Kerry’s Garden

Recently I finished a scrappy quilt aka crazy quilt. I had started it over a year ago and worked on it on and off hand sewing each 12″ square before hand embroidering them. Each square was then put on a 12″ piece of backing and scrap batting and tied before being sewn into rows and the rows combined into the quilt. Using a different fabric for the back of each square makes this quilt double sided.

I ran across the idea of working in 12″ squares online somewhere and thought I would give it a try. I am pleased with the way it turned out. Yes, if you feel closely the seams are a little thicker than the rest of the quilt as the batting is doubled there. It is a somewhat heavy quilt for its size and very warm. I love all the colors and it is a great way to use up fabric (and scrap batting) from the scrap bin. I enjoyed making it so much I decided to start another one (I have sooo many scraps you know). This time, instead of 12″ squares, I’ve opted for 12″ x 60″ pieces aka rows. This would let me use a 14″ needlepoint frame I had lying around.

The process:
I cut some muslin type fabric that I had into 12 1/2″ x 60 1/2″ strips. This is used as the foundation. Its a lot easier to sew the scraps onto an existing piece of fabric than to try to sew them together by themselves. The strip is attached to the frame and starting at one end, the scraps are sewn on to the foundation fabric which is rolled out of the way as the visible area is completed. When I get to the other end I put away the scraps and grab the embroidery thread and start the decorative embroidery around each piece.

Working this way seems to be going a lot faster than using the 12″ squares. Below is the first strip sewn and embroidered but not yet sandwiched with the batting and backing.

Here is a closer shot of the almost completed row.

I am not sure yet what I am going to do about the back. I may go with the same fabric for each row or alternate fabrics. I’ll have to see what I have on hand when the time comes.