what if ?

what if #87: chained applique part 2

...so after this post, i thought i would take it further and ask what if (?) i patch some pieces together so each one can be a different color. or fabric. well, i am glad i asked that question.

a chain of caramel cats. ready for applique.

what if #:90 basting as design

let's revisit baste makes waste. basting could stay, right? what if (?) we think like that.
basting stitches are usually big and lazy, what if we tack them down. all the way through so both sides are tacked. ( not to mention quilted at the same time). the knots stay too, why not?
this what if was conceived and executed on site while working on FEVER.
nothing stopping us from asking what if (?) we baste in a specific pattern before tacking. less waste, nice effect. yes. let's do that.

what if #91: indian style patchwork

again i am looking for a freer style, patchwork with out seams, something to recycle scraps and thread ends, something portable. what if (?) i use torn rag strips, couched down over ragged edge patches? that is what i asked myself. marker grid (2" boxes) on double layer of linen. overcast patches in alternate boxes. ragged torn scraps 1/2 wide. backstitched first straddling the edge line. over-casted and pulled into place. also tried 2 strips twisted. more potential i think here for decorating the dividers.

photo album for this project

what if#100: redefining crazy quilting

One Hundred What Ifs (?) !!!!...i thought i would celebrate by asking what if a crazy quilt block could be embellished more non-traditionally? spirit cloth style. like adding some ragged edge and applique. reverse applique. and well i think we can keep going on this.
one of a series, started a while back but rejuvenated

crazy rag blocks in process.
8" square
anything goes.

this one will be a giveaway. wanna play?

what if we get crazy?

.....i am glad to see a lot of you want to play. so here is what i was thinking. i asked if (?) it would be possible to redefine a traditional style without destroying its concept. to liven it up, to change its context, to bring it up to date, to work freely with out copying it over and over.
i like crazy quilting in some ways and some ways not. i am thinking out loud here when i say....
i like the randomness, the use of special saved scraps, the focus on edges, the craziness of the embellishment, the heirloom quality, the foundation aspect.....the hand sewing.
i don't like the frilly-ness, the non functional quality, the focus on learning and executing stitches out of a book, the fact that somehow they all look the same to me from a distance...
so i want to change the feel, story blocks maybe or less rigid conformity to repetitious stitches, edge treatments that are not stitches, maybe applique, or maybe ragged. i don't know.
my game is... what do you think, what would you do, how can you showcase your own style within the crazy quilt block framework?  i will make and give away one block to any one who wants to join in. no time limit, post on your own blog or post here...(i am also glad to send a bag of crazy scraps for you to work with but i also like the personal fabric story aspect of these kinds of quilts.)
let's start a new style. a new age crazy....
is this silly? what if we just go with it? what could we name this? AQ? Alternative Quilting? AC, alternative Crazy? help me here.

what if #100: craziness continued....

.....ok , we are rolling here. i need to take the weekend off so let's just say that i have slept on it and any size is fine. any fabrics are fine. any amount of time you take is fine. i will match the size of what ever you make for my gift. send me your address if you are playing. i need only your participation and nothing else...just be honest and be  part of the discussion and post or email your progress and thoughts. i will set up a separate photo album and page for this over the weekend. if you need scraps let me know.
i will end this by saying that we all should clarify which aspects of crazy quilting we choose keep in tact . the scrappyness , the recycling and the focus on edges and hand stitching is where i am starting. you?

beginning from here

what if#102: crazy indigo continued

....so as i recall, i was asking myself, what if the crazy block could have a single color as a theme?
what if it was indigo? what if the indigo scraps were gifted? making it a sort of memory or thank you block?
and then i asked what if i just cut holes, windows to represent the crazy shapes? and put another fabric behind the mask? and what if i focus in the intersections of the shapes.
and then what if i use kantha stitching and thread beads to hold it together? ...the feather fell from the sky.
i am so pleasantly surprised to see what everyone is doing. i am collecting all the what if questions that have been asked so i can make a list we can all work from. (part of the cqr collaborative)

what if #106: crazy wool

the first question was what if (?) the crazy block is made of all wool? i have a crazy collection of wool scrap from my weaving days. fabric and yarn and roving. still playing with what if(?) i overlay the crazy lines over a patched grid. curved this time.
....but the underlying question was really, what if(?) i use a cotton foundation? because i have always wanted to prove some old sewing rules wrong. off to wash it. 7" square, english paper pieced, quilted and decorated with wool applique and wool yarn. (continued here).

what if #108: crazy vintage

.....i have a lot of old stuff. when i think of crazy quilting, i think of  of tradition and vintage and patchwork and recycled scraps.

.....i was thinking about the lace embellishment on the patchwork seams and thought what if(?) i make the patchwork the embellishment and the lace the patchwork. this will be a fragile piece. made from very brittle old pieces and recycled worn patchwork. maybe it should be framed. i think it will bring the  traditional  and something new together. and i like that it will be repurposed into something non functional. except to look at.

block is 7" square, old lace and sheers, old patchwork applique borders, linen twill foundation

what if #110: weaving patchwork

....i have often thought how weaving is based on a grid system and have taken inspiration from woven designs when designing patchwork. so i was asking myself what if  it is the other way around. weaving designs inspired by patchwork.
wool on cotton warp.  3" square.