Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Crazy Quilted Box and Kaleidoscope of Butterflies Linkup

What a treat! Lisa Boni taught a workshop to our guild last week about crazy quilting these tiny boxes. This gifted teacher hails from Colorado and blogs at Ivory Blush Roses. She showed several years of her work during her lecture and pointed out how it has improved. That gives me hope perseverance will help mine, too.

I've followed her blog for a few years because always enjoy her work (as well as her paintings) and her generosity in sharing details of it. However, I seriously doubt I will ever make an entire crazy quilt. That's a benefit of this workshop; it only takes a day or two to complete. With holidays on the horizon, I plan to make several for friends and family this year.

Red and pink silks form the crazy quilting base. Lisa Boni workshop.
My first Crazy Quilted Box

These little boxes started as Altoid tins. {I've been saving them for a year and have a huge supply.} Lisa's kit (which was optional) included templates, cardboard, felt and all the thread, beads, and ribbons needed for the project. She gave us thorough handouts of steps involved in completing the boxes and answered all questions as we worked.

Red and pink silks form the crazy quilting base. Lisa Boni workshop.
Side view of Crazy Quilted Box

By the end of the day mine was almost ready to glue together. {I'd gotten a bit chatty during class.} I glued it the next day. Now I realize I should have put a butterfly on the work instead of that starburst. Next time!

The hummingbirds have flown south. A few winter over but haven't come by my house yet. The butterflies are gone, too. My milkweed has seeded. All in all, winter is coming. And since I finished the latest kaleidoscope, I haven't started another. What have you been up to?

Enjoy the day, Ann

InLinkz removed because it was hacked.

20 comments:

patty a. said...

Your box turned out very pretty! I know now it would take a lot of hours to do all the embroidery on a crazy quilt. The t-shirts quilt I made for the Akron Art prize this year had over 300 hours of embroidery on it and I could have added more! It was only 72" x 72" and was not as densely embroidered as a crazy quilt.

JoniStrother said...

Ann, your Altoids box is so beautiful! You have the right touch for crazy quilting.

Nifty Quilts said...

What a fun little tin! These will make cherished gifts. Thanks for the link up party. Finally, I've joined.

Ann said...

Yes. It's always amazed me that you're willing to add embroidery to such a large quilt. Wow! When I was much younger I started several crazy quilts in classes but never worked on more at home. I finally realized I like them but don't want to make one. So this tiny box is the perfect size. Hopefully I will improve with practice.

Ann said...

I can't wait to see what you make, Joni. You're beading is always so exciting. I did learn that putting felt across the inside of the box means it no longer snaps shut. I think I'll try to follow the design next time. Cover the words but not to the edge.

Ann said...

Yay! I'm thrilled you link your beautiful kaleidoscope. Such a stunner.

Cathy said...

Your box turned out really nice. Have fun embellishing more. I've participated in several altoid tin swaps in the past with the crazyquilting international yahoo group and had fun. I love Lisa's work. I've participated in several round robins with her so I have some of her lovely work. And, hey, I've actually made two crazy quilts (crazy basket case and crazy cravings) and have a third one that's a UFO (crazy farm). I want to get back to crazy quilting when I retire.

Ann said...

Wow, Cathy. I can't understand how you ever finished one, much less three. Lucky you. Crazy quilts are beautiful but these tiny boxes are about as much as I could ever complete.
Lisa showed photos of the blocks she made for several round robins. I wonder if one was yours?

Mystic Quilter said...

Beautiful little box Ann, you must have lots of patience! Are they very tiny?

Ann said...

They are about the size of a credit card. It's just an Altoid tin. No, I'm not patient, Maureen. That's why I've never been successful with hand quilting. But these are amazingly quick to make. Yay!

KaHolly said...

Ann, this little box is so pretty! I see a lot of work here! XO, karen

Ann said...

Thanks, Karen. Most of the work was Lisa's since I purchased her kit. What a help to have a short project for a change.

Lisa Boni said...

Your Altoid Tin turned out wonderfully! Thanks so much for sharing it and also information about the workshop! Loved being there with all of you! It was a fun day!

Mary Marcotte said...

Now I know why I've been saving tiny tins! I'm going to look into this idea. I kept thinking that I would cover the tins with tiny beads, but this is so much prettier!

Kaja said...

This sounds like a lot of fun and the end result is lovely. What a great way to play with a technique you wouldn't want to use for a whole quilt too.

Ann said...

Thank you for teaching this workshop, Lisa. We had a wonderful time. I'm glad you visited so many places while you were here, too.

Ann said...

Good idea, Mary. It only takes scraps since these tins are so small. There are many ways you can decorate them.

Ann said...

That's what I like best, Kaja. I'll never complete a crazy quilt and have nowhere to display it if I did. These are special because they are so small and easy to finish. You and I tend to go for "bed-sized" quilts. What a change to have something "quilt-in-a-day" sized!

Stephie said...

These will make lovely gifts Ann! And they're small enough to really personalise too. I don't think it matters if we play with techniques we think we'll never use - it all adds another string to our bow. And you never know when a particular technique might come in handy to achieve something else. I should follow your lead and do more!

Ann said...

That's a great idea, Stephie. First I need a bit more practice but then personalization will make them special.
And you're right. Every skill adds something to our repertoire.