My Mother's Crazy...Quilt

Day 286: The subject of crazy quilts came up a few days ago as a friend was preparing to go to a lecture on the subject as it pertained to those on exhibit at Whittier's birthplace. I sent her photos of a crazy quilt I'd made, explaining that I had never used decorative stitching to cover the seams as my mother did. Then it occurred to me that in the very bottom of my cedar chest, I had one of George's quilts ("George" was my mother's nickname). As I thought I remembered it, it was only a top, unfinished, but when I pulled it out, I discovered that indeed it was backed and batted...backed, with my mother's infamous lack of colour sense, with a huge peacock-tail print which would have served better as curtains in a hippie's Volkswagen van. The top, however, was tartan wool, and the seams were covered by embroidery stitches as I remembered. The quilt only measures 48" x 38", lap-robe size.

Contrary to what Patty heard at the lecture (that crazy quilts were usually made with silk fabrics), in my family, they were always made from wool suiting. When one of my great-grandfathers suits wore out, Old-old (my great-grandmother) would cut it into pieces for crazy quilting. The lecturer also asseerted that crazy quilts were not functional, being made of fragile silk fabric. True, perhaps, of those in the Whittier family, but Old-old's were definitely functional, and very warm! I remember bundling up in one when I was a very young child, the scratchy wool coarse against my skin. Old-old's also included embroidery stitches to cover and reinforce the seams, a tradition which my mother carried forward.

The discussion of crazy quilts raised a question in my mind. I found pictures of one I'd made only a few years ago, but for the life of me, I cannot remember who I gave it to. I have no idea how many quilts I've made over the years, but every now and then, someone will say to me, "I just love that quilt you gave me!" At least half the time, I reply, "Did I make you a quilt?"

Quick And Crazy

Day 253: Despite the fact that I have been working on two quilt tops simultaneously, I managed to complete the 30 blocks for the Crazy Quilt in a mere two weeks. I finished assembling them this morning. Because this quilt is foundation-pieced (i.e., the fabrics are stitched onto muslin squares), it is a bit heavier than usual, which means that batting it is not absolutely necessary, although a thin batt could be used if desired. Right now, I plan to simply back it with another piece of muslin, bind the edges and tie it at either the corners or centers of the blocks. It measures 62" x 51", the perfect size for a lap throw or "cuddle blanket." The second quilt is coming along famously as well, and is also made from scraps cut into regularly shaped pieces, but the best news is that my stash of leftover fabrics has shrunk considerably. Time to start laying in a new supply!

Going Crazy

Day 245: There comes a time in every quilter's career when the closets and cupboards are filled to overflowing with boxes and bags of scraps too good to throw away. Why, it's enough to drive you crazy! The logical solution to this problem is to create a Crazy Quilt, a style in which no two blocks have to be alike in either colour or the shape of the pieces. In the last three days, I have made 18 eleven-inch blocks which ultimately will go together to make a lap throw or a light topper for a double bed (30 or 36 blocks respectively). The piecing is relatively forgiving compared to other quilting methods, although there are a few areas where difficulties may arise. However, because of its very nature, problems are usually easily solved by adding another patch. There are no rules here, and my system for assembling the crazy blocks is only one of many methods. First of all, it should be noted that the pieces are stitched to a foundation (in this case, plain muslin). I start with a five-sided center (one piece of fabric, or several pieces stitched together and cut to the desired shape), adding additional pieces in a clockwise manner until the entire foundation fabric is covered. There's a lot of trimming, a degree of thread-picking, and of course the blocks will eventually need to be cut to their final dimension, but then comes the fun part: laying them out. I'm fussy. I don't want two identical fabrics touching or in the same position, so I frequently lay the blocks out on the floor, arrange them to suit my eye, and then walk away for a while. It's almost a given that when I look at them again, I'll spot something I hadn't noticed previously, like two reds too close together, or two purple corners both in the upper right. Even so, I may miss something, and then the finished piece becomes the ultimate Quilt Game as I played it when a child: find the pairs, find similarities, count the cats, find the only mouse. There is comfort in a hand-made quilt which exceeds its warmth and softness, memories to be made from its patterns and colours, even when the blocks are a little crazy.