art quilt, 40"x40"

DESIGN: In keeping with traditional Crazy Quilts, crazy patchwork was used in this artistic variation. In addition, computer generated images of curved Flying Geese and Flying Geese morphing to Half Square Triangles (as shown above) are also incorporated to add the contemporary flair.

Three miniature crazy blocks (a square, a diamond, and a rectangle) are pieced in as whole units to give the eye other places to focus within the overall quilt. Shown (right) is a sample... this mini block is one inch square.

This quilt is considered to be a simple rough draft to the beginning of a series of crazy art quilts by the artist. It is aptly titled. It’s size was dictated by request of The New England Quilt Museum, Lowell, MA (requested for their crazy quilt exhibit) where it was first displayed. Currently it is in a private collection. FABRIC: This piece is made from 100% cotton Artistic Fabrics, hand-painted by the artist. This makes the quilt colorfast as well as fade resistant. Various techniques were used but of particular interest is the use of Heliographic Imaging which created the impressions of gridwork and lace on the fabric. It was the intention to use a palette of many pure colors instead of a color harmony. The multicolored border encompasses the entire palette. STITCHING: As with most traditional crazy quilts, each seam line is sewn over with embroidery. In this particular quilt, all seam lines are stitched with black Cotty thread as a contrast to the colored fabric. All seam stitching is accomplished with custom programmed stitches (imitating simple traditional hand stitching) programmed into the sewing machine (Pfaff 7570) by the artist, instead of built-in preprogrammed stitches.

A fringe foot was used to create the "eye-lash" stitching along the curved patchwork. Also shown in this photograph: a heliographic star image on the fabric, crochet, couching, embroidery, beadwork, stipple quilting and three dimensional flowers with leaves.

Pre-designed machine applique programmed into the sewing machine is used to create perfect satin-stitched edges as shown in this sample. Notice the variation in texture achieved by using various stitch lengths when seed quilting different areas.

EMBELLISHMENTS: Rough Draft is embellished with beadwork incorporated into the seam stitching as well as in open areas and embroidered images. Charms are also used with the beadwork and as stand alone symbolism - such as the spider in the web always found in traditional crazy quilts. Celestial charms are used to echo the heliographic stars and embroidered sextant. Hand crocheted lace edgings, roses, and the small doily symbolize the lacework commonly found in Victorian Crazy Quilts, adding extra interest to the overall design of the piece. Three-dimensional fabric flowers and leaves, made of Artistic Fabrics (hand-painted by the artist) also give the eye a place to be drawn to. Machine embroidered images (with Alcazar Thread) and applique dramatize the fine hand embroidery of traditional Victorian Crazy Quilts. Gold metal chain is used to accentuate the curved Flying Geese patchwork (see above). It is actually sewn on by machine, configured one stitch per link. Red Pearl Cotton is used in the seams of the morphed Flying Geese patchwork to pull in a color (from surrounding fabrics). Machine couching over multiple strands of Pearl Cotton also accents various seams. QUILTING: Traditional crazy quilts are often tied. In some areas, beadwork is used to tie the layers together. Most of the piece is quilted with exaggerated seed quilting using various contrasting colors of YLI quilting thread. These larger than normal stitches (in most cases) add texture to the patchwork. Quilters Dream Cotton Batting (100% cotton) is used between the layers. A false (second) backing is used to hide the front stitching which would otherwise appear as irregular lines and ties on the back. This second outer backing is tied to the inner backing and batting before binding the quilt.