Sunday, February 10, 2008

Freda Butler's Kimono Crazy Quilt

My friend Willa Fuller picked me up at my hotel in Orlando yesterday and drove me out to the quaint little town of Mt. Dora, Florida...to the gracious home of my online friend, Freda Butler. What a treat it was to finally meet this lady in person...and her handsome husband, Harv, as well.

Freda is such a talented crazy quilter. Willa and I leaned on her to start a blog so she can share her work with fellow stitchers on a more widespread basis. But in the meantime, I am happy to post pictures of a glorious kimono crazy quilt she made. This project was organized as a block of the month project (I think...not sure about that) by Victoria Brown, of Ribbonsmyth, who was its designer and supplier of materials. Freda added many of her own touches, of course. She has a very distinctive style.

Here is an overall view of the kimono...and meet Freda!

I will be studying these details for lots of ideas!

I love the way that little image is framed...that looks like Vickie Brown's design, if I am not mistaken. She is so clever with ribbon! As Marty would say, do click to "embiggin"!

One can get lost in all this wonderful detail....

...but of course, that is what you are supposed to do with crazy quilts! Look at that great twisted ruffled ribbon on the left. Love that. And the golden fan charm the lady has, in just the right scale.

The quilt has lots of little vignettes like this one, tucked in there for discovery.

So pretty....

Look at that great line of beads twisting through those flowers...!

This is my favorite detail shot. Freda bought this kimono pin at an art show and it fits so perfectly here.

Freda had so much to show and share with us, including her Baby Lock Embellisher which--oh no!--was exceedingly tempting to me...but then it was time for a ladies' lunch at The Garden Gate Tea Room in Mt. Dora. If you are ever in the area, this place is not to be missed. It was so charming in all its shabby chic, and the food was outstanding.

I am so blessed to have such lovely internet friends...and even more so when I get to be with them in person. Thank you Freda, and thank you Willa, for such a wonderful day. I will never forget it.

23 comments :

Charlene ♥ NC said...

Thank you so much, Allie, for introducing us to Freda. I have seen her name many times, but it is nice to put her lovely face with her name. And that AMAZING kimono - such a wonderful piece of art. Awesome!!

SandyQuilts said...

WOW that is wonderful. I don't do CQ (yet) .... it is a double WOW.

Leonie said...

Being a lover of all things Oriental, I more than enjoyed the wonderful work Freda has done. Her details are exquisite. Thank you Allie for sharing this beauty with us and for featuring Freda's talents. I'm happy to learn you Willa and Freda had such a lovely day together.

Pat Winter Gatherings said...

Freda looks as sweet as I thought she would. How nice to "meet" her.Her work is spectacular and I know you will pick up some tips from the kimono embellishing.I don't know Willa but have her her name before. It is always nice to meet a fellow crazy quilter isn't it?

verobirdie said...

It must have been a great day, and quite an emotion to meet those ladies in person! Lovely pieces of work.
Thanks for visiting my TIF.

Judy S. said...

Hi Allie,

Hope you're having a great time in FLA. You aren't missing any great weather here, that's for sure! Thanks for sharing the details of your conference plus Freda's wonderful work. BTW, there are some great art quilts on display at the UW hospital through February 28th....worth a trip to Seattle maybe?

Rissa said...

That post would make a lovely article. (hint, hint)

Anonymous said...

Allison, thank you so much for sharing Freda's work. I've been wanting to try a crazy quilt for awhile and have been looking for just the right project...I'm very inspired by this kimono idea!

Rengin Yazitas said...

Allie, thanks so much sharing your photos. Oh, Freda's work is amazing. It seems that I'll spend long time here to review all those wonderful details.
As I've told you before I envy your union so much:)
Love to you all there...

Debra Dixon said...

The whole quilting experience is so enriched when we can meet our friends that are such a daily part of our lives even though they are so far away. What great fun for you all!

Barbara C said...

What inspriation! I especially love the way she's used small (transferred?) images.

Enjoy your visits with your virtual friends.

Susan said...

Thanks for sharing all the pics of Freda's work, but mostly the picture of the three of you. I had no idea what either of them looked like before, and one always makes things up when e-mailing - at least, I do. Everyone is skinny and young in my head. =)

Rian said...

Wow. Wowee wow wow wow.

Marty52 said...

Allie, it looks like you had a great time! That kimono quilt is stunning... I love some of the unusual details she had in there... especially that twisted ribbon she laid down with beads... very cool! She really needs a blog... and Willa needs to post more often so we can see her lovely work. Hint - hint ladies! ;0)

JoWynn Johns said...

Fascinating details, so many unique ideas. Thanks for the close-ups. And what a lovely, subtle palette!

Micki said...

Thanks for sharing all of the beautiful photos. Freda's work is fabulous. I am a big fan of oriental themed pieces.

Micki said...

Thanks for sharing all of the beautiful photos. Freda's work is fabulous. I am a big fan of oriental themed pieces.

Possibilities, Etc. said...

A pre-view of what I have to look forward to when I move back to north Florida - and can also visit my friend Carla in Mt. Dora and her mom Margie in Eustace (another quaint little town - suburb of Mt. Dora) This is beautiful work - thanks for sharing.

Candi said...

Looks like you had a great time and the Kimono Quilt is just breathtaking! Thanks so much for sharing.
HUGZ:)
Candi

Martha Tsihlas said...

Freda's work is so beautiful, so much detail to look at. Makes you want to start embroidering and embellishing. Just amazing! Thank you Allie for posting her photos for the rest of us to see. Your work is also very beautiful, I might start a square soon for a quilt my bee is putting together. I'm going to check your site to get ideas:)

Martha Tsihlas said...

Freda's work is so beautiful, so much detail to look at. Makes you want to start embroidering and embellishing. Just amazing! Thank you Allie for posting her photos for the rest of us to see. Your work is also very beautiful, I might start a square soon for a quilt my bee is putting together. I'm going to check your site to get ideas:)

Love to Stitch 99 said...

Wow, this kimono is to die for. What lovely stitching.

I love everything oriental and I wish this one were mine (big smile)

Pierrette =^..^=

Bunny said...

Wow I just stumbled upon your blog and what a treat. Thanks for sharing the photo of that wonderful kumono. It is just an amazing piece of art.