Annies Crazy World

I don’t often repeat an embellishment on a block but sometimes repeating an embellishment is what brings everything together…I had left the top seam on my block until we had all the blocks together so that we could see what was needed…I had done the flowers below on my block and a couple of the other girls had done similar silk ribbon flowers on there blocks and when it was time to decide it just seemed to feel right to repeat the silk ribbon flowers at the top.

To the right is a Shisha which I surrounded with beads and then added Bead dangles to it.

Below is a rushed ribbon stitched on with Beads and sewing charms.

The seam is Buttonhole Stitch done with different length arms and flipped from side to side in groups of 3, The thread is a size 3 pearl twist Rayon.

I chose simple stitch for this seam because I wanted it to be background and most of it is covered by the white bow which is the focus of the seam.

The seam to the right is a vine done using Chain Stitch with bead flowers.

The seam Below is Detached Chain Stitch with Colonial Knots done with a soft pearl twist thread

The seam above is Twisted Chain Stitch done with a cream stranded cotton thread and Detached Chain Stitch done with green stranded cotton and trimmed with Pearl Beads.

The seam on the right is Up and Down Buttonhole Stitch done with stranded embroidery thread…I have also scattered leaf beads on top of this seam.

From memory the diamond sides of the diamond are 10 inches and the diamond is about 8 inches across and peiced from cream fabrics.

Detached Chain Stitch done with a thick Rayon thread.

Spanish knotted Feather Stitch done with a size 5 cotton pearl thread.

Wheatear Stitch done with 6 strands of cotton embroidery thread.

last year the Canberra Krazies planned to make a group crazy quilt to enter in the Canberra Quilters Annual Exhibition and it was decided to keep our quilts making a secret and I was banned from blogging my block until after the exhibition opening…we wanted to make a Quilt which would show off the beauty of crazy quilting and with the environment in mind we shared cream fabrics from our stashes and each made a diamond shaped block, 2 blocks where modified to have a rounded edge and one block was extended at one end so that when the blocks were put together they form the shape of a leaf.

As we were making our blocks they became a tribute to our group member and friend Lynne and the quilt will be donated to the Hospice where she spent her last days…We named our quilt Peace in Pieces because crazy quilting is made up of little pieces and we beleive that it is in the little pieces of life that we can find peace.

The Exhibition opened today and we were all delighted to see a blue ribbon beside our quilt, it won first prize in the group quilt exhibition and I can now blog my block which I will do over the next week.

Notes on how we constructed the quilt: The following links are a step by step guide to how I construct crazy quilts…step 1 step 2 step 3 step 4

The edge of our quilt is faced, I had never done a facing on a quilt before, I had worked out how to to the shaping at the top but would have had difficulties tring to mitre the bottom corner but as it happened I didn’t get to that worry because when I came home after spending the day, with friends, basting and tying the quilt, I logged on to find a track back link which was Alison Aller thanking me for the how to construct the layers of a crazy quilt and when I scrolled down through her post there where instructions for facing a quilt including how to easily get beautiful neat corners so thank you Allie.

To get this year started I have been for a 5 day Holiday with my sister to North Queensland to visit our 2 youngest brothers and their families…We had a lovely visit and now it is time to get on with 2010, I want to catch up the stitching and blogging of my sampler by the 23rd january which will be its second anniversarry.

Last year I Blogged a group quilt, Peace in Pieces made by canberra krazy quilters, in todays details I have recorded the new variations of stitches that I did on my block in that quilt along with the information that Peace in Pieces won first prize in the group quilt section of Canberra Quilters 2009 Exhibition.