Quilt Out Loud! Episode Notes

February 2012 Episode

Crazy for Crazy Quilts

Week 1

Jodie and Mark are at Spool, a quilt and sewing shop in Center City Philadelphia. Owners Laura Singewald and Craig Rosenfeld have filled their shop with bright, modern cotton fabrics for quilting, garment and home dec sewing. Jodie and Mark play catch-up showing what they’ve been up to. Mark has finished two needlecraft projects he’s never tried before…a punch needle picture and several Swedish weaving towels and he swears both projects were fast and easy. Jodie shows a quilt design she did for Easy Quilts magazine and how the fabrics chosen changed the “look” of the design completely. Jodie’s friend Michelle Scott has a new book, Bobbin Quiltin’ & Fusin’ Fun, filled with great projects. Jodie interviews Pam Mahshie of Baby Lock at Quilt Market. Pam demonstrates their 21st century machine that allows the sewer to digitize her drawing and see it sewn out. Then it’s back to Spool where Mark shows the knitting he is doing for the D.O.V.E. Fund Bandage Brigade benefiting a leper colony in Vietnam. Spool’s co-owner Craig owns Loop, the knit shop next door.

• Bobbin Quiltin’ & Fusin’ Fun by Michelle Scott – American Quilters Society

Week 2

Mark visits with Allie Aller, a renowned crazy quilter. Allie was a traditional quilter for over 20 years before being bitten by the crazy quilting bug in 2001. Her definitive book is Allie Aller’s Crazy Quilting – Modern Piecing and Embellishing Techniques for Joyful Stitching. There are three parameters for CQ: The seams between the patches are embellished in some way, fancy fabrics are used and there’s a random element to the piecing. CQ is repurposing at its finest. Thrift stores and yard sales are good sources for fabric and trims. A large stash of fabric isn’t necessary as small pieces are all that’s needed. Allie has a pattern for those who would like to give crazy quilting a try.

• Allie Aller’s Crazy Quilting: Modern Piecing and Embellishing Techniques for Joyful Stitching by Allison Aller – C & T Publishing

Week 3
Allie shows Jodie an easy way to make a crazy quilt block. So many quilters are afraid of sewing curved pieces and Allie proves that it’s a simple process. She draws the design for the block on freezer paper, and then cuts the pieces apart. Pieces are ironed onto the fabrics chosen and trimmed adding a seam allowance. The curved edges are clipped and notched so they’ll lie flat and are machine sewn together in numerical order using a narrow zigzag stitch. Allie shares her hints for dealing with difficult fabrics such as velvet and explains how a fusible knit interfacing ironed to the back stabilizes the block. The block is squared up and then the fun begins. Embellish to your heart’s content.

Jodie and Mark meet back up at Spool in the shop’s workroom for their book review and quilt show of sample quilts featured in the books.

• Creative Quilts from your Crayon Box by Terrie Linn Kugar – That Patchwork Place
• Dynamic Quilts with Easy Curves: 19 Projects to Stack, Shuffle and Sew by Karla Alexander – That Patchwork Place
• Singular sensations: 14 Great Quilts from One Simple Block by Barbara Douglas – That Patchwork Place