Go Crazy: A New Quilt for a New Year

Happy 2011!!!

I love making crazy quilts as you all know...but right now I am pretty intrigued by combining crazy quilting and "sane" quilting to make functional bed quilts. I am wanting to revisit my quilting roots...but a decade plus of CQ means I'll never be totally without embellishment and a wide array of fabric types.

This is a detail of a vintage quilt I saw in Houston that is fanning my current flame and has inspired my new project.

It just did me in. I had to make it. (I think it appealed to me for the same reason that the Vintage CQ did...)
So I went fabric shopping....

I had plaids on the brain.
All the blue thread and ribbon in the foreground will set off those warm colors nicely, is the hope.

I also knew this would be a great way to use my new Go! cutter from AccuQuilt.
I am loving this new tool!!! Have a look at the Go! in action....

The die is on the bottom, fabric to be cut in the middle, and the cutting mat is on the top. To operate you just crank the die through the rollers, it compresses the foam so that the die that is within the foam presses the fabric against the mat, and voila...

A perfect 6 1/2" square.
This pic was just for demo purposes. I've cut up to 6 layers at once.

Like this.
I have a die that cuts 3" strips that was perfect for the black diagonal shape on the block.

I cut a bunch of these out of different "black" fabrics.
Then I use a template to cut out the shapes from the strips.
Here is how that goes....

I made this template out of freezer paper ironed to cardboard stock. I draw around it with a white chalk pencil and then cut the shape out. I have to do them one at a time for accuracy, but I find I actually enjoy the work.

Then I use a second template, the actual size of the finished shape, this time out of just freezer paper. I use it as a guide for ironing under my edges. In this picture I am clipping those curves before ironing.

Ironing in progress...

Ironing complete and the freezer paper being pulled off...

And here is how it looks from the back.

When my freezer paper template gets too fuzzy to stick anymore, I just make a new one.

The black shape gets pinned onto the background square....

...and sewn on with a narrow zig zag in a clear monofilament thread.

In keeping with the original quilt, I am just using the herringbone stitch...
and instead of those fluffy white ties (which form a very important part of the design, I think), I'll be using buttons like this...

But this will be the very last step. I have a long way to go before then!

But it will be fun....
What a great way to start the new year. Hope yours is off to a happy beginning too! ;-)