Round the World Blog Hop

I have been nominated by my very talented fellow C & T crazy quilt author, Jennifer Clouston, to participate in The Round the World Blog Hop.

There are a few questions that we have to answer so people can find out a little more about us.

1. What crazy quilt/sewing things am I working on?

I am a "monogamous" quilter, so usually don't have more than one project at a time underway.  But because I've been doing a lot of sewing for the market, so to speak, I've done lots of little projects showcasing various patterns, supplies, or techniques.  Here are a few:

This is for Wonderfil Threads.
Here is a detail:

I am interested in exploring the addition of quilting to the embellished crazy quilt surface.

Another small piece, done at the same time...

This work combines machine and hand embroidery in CQ stitching, another avenue I wish to travel down further.

A piece for an upcoming magazine article also addresses these design ideas...

A major UFO I do have going is waiting...for me to become better at free motion machine quilting!
It combines Broderie Perse, vintage textiles, crazy piecing and stitching, by both machine and hand...all things I love dearly.  It is to be a functional bed quilt.

I've actually assembled the entire top since this photo was taken.  The quilting will be very prominent, and key to unifying all the elements.  I am just not there yet...

 I have loved working on it, all aspects....

 

From the Broderie Perse to the piecing and embroidery, it has been a wonderful project.

With lots of great outdoor stitching time too.

I hope to finish it this upcoming winter.

2. How does my work differ from those of it's genre?

In a nutshell, I would have to say that my crazy quilting is firmly based in my 25 years as a traditional and art quilter.  I am most interested in fabrics and design, especially the use of color in composition.  As the years go on, my CQ work is getting simpler and more graphic, more related to "sane" quilting and not so focused on intricate embroideries. In fact, that was the subject of my second book, written with Valerie Bothell, Quilting...Just a Little Bit Crazy.  I love the hybridizing of quilt genres.

What is on the design wall right now exemplifies this...it is for Simplicity Creative Group, showcasing their 5 sided crazy quilt template.

As always, the completed top will be just the "first layer" of the completed quilt...there will be lots of fun machine and hand embroidery and machine and hand quilting too.


3. Why do I create what I do?

Well, why do I breathe?  ;-) It's my joy, my response to the beauty all around me.

4. How does my creating process work?

It's sort of like gestation during a pregnancy...I don't know how else to describe it.  When a piece is going to be born, so much of the work goes on internally before it comes out and my hands make it.  It's a very mysterious process to me, and I love that.

When the time comes, I just start pulling fabrics and supplies and dive in.  I almost never sketch ahead of time, and if I do, it is laughably crude, like this:

I've learned to stay extemely flexible, designwise, as I move through a project, and will change course radically if need be.  But once committed, I will spend days completing a repetitive detail if the quilt needs it.

I plan on doing a lot of experimentation over the next few years, branching out into new hybrids within the quilt/embroidery realms. I'll be in the sewing room.....

I would like to nominate the following three people to carry on the round the world hop:

Valerie Bothell, at   http://pinkbunnykansas.blogspot.com
Lisa Boni, at http://ivoryblushroses.blogspot.com/
Sharon Boggon, at http://pintangle.com/

Thanks, Jennifer, for the invitation!