A Crazy Quilting Day

Today, at the Sew Fitting neighborhood group of the Houston ASG Chapter, I was on the agenda to do a brief program on Crazy Quilting. I was nominated for this honor as I made this purse at a class by Deanna Powell of the Embroiderers' Guild of America back in the early nineties. It took me until a couple of years ago to actually finish the construction.

It really is a particularly spectacular purse... but it just leaves me cold. I did not enjoy making it but it did teach me that forced creativity doesn't work with me. Finding all the motifs and figuring out what to put on it nearly drove me to distraction - which is probably why it took me almost a decade to get it finished.

For the program I gave each of the attendees a little ziplock bag containing a whole bunch of little bits of fabric, ribbon, fibers, beads, buttons and yarns. After tacking the fabrics to a piece of muslin we worked through buttonhole/blanket stitch, cross stitch, herringbone stitch and rounded it all out with a wrapped spider web. I got to preach a little about plying stranded fibers before using them and to see some of the most creative women in Houston learn something new. They so much enjoyed our time together they asked me to come back to do another hands-on embroidery program next month. I promised to do the next program if everyone attending would make something out of their 'kit'. I didn't leave them high and dry but gave them brief instructions for creating their own copy of my purse as well as instructions on how to make a Magic Card Case as originally shown in the Winter 2006 issue of Quilting Arts magazine.

I wonder what everyone will make?

A better question would be... what will I be teaching next month? Yikes! I better get started now!