Welcome to my stop on the Threaded Chaos Blog Hop, sponsored by Lumin Fabrics and Aurifil! This month’s challenge is all about crazy quilts: texture, creativity, and a healthy dose of beautiful, colorful thread. But here’s a little secret… my version of crazy quilting? It’s a little more organized than you might think.
For this project, I had the pleasure of working with a half-yard bundle of Island Batik Stone Strata by Kathy Engle for Lizard Creek Quilting.
The earthy, textural prints of this collection practically begged to be mixed up, stitched down, and turned into something with both movement and structure. You should be able to find it in shops now!
Rather than go fully improv, I leaned into a more organized method of building my “crazy” quilt blocks. Here’s how it worked:
I started with 20 ten-inch squares, one of each print, stacked in small groups.
Each stack was cut into five odd-shaped pieces using the exact same cutting pattern.
Then, I swapped the shapes around between stacks so that each block had five different prints and sewed them back together.
After reassembling them, I used four gorgeous shades of Aurifil 40 and 50wt thread: variegated yellow, green, teal, a bright blue, and a beige. These colors worked perfectly with the Stone Strata palette, enhancing the piecing and decorative stitches without overpowering the fabrics and the thread handled every stitch beautifully.
I picked several fancy stitches from my machine and stitched along each seam lines to honor the traditional crazy quilt aesthetic.
Then I trimmed each block down to a tidy 7.5" square to fit the center of my saw tooth.
So while it looks chaotic, every block has the same internal structure. I call it organized chaos, and it was super fun to create!
With the crazy blocks as my foundation, I built out each one using the Sawtooth Star block, a classic design that let my wild centers shine.
I used a teal print from the Island Batik foundations lines for the flying geese, but didn't have quite enough so I pulled out an older print from my personal Island Batik stash that played well and alternated the teal and raindrop print between blocks.
To give the block a little twist and more visual interest, I added Corner Beam units to the corners instead of leaving them solid. I used another older Island Batik print that matched the color way for the centers.
I chain pieced all my units together and
ended up with nice 14 inch blocks.
Quarter Square Triangle cornerstones and sashing brought everything together with clean lines and contrast. The background print and sashing are an Island Batik blender called Doughnut.
I thin inner border and another blue print from my personal Island Batik stash finished the top.
I used the beige 40wt Aurifil thread for the quilting. It blended nicely across the variety of prints in Stone Strata, adding texture and harmony while letting the fabric and piecing take center stage.
I opted for a simple yet effective quilting design, gentle wavy lines stitched from top to bottom.
The curves add a subtle contrast to all the sharp piecing and structured star blocks,
giving the quilt a beautiful sense of movement without distracting from the patchwork.
Altogether, the quilt is made of 20 large 14" blocks, set into a bold and balanced layout that finishes at a generous 98" x 80".
It’s cozy, dramatic, and full of visual movement.
This blue dragonfly landed right on my new quilt, guess it approves of the color choices!
🧰 Tools of the (Threaded) Trade
I couldn’t have brought this quilt together without some other trusty tools:
Batting: Hobbs Heirloom® 80/20 Cotton/Poly Blend — warm, lightweight, and just the right drape.
Iron: Oliso M3Pro — crisp seams every time (and yes, I even used it for my long seams)
Needles: Schmetz — always reliable for both piecing and quilting, even through layered seams
What I loved most about this project was how it challenged the idea of what a “crazy quilt” has to be. Mine might not have beads, lace, or freeform angles, but it’s still a celebration of texture, stitch, and creativity. It’s proof that even within structure, there’s room for play.
I hope you have enjoyed this colorful, creative challenge. Thanks for stopping by!
Be sure to check out Suzy at Webster Quilts to see her crazy quilt project done in the same fabric line!
I hope this inspires you to try your own twist on crazy quilting, whether you like it truly wild, or just a little messy in a methodical way.
A beach crazy quilt under the stars - good job.
ReplyDeleteGreat job! The wavy quilted lines make the stars shimmer. I like you idea of organized chaos.
ReplyDeleteWOW Leah! I absolutely love this quilt. Not only is it very beautiful, but it has Stars which are my favorite. For a long time now whenever I have scraps left over from a project, I use them to make star blocks with different centers. But I have never made one like this so I will have to try this one next. It is really awesome. Thank you for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteLove it and the dragonfly! Very neat!
ReplyDelete