Friday, June 1, 2012

Friday Inspiration - Unusual Crazy Quilts

I finished a few more of my denim crazy quilt squares, pinned them together ... and was overwhelmed by so much denim!  Hmmm - time to check out other ways of putting crazy quilts together.


I found this quilt, created by Cindy Thury Smith, in a past issue of CrazyQuiltMagOnline.  If you haven't discovered this great free quilting resource, be sure to look through some issues.  I really like the bands of coordinating fabric separating the crazy quilt squares and the stars at each point.  Doing something like this would definitely cut down on the overwhelming sea of denim!





This quilt on SelvageBlog does the same sort of dividing by using giant ric rac.  I think it gives the quilt a homey, cozy look that's nice.  Lace would also work.







I love the way a whole different pattern was used with this crazy quilt! If I'd seen it before I started my blocks, I might have used it for inspiration.  The quilt is part of the Rogers Arkansas Historical Museum collection and was sewn during the 1890's by Elizabeth Hargis Gaines.  The museum's website has a good history of it.

And finally, this next "quilt" isn't really a functional quilt, but a work of art.  Massachusetts artist B.Z. Reily uses found objects in her work, - much of it inspired by quilts.  This piece is wonderful!  I'm a baseball fan and past baseball mom and these gloves bring back so many good memories.  Be sure to take a look at her other work on the website - quilt art from old toy cars, a fantastic flying geese pattern from old food tins, and much more!

Baseball Glove Quilt, 2009.  Baseball glove, tree saplings.

Happy Creating!  Deborah

3 comments:

  1. Interesting pieces you've shown, and I LOVE your denim projects! A denim crazy quilt would look amazing.

    I too like crazy quilts that are laid out in traditional quilt block formats. I'm actually planning one right now, it will probably be a Roman Stripe layout. I get to play with the crazy quilt aspect and still indulge my love of geometrics!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was just following one of your tutorials folding newspaper to create a pattern and noticed the Az Republic in your pix. Small world I was born and raised in Phx. Happy to have found you through FaveQuilts. Your tutorials are very well written.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! We've been here for about 12 years now and love it most of the year. The summers are interesting - thank goodness for air conditioning! The Sonoran Desert is one of my big inspirations any time of year, though.

      Delete