Jennifer's crazy quilt from the show.....

We put our crazy quilts from the guild challenge in the quilt show and it was such a treat to see them all hanging there.  Jennifer Hancock got hers done just in time for the show.  It is such a phenomenal quilt with so much work in it, that I wanted to show each block.  A couple of my photos are slightly out of focus, but click on the photos and you can see them larger to see all the details.

I love the name she gave it..."All My Worldly Goods"

There have to be thousands of beads on this and each one is sewn on by hand. 

She did a lot of wonderful stitching following the patterns in the batik fabrics.

She also has a huge button collection including a lot of Australian ones she used on this quilt.

Every time I look at a block, I see something new!

I like to put the photos on my computer desktop to study them.

We both had so much fun doing our quilts we hope to start a crazy quilt sewing bee and meet together regularly.

Gorgeous!

Amazing

A work of art!

9-patch "Puss in the Corner" variety at the show....

Last year several of us took a workshop learning easy ways to make the Puss-in-the-Corner block.  It is also called Split 9-Patch, I believe.  Four of us finished our bed quilts and put them in the show.  I like the great variety of how this block can be set for a quilt.  We each did it a bit differently.  I have seen other ways, also.  A very flexible block!

This one is on-point with blocks of fabric in between.   It really makes each little square pop out at you!

Mary Jane staggered hers and Linda quilted feathers in between....very pretty!

I chose to not put mine on-point and to set rail fence blocks in between using a light green and a dark green to surround the 9-patch blocks.  I have this quilt on my bed right now :-)

This one is on-point in rows with a pretty border print in between.  Lovely

I don't think this one was someone in the workshop, but it is the same block set yet another way with small sashing strips in between to set off each row and the flying geese border.

I had so much fun making my first one that I made a second Christmas one....again using the rail fence blocks in between using the two striped fabrics to give a "candy cane" effect.  I look forward to using this lap quilt this Christmas.

A very fun block to make....quick...and with endless possibilities for how to set it in a quilt.  I know that someone else used hourglass blocks in between their 9-patch blocks and that makes a nice setting too!

Quilt Show photos #1......

Last Saturday and Sunday was our local quilt show and there were a lot of gorgeous quilts on display!  I hope to show some of them here over the next few days.  I should start by apologizing that I took most of these photos while they were still setting up and hanging quilts and some do not show the quilts to their best advantage and there are a lot of people and stuff in the background.

Our show is not judged, but we do have people vote for "people's choice" awards in each category of quilt.  This is a bed quilt in the hand quilted category.  Made by Helen S. and it won the top ribbon.  It is truly gorgeous and a lot of hard work.

A winner in a small category, but I don't know who's quilt it is.

This quilt made from the "Simple Gifts" pattern was a beautiful work of art by Ellie. 

Mary B's. eagle...stunning!

Dena B's. lamb on a "snippet" cloud.  I studied this one for a long time.....such a work of art.

Very small, but cute :-)  Linda B won with this little spotty hen.

The rest of these are ones that I particularly like, but I don't think they won ribbons.

This was one of my favorites in the show.  I love the combination of pieced stars and the applique flowers.  Margie always has something fantastic to show.

 This was beautiful!

A touch of humor in this one...."loves me!"

This looks much prettier in real life.  My photo isn't very good.

I liked these houses.

There were several two color quilts in the show.  This blue and white one had a winter theme.

Karen H's art quilts were fantastic!

More of Karen's leaves....wow!

I like the shadow effect on this one.

Ginnie's beautiful batik fans from our coffee filter workshop.  I like how she set them off with the other squares.

"The Lord will provide the Lamb"....another Dena B work.

Another 2-color quilt....it has black beads sewn on the embroidered squares.  I hope you can click and see some of these closer!

A classic 2-color Irish chain.....beautiful!

This little sunflower quilt was one of my favorites.  I would love to buy this one!

Crazy Quilt Challenge quilts at guild meeting.....

Last night was the reveal of the Crazy Quilt challenge at our guild.  Eleven of us took the challenge and completed a quilt.  Be sure to click on the photos to see them larger and see more details!  There was a popular vote for the top two favorites. (the hearts you see on the corners of the quilts are not part of the quilt. That is where the voting was done.)

My personal favorite was the beautiful old-fashioned looking quilt by Janella Baumgart with each block telling part of the story of her life.  I think I took close-up photos of every block.  I just loved it!

Jennifer H did a batik quilt and only has the first two square embellished, but they were so fabulous...with promise of an outstanding quilt when finished....that she won the top vote!  I can't wait to see it done.

I won the second most votes with my Christmas Crazy quilt.  By the way, Alexandria, if you read this....did you see your little snowflake near the center???  I was so happy to include it on my quilt.  It fit in perfectly!

Linda B's quilt was a work of art.  She crocheted things and did some wonderful flowers and used vintage items from her family.

I don't know who made this one, but it had vintage hankies and an apron pocket and was just lovely.

This was another one that was very personalized for the person who made it with lots of cute little buttons and charms and things and a nice selection of fabrics including some that showed she was a seamstress/quilter.

This "Star Spangled" effort was very patriotic and each flag is different!  Not a lot of stitching, but a gorgeous quilt.

Another Christmas themed quilt with nice add ons.

A fairy tale theme......lovely, colorful blocks.

Pink and purple with machine embroidered seams, I think....very pretty.

Black and White and Pink......nicely done and very eye catching!

It was a fun challenge and I think we all had fun doing it.  I would make another one in a heartbeat....but not right away :-)

Finished at last!........

I finally finished my crazy quilt......just in time for our guild challenge on June 1st!  It is so heavy, that it is sitting on my swing in this photo without help :-)  Not the best photo, but I'm just glad it is done!

Crazy Quilt II......

I've added a bunch more to my crazy quilt. I've been trying to learn some new stitches. There is a wonderful blog by Sharon B. about crazy quilting and photos of each block of one of her beautiful crazy quilts called, "I Dropped the Button Box.... found here. She also has a wonderful stitch dictionary where you can learn how to do any kind of crazy stitch. I get a lot of inspiration from looking at her button crazy quilt! This was a new stitch called Wheatear. I did the first one too spaced out, but then got the hang of it. What fun! For the most part I tend to use the same 4-5 stitches to make all the different designs. It is just in how you combine them. I use a lot of feather stitch, lazy daisy, and buttonhole. Also chain, straight stitches, and French knots.
Some pale blue ribbon roses.

There needed to be more in this area, so I added these pink flowers and little blue knots. I love how the blue looks on the black. It still needs more on the black, so I will do something along the gold trim that sticks downward.

I wanted a cat on my quilt and found this cute cat button. I thought he needed a sunflower to sit under. Worked some black buttons and stitches on the red/black fabric. That row of green stitches was another new stitch I tried, but I forgot the name.

This white fuzzy fabric made me think of snowmen since this is a Christmas quilt. So a simple outline seemed the easiest way to make one. Added some more seam stitches to the area.

I have a book showing how to make different birds with ribbon, so I tried a Cardinal. I didn't like how the book did it, so I sort of made up my own. I don't have enough sizes of ribbon to do a lot of different birds well. I also added that line of flowers on the light green fabric.

A row of button and pearl flowers among the buttonhole wheels.
For me the fun of crazy stitching is sitting there and deciding what to add where. I usually do one type of stitch and then come back and add something else.

I liked the blue knots on the black of the other block, so I added some to my heart and also the little red knots around it.

Two of the blocks are nearly done, but two of them still need a lot of stitching and ideas! I love sewing old lace and buttons on crazy quilts. I hope to do a lot more crazy quilts after this one is done!