Crazy Quilting

My newest hobby: Crazy Quilting. I enjoy doing needlework, most of my stitching has been cross stitching. Five years ago I took a class "Counted Threads", combination counted cross stitching and counted needlepoint and lots of stitches and fibers that I had no idea existed.

Last year I picked up a copy of "ClothPaperScissors" magazine. There were so many great ideas and fun projects. They had a booth/area at the International Quilt Festival, Chicago, April 2006. I went to the festival and participated in their "Make It University". This sparked an interest in quilting. Knowing that I do not have the time for create a HUGE quilt I started small with our county fairs "Domestic Challange."

The challenge was to create a table runner incorporating the piece of fabric onto the table runner. This was my first attempt at quilting and embelished with crazy quilting stitches. I did not win a ribbon for my table runner but it was fun.

Knowing that I needed to expand my "Crazy Quilting" knowledge I purchased "The Crazy Quilting Handbook" revised 2nd ed. by Judith Baker Montano. Great book!!! Good explanation of the stitches, process of piecing a Crazy Quilt and tips for "Lefties" (that includes me!).

I am currently making the "Heart Shaped" purses one of the projects in "The Crazy Quilting Handbook". I will post a photo when I'm finished.

Penny Rugs

Last month a friend showed me a craft magazine, there was a beautiful picture of a
"Ring of Posies". Reading the article, it was called a "Penny Rug". I do a lot of crafting but had never heard of a Penny Rug.

Curiosity got the better of me and I started searching the internet.
"Penny rug" is a name given to a folk art style of appliqué. Dating from the mid 19th century, they were traditionally made from felted wool (i.e. the wool was washed to shrink it). And despite their name, they were not used on the floor,
but as decorative table rugs or wall hangings. Fabric was just too
precious then. The "penny" comes from the coins that were used as
templates for the circles. Most of the penny rugs had simple shapes of
flowers or animals, usually layered and appliquéd on the rug with
blanket stitch embroidery in contrasting colors. Their simple,
primitive style gives them a charm that has continued through the
years. (http://www.patchpieces.com/pennyruginfo.html)

The pattern called for "Felted Wool", being too anxious to get started I
used a double thickness of wool felt for the base and wool felt for the
flower and leave pieces. This project was so much fun, cutting
everything out was the most time consuming but once everything was in
place the stitching was a "breeze".