2012 Crazy Quilt and LA Fair

I have been stitching on my 2012 CQ. I work a very full time job. Many times 10 hours, or more, a day so the stitching has been going slow. I wish I was a housewife that could stay home and clean house and cook and work on my quilts. I never would have said that when I was Young. I was stupid! I know better now but.....

I decided that because my fabrics are so bold and modern that I needed to start with some heavier threads. I used size #8. I will layer them with other size threads as I work. Probably a lot of #12 which is my favorite size to use.

I am also working on all the blocks at the same time, and spreading the stitching out. My past experience taught me to do this. It will keep the blocks looking evenly embellished. If I work on one block until done and then start on the next, I don't know that it will look even and equal when I put it together.

These are basic stitches and will be added on to, to layer them. They need to be bold in order to show up with these fabrics and colors. I may even use some metallics with them. I am not sure yet. I am going to let it talk to me as I work on it. This is definitely the boldest quilt I have ever done.

These are my threads that I am using. That is a gallon bag full of Art Fabrik hand dyed variegated threads! Love them!!!! They are my absolute favorite threads. They come in 5, 8, 12, and floss. A little pricey but there is a lot in a skein. I also love the Presentia Finca solid color threads. The colors are very nice. Stay away from the variegated. They don't work well for embroidery because the variegation's are too far apart.

This is Bruce. I Love these photos. He hates them. He will be horrified that I put them on my blog. LOL! Too bad! He didn't want me to take his picture.

Tough guy! "Ok, put the camera down!" Priceless!

I went to the LA County Fair with Jeanne, Dorene, and Jan a couple of weeks ago. I have never been to a fair. It was hot and crowded. I am not sure I would do it again. They had a few CQ's. I took some pictures. I do not know who made them. The display was not done very well. Most of the quilts were folded and the lighting was terrible. They were in glass cases so you could not get close to them.

This doll had a nice little CQ jacket.

2012 Quilt Frustration

Ok, I am struggling. My Husband doesn't like my colors of this quilt. It is not his thing. He likes pastels. I like jewels. He told me it looks dark. Dark???? I don't see that. What are you going to do?

I have put these strips in between the fans. Is it ok? I am totally second guessing myself with this. Do you do this too. I may take the green center out and put a regular block in there. I am not sure yet.

I am most worried about the fans. I don't know what else to do there. I am tired of re-doing blocks with this quilt. Can you tell I am getting frustrated? Let me know what you think about the fans and strips in between.

2012 CQ Redo Update

A lot of people seemed like they couldn't get around the green silk in the middle so I put the fabric piece behind the blocks to show what I envision with the half squares around the outside. The green looks bright in the picture because it is silk and it gets shiny with the flash. I promise that it doesn't look so bright with the blocks. It fits with the colors. The brown African fabric will be the border around the green silk.

I have put the strip blocks in between the fans at the corners. There will be purple silk on the outside edge. I am liking where this is going more than before.

2012 CQ - Plan redo

I have been reworking my plan. I tried re-arranging the blocks, moving the fans around, and came back to the original plan.

I am thinking that I will expand on the fans and add strip blocks in between the fans. There will be a small strip of purple on the outside edges of them like the fans.

I will have to see how I like the little outside fans once I try the strip blocks to see if they still look good where they are.

I took a picture again and the white areas will be where the strip blocks will go.

Try and not get focused on the green in the middle as the half square blocks around the outside of the quilt will also be that green so I hope this will tie it all together. In person it is not as stark as it looks in the picture. It is because the flash makes the silk look shiny. Also, remember the brown African fabric that will be the border. You can see it here.

2012 CQ, Re-Do

Ok, this was my original plan. I thought I would have the 4 blocks around the center as something different. As I worked, I changed my mind and did basic CQ blocks. This just go's to show that what you think at first is best.

I look at the blocks as they are and don't like the center area. I think I need to do fans there in the 4 blocks that I changed. What do you think? Please let me know what your ideas are. I am going to change it. Just not sure how yet.

I want this to be a very graphic CQ. Something that has a visual impact. This isn't it.

2012 Crazy Quilt Challenge

Here is my plan again for the 2012 CQ Challenge. I have selected fabrics for the borders and outside the fans.

The purple fabric will be around the fans. The emerald green will be the half squares on the outside and this fantastic hand dyed African fabric from Ba Ba Blankets will be the border. I am going to cut it so it appears as stripes. Just like in the photo.

I have the fans pieced.

Piecing the CQ blocks.

All the blocks pieced.

The emerald fabric in the middle is the same as the outside fabric. I think I will do embroidery in the center although things could change.

2012 CQ Quilt Started

I have been a very bad blogger. I started back to work and work way too much. A lot of things have gone by the wayside. I am back working in a Dental Lab. I wish I could make money doing my hobby of CQ! I still teach CQ sometimes. There doesn't seem to be a lot of people doing CQ in Southern CA. My classes seem to fill up pretty good but I don't make enough to support the bills.

I have been wanting to start on a CQ for the 2012 CQ Challenge. I had a false start but my idea was a little to complex and I couldn't seem to get going. I have changed my plan and have actually made some progress.

This is the antique CQ that is my inspiration. I love that the blocks are set on point and I love the embroidery in the middle. It really is a simple CQ but it has a great visual graphic look.



This is my plan. I have fans all around and the blocks are still on point. It is an evolving plan as I have changed it a bit as I have been working on it.



These are the foundation blocks on my design wall. The blocks are 8 1/2 inches unfinished. I was going to do some embroidery on the 5 blocks in the center but have since decided to do CQ on the 4 around the center. I think I will do my initials on the very center block. This may change though!

I selected fabrics and decided to do jewel tone fabrics. I wanted to use natural fibers so most of them are cotton and silk. I also wanted to use modern fabrics so there are a lot of batiks and hand dyes. I have a nice collection of beautiful hand dyed African fabrics that I am using too. I love these. I found a fantastic booth at the Long Beach quilt show in July called Ba Ba Blankets that I found several wonderful, unique fabrics. One of them will be the border fabric of the quilt.

This is my sewing room with the fabrics I have pulled out. What a mess! Isn't my sewing room great! I love it! That is my cutting table that all the fabric is piled on. My Husband bought me a great little TV that fits perfect! All the little quilts around the ceiling are done by friends. It keeps them close to me. Marci and I have a sheep thing going.

I am going to try and post my progress so check back. I will probably not post every day but I will try to be more regular.

Kestrel on the Hill and the Crazy Quilt by 2012 Challenge

I love my back patio. It is really special in the morning when it is shaded. I like to sit out there and drink my morning coffee and watch the birds. This morning I took a book by Michael Connelly called The Brass Verdict. It is the follow up book to The Lincoln Lawyer that I thought was great. It is starting off really good so I have high hopes for it.

This morning, there was also a Kestrel hanging out looking for a meal, so I took a couple of pictures of him in a dead tree on the hill.



They are those birds that you see hovering in the air by the roadside looking for prey. I love my hill view!


On a Crazy Quilt email list that I belong to, we have put out a challenge to get a major Crazy Quilt done by 2012.

I love this antique CQ and have wanted to do my take on it for years. I started it once before but decided I didn't like what I had done. There is a previous post about it on my blog here. I think the fan blades are too wide. They need to be narrower like the original, plus, I don't like the colors of my first attempt.

Allie of Allie's in Stitches is doing a take on an antique CQ and has inspired me to start mine again. I have started planning it out on a muslin foundation.