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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

530 Buttons Later....

This step in finishing my "Go Crazy" quilt took a wee bit longer than I thought it would!

First I had to source the backing fabric, which I found at the Pendelton outlet store in my home town of Washougal, WA., a beautiful orangey-red melton wool for $5.95/yard.

Then I had to find some buttons for the back. I planned on sewing my yellow pearl buttons on the front, while securing them to the back of the quilt with a mix of multi-colored 2 hole buttons.  I found those in an antique store in my nearby town of Camas, WA called A Twist on Time.

I love my Pendleton store.

They have beautiful clothes at a serious discount, 2 miles from my house.  I rarely shop anywhere else.  They also have a nifty selection of woolen fabrics, woven on site there at the mill, that for some indiscernible reason are deemed "seconds" so are very cheap.

Beautiful woolens, the selection always changing at the Pendleton store. 

And great buttons at A Twist on Time in Camas.  The owner, Belle, let me dig through the bin and pick out just the 2 hole buttons I wanted, which was very gracious and helpful of her!  A baggie of all I needed cost me $4.00.

So then I got to work....

I used the intersections of the blocks to space the larger buttons, and a ruler to find the center of the black diagonal shapes for the smaller buttons.  I sewed the yellow ones to the colored ones, front to back, and then hid the knots.  I did this 265 times...   ;-)

These buttons' function is not only decorative, but also to hold the quilt together quite securely, so no quilting is needed.

Here is the quilt pinned up on my design wall.  It measures about 62" X 62".

I am very tickled by how the back turned out, I must admit.

I have fantasies of some future grandchild toddler sitting on this quilt and carefully exploring all the different colored buttons on the back...

The final question of course is how to handle the binding.  I've thought of lots of ideas, and will settle on one so that I can have this finished by New Year's...I hope!
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23 comments:

  1. Vicki WDecember 28, 2011 at 3:13 PM

    I wish I had knows that you needed buttons...I have millions! It looks great and I love all the different colored buttons for the back. This is one of my favorite quilts of yours.

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  2. Mary JohnsonDecember 28, 2011 at 3:37 PM

    I LOVE this quilt and the buttons are the perfect finishing touch.

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  3. Debra DixonDecember 28, 2011 at 6:29 PM

    That was a big undertaking but the results are really worth it!

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  4. Sherrie SpanglerDecember 28, 2011 at 11:39 PM

    What a lively, colorful quilt! Thanks for telling us about the Pendleton Outlet -- I feel a road trip coming on.

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  5. WilmaDecember 29, 2011 at 12:29 AM

    Beautiful quilt Allie! Isn't it heavy due to all these buttons?

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  6. AnonymousDecember 29, 2011 at 5:56 AM

    This is beautiful! I'm always amazed by how wonderful your projects turn out. Thanks for sharing your project along the way. :)

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  7. AnonymousDecember 29, 2011 at 7:39 AM

    Hi Allie,
    I loved what you did. I was using this method to create Barbie quilts for my DD long time ago...Let me see if I can find them:))
    Great idea with fantastic overcome...
    Happy New Year!
    Rengin

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  8. Connie Eyberg OriginalsDecember 29, 2011 at 8:20 AM

    Gorgeous quilt!

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  9. Barbara CDecember 29, 2011 at 9:21 AM

    Beautiful! (Though I bet it'll be awhile before you feel like sewing on buttons).

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  10. AnonymousDecember 30, 2011 at 7:00 AM

    What a fantastic, sensational, gorgeous, wonderful creation. You done good!

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  11. Deb HardmanDecember 30, 2011 at 7:38 AM

    It really is another stunner!
    I LOVE it!

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  12. grbevDecember 30, 2011 at 8:09 AM

    "Button, Button, Allie's Got Buttons".... Yay, such a stunning visual delight. It's a keeper for sure!

    Hugs, Bev in Utah

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  13. TinaDecember 30, 2011 at 8:15 AM

    Very beautiful! I really love this quilt and the buttons are over the top fun!

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  14. KayDecember 30, 2011 at 6:36 PM

    Alison, I haven't been doing much creative work lately. but this quilt is truly inspiring. The controlled, but extremely effective embellishment and the play of pattern and color across the surface is wonderful. A beautiful piece. I wish you a happy new year, full of creativity.

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  15. Valerie BothellDecember 30, 2011 at 8:36 PM

    It is beautiful Allie and worth all the effort!

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  16. Vivian HelenaDecember 31, 2011 at 8:48 AM

    I love what you are creating with the buttons, I have a piece that has to be done and put in the gallery on Monday,,and was planning to put some buttons on it, not as many as you have,, maybe 6... and some beads...
    Thank you for popping into my blog.
    Was at our local quilt store/ Bear Paw, and looked down to see your wonderful deck of playing cards.. What fun, and the store owner delighted to tell me you are the Joker...I had to laugh, love ya,,Happy New Year!

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  17. FredaBDecember 31, 2011 at 4:23 PM

    This turned out really great Allie.
    How about a very simple binding - both fabrics cut even - stitched together to hold them - then apply a wool braid like you use on the boiled wool jackets. Probably 5/8" on each side. Something like the Chanel jackets braid.

    Just a thought.

    Happy New Year and hugs

    FredaB

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  18. Cheryl PlunkettDecember 31, 2011 at 9:48 PM

    Happy New Year!! Your work is amazing. Thank You for all you do!!

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  19. mountaingardenerJanuary 1, 2012 at 5:14 PM

    Hi allie,
    I just found your site and (almost) wish I had not. I can get past most crazy quilt images without wanting to try it,.....but yours....well, they are just gorgeous. This winter my goal is to finish UFO's from last year, then I think it is a crazy quilt, it's all your fault, tee hee

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  20. RaspberryJanuary 2, 2012 at 2:36 PM

    I love it! And your quilt turned out really well.
    I have some fabric coming from Modern Fabric Studio (I have a hard time finding good fabric in CO), that looks a little like the illustrations from Rosie's Walk. It's darling and about to become a twin quilt for my little boy's new bed. Anyway, I think I'm going to do buttons instead of quilting it - I think he'd love that. Can you tell me what kind of thread you used to sew them on?
    I plan on incorporating a few other 'crazy' ideas to the quilt as well as inspired by you, so many thanks! (And sorry I've been absent. I had my second and wow - my sewing machine retired for a bit. :)

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  21. jackiJanuary 3, 2012 at 8:39 AM

    Love the buttons. I just finished your book and applied what I could to my KING'S PARTY quilt that was inspired by my love of frogs and Neil Diamond. You inspired me to also blog the pictures of the quilt... Wow what I lot of work... if you look at it... I am a new quilter... and will get better. What is the trick in grouping your buttons... you make it look so easy!

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  22. AnonymousJanuary 5, 2012 at 12:04 AM

    This has been a gorgeous project from beginning to end and the buttons are a brilliant touch. I'm sure you're right - they will give much pleasure to little ones in years to come!

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  23. AnonymousJanuary 14, 2012 at 1:54 AM

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    ReplyDelete

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