Saturday, April 3, 2010

A Cotton Approach to Crazy Quilting

A fine teaching opportunity has recently come my way!
I won't mention what it is until I'm done with this project that I am just starting for it, though...

I happen to love working within a set of parameters. For this project they are these:
--my crazy quilt must be made with all cotton
--my embellishments can only be silk ribbon, cotton floss, and cotton perle. Nothing more, nothing less!

So for the first time in years, I went out shopping for cotton quilt fabric. Seriously, it has been since the year 2000. And was it ever fun....

Here is my basic palette. The colors are a definite continuation of the ones I used in my previous project.

And here is the 18" X 18" crazy quilt in cotton, all pieced up and ready to embroider...

I had to sneak a little Broderie Perse in there...it was my deja vu with sane quilting that made me do it, honest.
It was kind of strange to be working with just cotton after all these years, but I like it a lot. I could see doing more of this...just don't make me quilt it!

15 comments :

Shogun said...

Most of my CQ so far has been with all cotton fabrics, simply because I had it! It is definitely different than velvets (etc) but still very fun. Your block is beautiful (of course).

Conni said...

Oooh, I love your color choices!

Debra Dixon said...

I like working with cotton for CQ a lot! This will be very pretty!

FredaB said...

I like the color palette and especially that stripe in there. Adds a little interest.

I have added fancy cottons to some of my quilts but never have done one entirely in cotton. Maybe it is the time for it.

Have fun.

JBM uses cottons in hers because I used some of hers when I was out there. Good enough for her I guess it is good enough for the rest of us.

Hugs

FredaB

Julie said...

Ooooo. I can't wait to see all the seam treatments!

Julie
In San Diego

Barbara C said...

How fun that you got to do a little stash expansion. Your block looks great--very nice colors.

Cathy said...

Lovely colors; like you, I like brights. And I cannot believe how quickly you work. Do you have fairies that come in and do laundry, housework, errands?? LOL. Hugs, Cathy

Cathi said...

I learned to crazy quilt with cotton a couple of years ago. Used a lot of batiks, and all sorts of embellishments. I must say that batiks are a little difficult to needle at times, but are beautiful.

Love your color pallate.

Lori said...

Allie, love the bright colors! are the butterflies cut from the fabric? love them! love the stripes as an offset too! cant' wait to see your progress!!

Possibilities, Etc. said...

Beautiful!! There's a lot to be said for cotton - I've been doing the same in the last six months with needlepoint - using all cotton threads - a lot more variety in textures and weights than one would think!! (also it's so much less expensive than silk I normally use)

Rian said...

T'is Beautimous, Allie. I too love working within a set of parameters. It kind of forces you out of the box in other ways you wouldn't think of.

Best wishes!

Raspberry said...

Oh those colors are so vibrant and beautiful. My mother can't sleep under anything but 100% cotton, so I find myself having to work with cotton a lot.

black bear cabin said...

what lovely color choices...and how fun to go shopping for cotton fabrics after such a long hiatus!

Marty52 said...

Lovely, Allie! The colors really sing together. Congrats on the teaching opportunity, too.

tongfengdemao said...

I was wondering just today if I could use all cottons in the quilt I'm planning. I'm delighted to see that it's totally acceptable.

I love your colors. So beautiful!