A Look Back in Time

A Few years ago I became enamored with Crazy Quilting.  I simply love it.  Pam Kellogg of Kitty and Me Designs was the first I had really noticed and I began following her blog religiously.  I wanted to do this also.  So I made plans and started collecting fabrics and laces and trims and ribbons and fibers, and beads and charms and...and... well you get the idea.  However I could never make myself start one.  I was terrified of piecing the fabrics--not the embellishing!  Can you believe that?  If I didn't have a pattern to follow I wasn't sure how to begin.  And I kept procrastinating.  

I am afraid of Crazy Quilting! Yes...I have finally admitted it. I know the basics. I can sew. I know the specialty stitches used for seam treatments and I love to embellish. I have been an avid cross stitcher for more years than I care to admit and have become addicted to specialty stitches. But for some reason the thought of putting all these things together and actually doing it as a Crazy project is just overwhelming to me. So what did I do? you ask. Well what any normal cross stitcher would do. I improvised! I designed a cross stitch/specialty stitch design that looks like Crazy Quilting! I decided if I can do it on cross stitched fabric then I can do it on regular fabric. So here it is: (It matches my Ipod)

And here it is in RED! Stitched for a friend--I just love this one.

It is the Flutterby Garden Pocket and it is a bit unusual but I love it. It is an IPod/Cell phone pocket with two different looks. I first stitched the basic design (I used this for the back side)  and then began to add embellishments to give it a bit of Zing! (For the front).   It was easy to use what I had on hand--fibers, ribbons, lace, buttons, charms, beads, pearls. As you can see I added a tatted butterfly to mine! Just use your imagination!

[After I finished it, I decided to make it available for others--both cross stitchers and crazy quilters! I have included some seam treatment suggestions and finishing instructions for this as well as the cording and tassel making instructions. This pocket is very versatile. It can be used not only for your IPod or cellphone but also for your credit cards/cash, your keys, Driver's License or anything else you like!  Just send me an email for more info.]


Now it is years later and I still love Crazy quilting and I still have the plans and urge to do some of it.  So stay tuned to see what I do this time.

Until next time...

Excited!

Today is release day for my newest design--French Elegance II.  This one was so much fun to design and to stitch.  Please check it out over on Lady K Needlearts.

I am now working on another one.  Can't seem to slow down once an idea takes form.  I will share when I can.  

In other news... I have been adding lots of charts, fabrics and other things over on eBay so please check it out.  My name there is madstitcherdesigns.  I have really been clearing out stash and have barely touched the surface.  After all I have been collecting for 45+ years!!  At the moment it is mostly charts and quilting fabrics but I will also be adding cross stitch fabrics, fibers, etc. as soon as I finish going through the charts.  I may also add some books as my library has been growing exponentially also. 

I know I promised photos of my quilt project but I haven't had a chance to get the camera out yet.  But I will...hopefully this weekend.  There is just so much I want to do and not enough time in the day to do it all.  .

Denises's Piece

Back in October I told you I finished a consigned piece for Denise but forgot to take a photo of it finished before mailing it off.  Well she was kind enough to send me a photo of it all framed up and I love it.  It is a Norman Rockwell painting charted out and is solidly stitched.

  I love the mats and frame she chose.  

Until next time...