Tuesday, April 15, 2008

crazy quilting


Yesterday's mail brought a delightful book from Pat Winter on her crazy quilting: Pat Winter Gatherings, My Crazy Quilting Journey. I really enjoyed reading it and looking at all of the lovely photographs.

I read it cover to cover last night.

And then all night I dreamed of the huge crazy quilt I saw at the Lockport Gallery on Sunday (see yesterday's post). This quilt is amazing. Many traditional crazy quilts embellish the seams of the pieces and sometimes also stitch a motif or design within the piece. This quilt maker did that but it also just ignored the patches and stitched lovely flowers and appliqued motifs wherever they fit. A scalloped floral border breaks completely free of the pieced fabric underneath and the stitching is done as if on a solid ground. Motifs are stitched on in metal thread and also crocheted (and appliqued) in the same metal thread. There's a metalic thread crochet border, too. From the way it's tarnished, I suspect it might be gilt-silver.

All in all it's a magnificient piece. The more I looked at it the more I could see. The only photo I could find is this little one. (that's Christopher Columbus in the middle; there are other portraits on it, too) If you can, go see it in person!

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