My Version of Being a Crazy Quilter

When I began making quilts it was after many years of knitting, needlepointing and doing counted cross-stitch, decades of following other people's instructions and patterns. I quickly realized that quiltmaking offered a chance to "wing it", to go my own way, to be a bit adventurous and have fun. One of the things I like to do is make couch quilts where the front absolutely does not "match" the back. I think of it as my version of being a crazy or goofy quilter.

Here I am back with my gaudy creation that is still in the works. JudyPete sent me a private email suggesting that I make my outermost black border finish so it will be half the width of the inner black border. That sensible woman's advice sounds good to me so I plan to follow it when the time comes to trim the quilted quilt.

You can see a bit of the wrong side of the backing of this quilt ... it is a somewhat pale fabric with happy dancing frogs and since you are seeing the wrong side they appear to be even paler in this photo. :-) I will be tracing the outline of the frog motif on the paper onto Glad's Press 'n Seal and then do free motion quilting in dark blue thread in needle and bobbin to make leaping frogs all over this quilt. I chose the crazy tilted blocks for the front because the woman who will be receiving this quilt as a gift lives a hectic, somewhat disorganized but creative life.

This quilt will be a gift for a friend who is having her first book published in August ... it's a children's book about frogs. She says she will give me a couple of copies of her book (I helped her "dress" the lady frogs) and I plan to give her this quilt in exchange.

Judy