Project QUILTING - Season 12 - Challenge 5

You're Crazy!

This week's Project QUILTING challenge is the fifth for the season and the fifth that I've come up with a way to participate.  The challenge was released on Sunday afternoon.

I can't believe it!!  I was busy when my phone reminder went off and never checked until Kathy @ Hazel's Daughter tagged me in Kim's prize giveaway post on Instagram.  I didn't read the prompt until 8 PM!!  That's unheard of for me.

Will you come alongside me in this creative journey?  It's a wild ride, but oh SEW rewarding!  I'm dragging my friend LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color along this season.  She ROCKED the fourth challenge!  You can see it HERE.

Challenges are given and start to finish you have ONE WEEK to complete your project.  PQ 12.5 can be found at this LINK.

Step One...

Read the instructions to see what is required of the fifth challenge.  Here's what Trish had to say:

This week’s challenge is inspired by the late 1800s “crazy quilt” movement. The trend was characterized by irregular pieces of rich, sumptuous fabric not usually used in patchwork. These were then embellished with lace, embroidery, beading and other needlework.

Some links to offer a bit of history and context:

• History of the Crazy Quilt
• Crazy Quilt Outliers

Since these quilts were meant for show and not generally used as every day bed coverings, many stellar examples have survived to inspire us today. Nearly every serious quilt collection contains at least one:

• Crazy Quilts and Mad Women
• Crazy Quilt ca 1880-85
• Crazy for Crazy Quilts

As always, find your own way to be “inspired” by this challenge – it does not have to be a literal, actual crazy quilt you make. How can you take that idea, and make something you love? Something that pushes your skills and creativity?

Some ideas on interpreting this for your project:

• use brocade, velvet, silk and other unusual luxurious fabrics
• add stitches or embroidery by hand or machine
• embellish with feathers, beads and baubles
• exhibit unfettered block exuberance!

A few tutorials on crazy quilts:

• the Spruce Crafts
• Missouri Star Video

Step Two...

When I finally read the rules for this challenge, I forced myself to focus again on the words INSPIRED BY.

Why, Joyful???

Well, I just happen to have an aversion to making Crazy Quilt blocks.  Trust me when I tell you...

I have NO IDEA where this is going to go!!!

Step Three...

PANIC!!!  Then, get over myself and gather supplies.  Scraps of silk (a staple in the Crazy Quilt movement of the late 1800's) and some sparkly fabric from my friend Jean, were added to a chunk of background fabric and some Frankenbatting that I pieced for this project.  She challenged me to "Do Something With Them!"  I had a plan for a quilt named BEE Sew Challenged, but it has yet to materialize.  I'm pleased to be putting these scraps to good use:

Step Four...

Review the rules:

RULE 1:

Your project must be inspired by the tradition of crazy quilts.

 

RULE 2:

You have one week to meet the challenge. Every challenge piece must be a FINISHED project seen through from INCEPTION to COMPLETION during the challenge timeline – that is, started on or after February 28, 2021, and posted by noon Central March 7, 2021. Please only link up ONE completed project. It’s awesome if you make more than one but choose just ONE to link up below.

 

RULE 3:

Each piece must stand alone as DONE to count toward prizes.

 

RULE 4:

Your project does not need to be a traditional quilt, but must meet at least one of these requirements: include patchwork, include appliqué, have 3 layers stitched together by hand or machine.

RULE 5:

Incomplete or unfinished does not qualify. Every challenge piece must be a FINISHED project seen through from INCEPTION to COMPLETION during the challenge timeline.

RULE 6:

To qualify to win prizes, link up at the bottom of THIS PAGE by Sunday, March 7 at noon CST (here’s a link to time zone converter to calculate for Central Standard Time: www.thetimezoneconverter.com)

• Add to the linky the URL of your project’s blog post, public instagram picture, or public facebook posting.  This post – How to Link Up a Link Up may help  you. Please only link up ONE time!
• Alternately, by 11:45 am on Sunday, March 7th you may email a picture and description to {lapaceksorchard@gmail.com} with PROJECT QUILTING in the subject line.

Good luck, and remember to HAVE FUN! Don’t forget to post progress pictures because that’s part of the fun.

Step Five... PLAY!!!

Remember... That was the LAST THING that Trish said.  HAVE FUN!  I'm going to try to do just that.

Here is an in-depth look at the construction process...

(Scroll down to the bottom of the post NOW, if you don't have time to basically watch me make my quilt.)

I started out with a machine embroidery stitch just below the center of the quilt sandwich to mask the feather stitches of the Frankenbatting and add another element of a Crazy Quilt to my piece:

Next, I grabbed a piece of freezer paper and wrote out the letters that I wanted to add to my specialty fabrics.  The cut out letters were then pressed onto the fabrics and arranged in a quirky manner:

After that, it was time to cut out the fabric letters:

... And my trusty new Karen K. Buckley scissors (Thank you, Carol @ Just Let Me Quilt!) came out to play for part of the process:

Once that was done, I wrote out my phrase and auditioned it with my letters in place to get an idea of proper spacing:

Then came the practice stitching...

GULP!!  After two tries, it was time to stitch out the phrase on my "real" quilt sandwich:

For the next portion of the process, I brought in reinforcements (Thank you, DS1!) before gluing down the focal word:

The last thing to be done before bed Friday night was using one of the products from my guild's Membership Prize Basket (Thank you, Ella K. for putting together such a fabulous prize. SEW many fun and useful items were included!) won back in December.  The glue needs time to dry before the letters can be stitched down:

 

Ultimately...

The letters were stitched down and the top was squared up (Thank you, DS2!!) with the help of my trusty in-house design assistant:

A scrap of binding was chosen, making the quilt that much more special, as it's an off-cut from Needleb:

Thanks for sharing, B!!  It's SEW perfect for this little quilt!

I ended up with this cute quilt and even remembered to apply my satin label this time, but no quick hanging corners:

A full 14 hours until the deadline...

I present my completed entry for PQ 12.5, displayed on the Gallery Wire in my studio:

There is usually a reason that I participate in these challenges...

... And this time, it's because Kathy (E?  Sorry!  I forgot to write it down.) challenged me.  (Own it and I will happily link to your blog!)  SEW... I just HAD to figure out SOMETHING.  :o))

There you have it...

Process, product, and the REAL reason for accepting this Challenge.

Follow THIS LINK to the Season 12 overview.  Check back on the Challenge release days (or sign-up to be notified automatically) and there may be one that YOU just can't resist.

It's a SHORT turnaround time!

Depending on the size and complexity of your project, that doesn't HAVE to be insurmountable.  With a little creativity and a couple of evenings, you really CAN do this!  My project was begun 5 days after the prompt was released, but was finished with a full half day remaining until the deadline and linked up with just shy of 2 hours before the deadline... even though the bulk of this post was written ahead of time.  Otherwise, I would have been cutting it even closer.

Sharing with Kelly

for

Needle and Thread Thursday

and

With Cynthia

for

Oh Scrap!

Until next time...

Challenge accepted!!!

Remember:  If I can do this, YOU can do it, too!

(Plus, there's a spot to post your completed Project QUILTING inspired projects AFTER the deadline for any of the challenges.)