My First Crazy Quilt

I have begun a new sewing project.

I confess to being a home body. During the winter months, I love cocooning and staying cozy but in order to feel productive I enjoy projects.

I wanted to find a project that would not involve spending money but using things I had on hand instead. I wanted to create something in honor of family. I get nostalgic during the holidays and miss loved ones that have passed on. I have saved a box of ties that belonged to my father with the intent of making a quilted project one day. You can see in the picture that my father had musical themed ties and some highlighting scripture. He was a cellist and played in many church programs and orchestras throughout his life. I looked at Dresden quilt patterns and began taking my father’s ties apart in preparation for a quilt. I began laying out different colored ties to make an attractive pattern yet no matter how many times I changed the layout, I was not happy with it. The color was all wrong for me with all the blacks and navy blues from my father’s wardrobe. I am definitely a lover of blue and green but more in the spring tones. There were a few in his collection that would fit that color palette.

I also have a collection of vintage fabric scraps that belonged to my grandmother that I have saved for various sewing projects throughout the years. I decided to mix both my grandmother’s remnants with my father’s spring themed ties plus a few I purchased for a randomly designed quilt project.

I have never made a crazy quilt before. I decided to go to Youtube for some instructions, patterns and tips. My grandmother made a crazy quilt once. My mother has it at her condo. It is made from velvet and silk remnants. It is made from darker colors and is embroidered on top with feather stitches along the edges of the fabric remnants.

Here is what I have made so far. I now have created twelve squares. Each square took about an hour to make. It will take a while to create enough squares for a lap quilt.

I think it is a good thing to have a project like this to work on during the darker days of winter when it is dismal outside and it is easy to get the blues. Yet these blues and greens are a sure way to make the days seem less gray.