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.