her! I agree, a little too "crazy" for my taste, but a work of art nonetheless. I loved reading her comments. She sounds fun!

Wooo Nellie!! That is great!!

Wow! I love the Quilt but $70,000? I would drop dead of a heart attack when they gave me the check! I would like to read and see more pictures about it. Congratulations!!

That is a really beautiful crazy quilt and it does look like it has 3000 hours of work in it! Wish it was mine but I don't have $70,000 to buy it. LOL

Yes, she did those by hand. They are not appliques purchased from the store.

I just wish my embroidery skills were even half that good.

That amazes me!

You got my vote :thumbup:

Absolutely amazing and so, so beautiful!!!

Wow!

Hi Everyone, I thought I should join the forum and thank you all for your kind thoughts and comments. Every time I see a group of comments I realise I've not explained myself very well.
The piece is large (just under 80" square) and while there are loads of colours, it's 'rich' colour and not so bright. Somehow it blends and doesn't look as loud as it does in the photo's. The inner border (the plain-ish brown velvet strip) tones it down and relaxes it, sort of thing.
It's really hard to get a good photo because of the contrasts, so I'm told.
I know the comparison between time and money is kind of arbitrary when it comes to 'art'... I remember a story about Picasso. He drew an image of a little girl on a napkin in a restaurant, and his companion asked to buy it. Picasso said sure, and quoted some couple of thousand dollars as his price. The companion said, It only took you a few moments to draw and you want $x,000?? To which Picasso replied, No, it took me forty years to draw that picture.
BUT, it's my starting point and let's face it, how often do we get over any semblance of a basic wage? It's a pity, but there it is. And why should I furnish someone's home or life, for a pittance? I'm with those who have commented that they give their quilts away... I'd rather give it to my children than sell it cheaply, to a stranger, and see it vanish.
The crazy quilt has been in quite a few shows, and it's such a different genre to cotton quilts, that the judges don't always know what to do with it. It's a showcase for embroidery, isn't it, rather than piecing. But it is a traditional style that sits right in the middle of the whole. From women (usually) who used the available fabrics to make things for their homes. And ingenious thinking.
We have such a fantastic tradition and you people of the USA must feel an amazing pride in how your ascendants took the piecing of scraps of material and ran with it! Such a rich resource.
Because I come from a dressmaking background, a long line of them too, I have always had gorgeous fabrics around me. It seems natural that I want to use these, even for traditional patterns. Although my favourite quilt to snuggle under is a Double Wedding Ring quilt made using soft cottons, it's true.
I have some photo's of my own and student's work on another blog. It's not active anymore, since I stopped teaching, but I think there are more pics there.
http://bobbyscrazyquilt.blogspot.com/
And here, although it's possible more of the same:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/robynem...7600633340885/
Bye for now, and thanks for your kindnesses!
Robyne x