Crazy Quilt Trunk

If you are going to do a Trunk Show with Crazy Quilts, it's only fitting that you bring your wares in an official
Crazy Quilt Trunk.
Darlene Reid does things right.
As a teacher and lecturer, she inspires on so many levels.
I keep telling Darlene that when I grow up I want to be like her.
We are so fortunate to have her as a member of our Nimble Thimbles Guild.

A very nostalgic look with wonderful quotes



I know some people like this :)

Light and Dark Crazy Quilts

Not only was I impressed with Darlene's selection of a wide variety of mediums to make her Crazy Quilts, I was also taken with her use of light and dark fabrics.
The sky is really the limit when picking your own style in making a Crazy Quilt.

This one in Pastels made me think of Easter

With purples and yellows, buttons and lace.

Pieces of vintage dresser scarves and hankies.

And I loved how she set the corner of the quilt with a 3-D Crochet piece, with the dress free and unattached to the base.

Several of Darlene's quilts were made with traditional black backgrounds.

Each piece is unique as she includes photographs and sayings.

"I slept and dreampt that
Life was beauty.
I woke to find...
That Life was Duty"



Red Work as the center focus.

And notice how the stitching continues clear to the borders with a herringbone stitch.

Some of Darlene's blocks were placed in a traditional setting with sashings.

Use of old thimbles, tie labels and initials to remember the maker.

And this little guy with his tail hanging over the corner just finishes off the quilt perfectly.

Potpourri of Crazy Quilt Ideas

One of the most impressive parts of Darlene's trunk show, was the wide variety of mediums she uses in making Crazy Quilts.
As she pulled out dozens of examples, Darlene offered a
Potpourri of Crazy Quilt ideas.
There really is no limit in the fabrics or embellishments you can use.

We traditionally think of using silks or cottons with Victorian images when making a Crazy Quilt.
Darlene gathered a wide variety of wools collected from garments she found at Thrift Shops.

The wool makes the piece heavier, so she opted to design a wall hanging size.

Wool still allows her to showcase some fun embroidery stitches.

And the appliqued crow gives it more of a Primitive feel.

How about a Crazy Quilt made from men's ties?
Darlene saves the labels from each tie, and uses them in a wide variety of ways.

Another Crazy Quilt is adorned with rows of ties, and a collection of buttons.
Darlene said that as she hunts for ties at Thrift stores, she often gets a "whiff" of their previous owner's cologne or cigar smoke.

Have you thought about making a Crazy Quilt to display your Quilt Pin collection?

Loved the "Quilter. Not Just Another Pretty Face" pin.


Darlene has taken the traditional Stringed Star block and made it into a Crazy Quilt.

Little bits of men's ties, combined with snippets of women's lace, gives this quilt a mix of traditional with non-traditional look.

Finished off with traditional hand quilting.

Every era can be represented in a Crazy Quilt.
Vintage embroidery designs, and ric rac give this Crazy Quilt a 1920's- 1930's look.

Darlene uses modern plastic buttons to stay within form.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing the many ways and techniques that can be used in making a Crazy Quilt.
Darlene certainly has inspired me to start gathering a little bit of this and that, and begin the planning stages to make a Crazy Quilt of my own.
Tomorrow I will show you a few more examples from her collection.

Darlene's Crazy Quilts

In posts this last year, I've shown you quite a few quilts made by Darlene Reid.
I love everything she makes.
I was pretty excited when I heard she would be providing the trunk show for our September Nimble Thimbles meeting.
Darlene has many quilting talents, but making Crazy Quilts is one of her specialties.
She has taught classes in the art for years, and shared with us her very prolific collection of Crazy Quilts she has personally designed.

Darlene's love of Crazy Quilts began many years ago when she viewed this design while visiting a distant relative. One block was made by her grandmother. From detailed photographs, she replicated each section.

Photograph's of Darlene's ancestors create a memory quilt that has been treasured by the family for generations.

Darlene left the needle beside the word "Mother" to give the feeling of closeness within the family.

Crazy Quilts were the first Art Quilts.
Japanese designs were very popular in Victorian Times.

Silks were the most common fabric used in traditional Crazy Quilts.
Many of the silk Crazy Quilts have now disintegrated.
The silk traders were paid by the pound for their wares, and would often dip the silk in mineral salt to make them heavier.
Years later we see the results of their greed through fabrics that have fallen apart with age.

Darlene has "worked out side the box" in the creation of many of her own Crazy Quilts.
This is an example of a Modern Crazy Quilt with an Ethnic flair.
Inspiration came from a picture in a magazine, from which Darlene designed her own pattern.

Complete with buttons and trims that add to the African theme.

Darlene even brought several Crazy Quilt vests.

Such a treat to see so many different ideas in making Crazy Quilts.
Tomorrow I will show you more from Darlene's collection.

September Show and Tell

I have more to share with you from the Nimble Thimbles Show and Tell this month.

Margaritte discussed a Mosaic Heart Collage method where she laid fabric sections down with Mistyfuse fusible web, and then "quilted the heck out of it".
Free tutorial on the method is offered by Terrri Stegmiller at Stegart

Ruth finished her Thimbleberries quilt.

and she also finished a Halloween wall hanging.

Laura A. is on the mend, after a difficult year battling cancer.
Through her illness, and as she was going through chemotherapy, one of her friends gather up several sections of quilt blocks and completed 2 of her quilts.
Listening to her story of appreciation brought tears to my eyes.
Isn't this really what quilting is all about?

This wonderful world of quilters, and the kindness shown, continues to amaze me.

This was the second quilt her friend completed.

The original blocks were from a Block of The Month at a local quilt store.

More beautiful quilts were shared by the members of our guild.



Another touching story:
A new member brought this quilt she had just made as a gift for friends who had just adopted 4 little girls this year.
They are in their 50's, and have raised a family of their own already.
The mom called and said "We have another little girl coming into our family, and as of today she loves Princesses and purple. Could you make her a quilt to match her interests?"

Mission accomplished.