Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Checking In and Catching Up!

I've been out in the garden this spring....not blogging so much!

But I have finished some projects...so here they are...

First is "Be Kind".  My Uncle Hal's dear wife Deb gave me the cross stitch piece that I used in the center of the quilt.

This was quite experimental for me, combining crazy quilt fabrics, supplies, and techniques in a traditional machine quilted format.  I loved every second of making this...

This detail I hope shows the quilting, couching, machine and hand stitching all combined together.

Next, I finished up a long term project called "The Red Guest House".  This is at my cousin Tracy's ranch in New Mexico.  I started it in one of my "Home Portraits" classes. 

This also was experimental, combining vintage blocks with embroidery, lace, photo printing on fabric, and some contemporary repro fabrics too.  It captures the feel of the place, and is really an homage to my cousin.

A throw quilt top came together quickly using blocks from my "Pretty Crazy" pattern for Brookshier Design Studio.  I can't wait to quilt this on my Handi Quilter Sweet 16!

Cheery, isn't it?

So I've been having some fun, exploring new ideas.
I'm getting more and more drawn into using vintage textiles in my work...and was recently given some very precious blocks from Lisa Boni  that I will be working with later this summer...you'll be hearing more about that project when the time comes.

And another dear friend has sent me some vintage quilt tops that I will be practicing my machine quilting on...yes, I know, you heard that right.  I have a deep desire to make functional quilts again, traveling in the footsteps of women lost to time who went before me....but adding my own quirky elements, never leaving the 15 years I've spent crazy quilting too far behind.

Here is one of them...

Lots of room to groove and practice in those white areas....

Speaking of history....
I was honored to be interviewed by the Why Quilts Matter: Quilts, Art, and Politics project undertaken by the Kentucky Quilts Project, Inc.  They asked me about the connection between crazy quilting and today's art quilt movement and made me do some deep thinking on the subject.  Take some time to look over their site...there is treasure there!

I've got some traveling ahead, but expect to be blogging more regularly after I return home in a few weeks...til then,  Happy Stitching!


7 comments :

Monica said...

They are all beautiful, Allison!

I am very impressed with the saturated colours in the red cottage. It's hard to see in the photo -- did you add some extra colour to the red parts?

allie aller said...

I up the saturation level in my photos before I print them (doing a test print on paper first). So that red came out pretty well!

RachelA said...

Looking forward to seeing your quilting on the quilts you intend "practicing" on Allie. I have just come from a two day course with Debby Brown at the Cotton Patch in Birminghm UK, on the HQSweet 16. Can't wait to practice on mine too when I get home.

Judy said...

What an awesome garden!! I love your quilts and how you combine the different elements so smoothly. I'm with you on loving traditional, functional quilts too. There's something quite appealing knowing that we are standing with the women who came before us, continuing to quilt. Enjoy!

Vicki W said...

I've missed you in blog world but it was worth the wait. I love your new quilts!

Sondra said...

These are so gorgeous! I love the little red house; so cute!

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