Tell me if i'm crazy.......buti have an idea !!!!
 

how about a crazy quilt but only make 1 very large contunius square. say big enough for a lap quilt. start in the center and just keep sewing and flipping pieces of fabric. what's your honest opinion. do you think it would work ? how would you do it ? on just a foundation piece of fabric then layer batting and backing or stitch with the batting already on or with batting and backing already layered ? i'm boared and this is what happens i get crazy ideas..........

I get these ideas as well. Would your idea end up as a big log cabin or ---steps block?
Woul you cut up into sections then rejoin to make new quilt

I don't see why this wouldn't work. You might want to try it out as a table topper first. I think foundation piecing sounds like a winner. But, I bet you could do it as a sort of Quilt As You Go with the batting and backing if you wanted to.

I have done this and the way to keep it from looking like a big log cabin is to be really consistent in changing the size and shape of your patches. Sometimes is is hard to work your way out of a spot but you can always cover raw edges with your hand or embroidery stitches, pieces of lace, braid, beads, whatever embelishments you want to use. The piece I made was only about 24" x 24" but you could make it any piece you wish,

I'll bet it would work! Let us see it when it's done because I just know you'll do it now

I think it's a grand idea! It'd probably be easier to keep it flat, if using a foundation piece, as a base.

The outside pieces will be really large compared to the inside pieces. May not give you the crazy quilt look you want.

We did this with one of our first quilts, but sewing 4 triangles to the sides of a square to make a bigger square, repeat, etc. Came out looking really weird, but someone liked it enough to buy it! And in light green and black at that!

When you have an idea GO WITH IT!! Use fabric if you can or do it on paper if you can't right away and you'll be surprised how much it will change and grow as you learn more techniques and skills

Why not
Go for it. You can use it as fabric for a vest or jacke

i did something similar I didn't use a foundation piece but I sure wish I would of , I was making a small table runner the other day didn't like it so i double padded it and use it for a rug all I changed was added rug backing. Go with your ideas

My first quilt was just that, but I also did it QAYG. This was about 8 years ago, the quilt is still on the back of my easy chair, has been washed about every two weeks since my dog also loves to use it and is still going strong.

Sounds like a great idea! didn't someone post recently how she did something similar using an old comforter as the base for quilt as you go? I think I saw it here. I would go for it as a qayg

When you get to the bigger pieces on the outside, you can "prepiece" them. Join two fabrics to make an edge long enough to cover the raw edge on the previous piece and then join the oieced unit to the wuilt.

I think it would work just fine with a foundation piece. Joining fabric for a strip may need to be done for length...

How about doing just 6 big squares (24") and that would make it easier to handle?

This is what I did back in '70 when there weren't any quilt books in my library and I had to figure it out by myself. I took an old cotton flannel blanket and started in the upper left-hand corner and sewed little pieces of fabric on by hand using the blanket stitch in black sewing thread. My primary sewing activities up to that point had been making clothes for myself because I was so poor. When I finally finished it, I bought some horrible fabric for .50 cents a yard at Sears and a cotton batting that still had bits of seeds in it and had my friends over for a "tying party." I think the guys had more fun than the girls and the big pitcher of Sangria probably did no harm (lol). I still have the quilt, although the first time I washed it the batting wadded up like you wouldn't believe. I removed the ties (just bits of yarn and embroidery floss) and the batting and put a new backing on it and it is still really one of the coolest quilts I own. The scraps were from the 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's and I guess the reason it is still in good shape is because I stopped using it on the beds about twenty years ago. See, this is why I love being an "old lady:" happy memories!

That's kind of what I did recently: http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...quilt+makeover
Have fun with it!

I agree that doing it in squares will give a better result. I do lots of "sew and flip", which is a form of crazy quilt assembly. The bigger the square, the bigger the piece of fabric you need to extend from one end to another and the more chance you have of curvature and bubbling. You can find yourself in a situation where the only way to make a piece fit is to cover up a lot of territory already done. This is hard to explain, but if you try it, you will see what I mean.

Dayle

i have a crazy quilt made with neckties hanging on my sewing room wall that goes from ceiling to floor and is about 6 ft wide, done entirely by hand it was a wedding gift from my husbands grandmother. it is probably one of our most prized possesions apparently my husband was her favorite at least she always said so. it is in reds and burgandys and is stunning next time i rearrange the sewing room i will photograph it although its hard to get far enough away. she did hers using mostly silk neckties and used a sheet to sew it to, i would never use it id be afraid to get it dirty. i worry enough about it hanging in a quilt hanger on the wall.
carla m

could someone tell me how to bookmark something,thanks a lot som

AS Nike would say, "Just do it!" You might as well try it.

I think it is great idea! your not bored, you just what something different to work on.

I would love to see what you come up with. I'm thinking I had a quilt made that way when I was a kid. I do not remember any blocks - it was simply pieced every what way on the machine all over the quilt. The quilt is long gone. I used to look at it for hours trying to figure out how it had been done. Mine was tied.

Dot, I think that's a great idea! I'd use muslin to piece the top in the traditional fashion and then add batting and backing and finish by tying. Take a look at the May Doll Quilt Swap ... we did crazy minis and they were wonderful.

Thats how I made my CQ. I started out with 18 inch squares of muslin as my foundation block, and used lots of different fabrics. I didnt flip and sew tho, I stood at my ironing board and pinned all my fabrics on, layering and turning under seam allowances, and adding lace to some seams. Then I use an applique stitch to sew them down. I dont get in a hurry, just enjoy the process. I love hand work!!

As I remember, this is sort of how my grandmother made crazy quilts, except her patches were not necessarily square or symmetrical - they could be any shape. I do remember that sometimes she would just applique a patch to the quilt to cover raw edges - these were always made on a foundation fabric, & they were beautiful. Her jhandwork ws exceptional - I just wish I had one of these quilts, but my aunt got them & no one knows what happened to them. I am lucky enough though, to have several quilts my mother made & they are beautiful too - just not crazy quilts.\

Shirley in Indiana

This quilt was done with the same idea, only using small pieces of fabric to make 6 inch squares.
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Go for it ! Have fun while doing it .. and post a picture !

I don't think you're crazy at all. In fact I much prefer the look of CQs without any identifiable regular layout. Much more like the original ones were made.

Make 'fabric' of random shapes using whatever method you prefer (I don't use foundation) to any size that feels comfortable, then start combining them as if they were a single piece of fabric, trimming as necessary. You have to truly 'think outside the block', but the results are well worth it. The only thing that needs watching is how the seams meet when joining sections...looks best if they don't actually. :) Have fun!

Go for it, sounds great!

My very first quilt was done like this. I had all this fabric left from making clothes for myself and my eight kids, plus stuff from my sisters' sewing. I thought about it for months, while milking cows, washing clothes, kneading bread, etc. Finally I got started just adding fabric to fabric of any shape. I took each seam to the sewing machine and put a line of decorative stitching over it in black. Well, it didn't take long before I realized I had an "elephant". Then I started putting a few pieces together and adding that; all with the decorative stitching on each seam. A few times I found I had created a "bubble". What to do? I took my scissors and sliced the bubble down the middle, lapped it over and had another seam to which to add the decorative stitch. My son and his wife used that quilt to death and asked for another. Now I make these crazy things in squares and put them together with sashing. Think Freedom Quilt.

Try it .. what is the worst that can happen. You may not like it so recycle it to something else, but in the mean time you learn what works and what doesn't. You may love it and choose to do it again just changing some things. I saw throws in an antique store in Atlanta that was made up of the fancy trim taken off clothes . the seams had yarn couched over them and they the whole thing was overdyed one color and the back was some kind of interfacing. they also used some of it to cover chairs.
I took the pictures with my phone so they are not great but I think you get the idea.

I think it is a great idea. I've thought of doing that with my scraps and so I'm happy to know someone else is thinking of doing it. I thought of just starting to join pieces and then add and add and add. I was thinking that as I go along I would square it up now and then to keep some kind of order. Will be watching to see how you make out. Keep those ideas coming!

I like the idea. And if it looks like a big Log Cabin block, well, soooo. I'm just a beginner, so I don't know much, but I do like the log cabins.

I'm positive this will work and be quite lovely.---My first QAYG was not my finest hour : ) -I made the blocks and quilted them only to find I should have read instructions first.So to keep from ripping out zillions of stitches and losing all my fabric. I sewed the blocks onto a new backing and ran sashing vertically and horizontally. I figured that if it looked bad it would be ok because I was making it for myself anyways.It turned out so nice that if some one wanted it more than me I could give it away without shame.

Crazy quilt
 

No you are not crazy. You go for it ,girl. If no one tried their "crazy ideas" we would all be just sewing squares together.

It has been done, recently and historically but I think piecing crazy blocks and joining them tames thecrazy a bit and makes the work easier. But.......to each his or her own.

I think it will work. The only problem for me would be -- the quilt would start getting too heavy about half way through.
Also, I pull up my side table on the left side of me to keep the quilt from sliding off of the sewing table, so I don't have to tug on it all the time. I would also do the batting abd backing at the same time. Glue stick baste as you go, and pin where needed. Be sure to show us how it turns out.
Syl

foundation pieced crazy quilt
 

Most of the crazy quilts did not contain any batting. They had the foundation fabric, and the pieces were sticthed, turned and trimmed (scissors, not rotary cutters) and when all pieces added, the "quilting" was done with embroidery stitches over the seam lines, or in today's world, using the fancy stitches on your sewing machine.

Silks, velvets, brocades made lovely victorian crazy quilt throws.

you don't have to start in the center. I have made quilts using double knit as my top and a sheet as the back. I pin out a random layout of larger shapes and zig zag around them. Then do several mid size shapes in the open areas. repeat with smaller shapes till you fill the top. If you want to do it all in cottons. Baste out your larger shapes, then fold under edges of pieces on the top. you can even top stitch to make it quicker.

I love the idea of recycling an old quilt by CQ on top. I have several old store bought quilts I could use. Thanks to all of you who have thought outside the box and shared your ideas. Jinnie