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Crazy Planning

I've been thinking about how I want to do my 2020 crazy quilt, aka this year's art project. I did some watercolor pieces to play with some color and composition ideas, but wasn't sure how large I should make it or what arrangement I should go with for the blocks.

One 14" square block every month is a good, doable goal for me. Last night I raided the cotton scraps I saved all year to see how long it would take me to hand-sew one block (which I will have to do with all those silks.) Here's what my test block looks like:

Took about four hours to hand stitch and press. Since I plan to do smaller/more intricate patchwork with the silks they'll probably take a couple of nights, leaving the rest of the month for embroidery and embellishment, which are the big time-consuming tasks. Twelve in this size would make a 42" X 56" quilt top, to which I'll probably add some outer borders.

Getting tricky with the shape and placement of the blocks tempted me (i.e. making them circular or triangular, setting them on point, aligning the patches to make the seams disappear, etc.) but I prefer to keep it simple -- the needlework is going to be challenging enough for me. So: three blocks across, and four down.

Despite the title of this post I'm really trying not to plan too much about this quilt. If the recycled linen quilt taught me anything, it's to let go of my control freak impulses and just stitch. I want it to be fun and calming, not nerve-wracking. So that's basically the plan.

Here are the scarves I picked out to start my first block:

All of the vintage silk scarves I purchased for this project smell of perfume or are slightly musty, so my first task was to hand-wash all of them:

Never do this with a silk garment, by the way -- to preserve silk it should be dry-cleaned only. That said, it's not practical for me to dry clean all the scarves, which are damaged and stained, so not wearable. I may lose a bit of color and luster from the silk, but that won't make a big difference. If you do hand-wash anything made of silk, it should never go in the dryer. Use cold water, a mild detergent (Woolite is best), and line dry.

Here's how they turned out after a good soak:

Once I get them ironed, then I'll be ready to start the crazy patchwork on block #1.

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Comments

Maria Zannini said…
Since the finished quilt will probably be washed anyway, it'll continue its life as being lovingly used.

I have a quilt that a neighbor gave me. She had just finished it and of course, it looks brand new. I haven't had the heart to use it because it looks too new. I like quilts to have a slightly worn look. Matches me. :)
January 5, 2020 at 7:53 AM
nightsmusic said…
I really like the Paris print in that square. The way you turned things makes it visually interesting as well :)

I'm curious if you found a loss of sizing after the scarves were washed. Usually they have sizing added to them and I know that it washes out easily and can make the silk even harder to work with.
January 5, 2020 at 9:51 AM
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