A Thyme to Be Me

Welcome to the unveiling of block #6 in the crazy quilt saga.  No pictures, no initials, just "things."   I love the bright colors in this block.  That's really the only thing I don't like about antique crazy quilts.  They just tend to be too dark.  I wonder if our ancestors really used colors that were so heavy all of the time, or if the fabrics have just darkened with age. 

The silk ribbon flowers on the right are my representation of thyme, the national flower of Bohemia.  Yes, Bohemia really was a place and doesn't just mean someone who is a Hippie.  I am very proud of my Bohemian roots. 

These are my Bohemian great grandparents, Jacob and Otillie (Ziegelbauer) Cimrhanzel.  He was born in Bohemia and came to Texas in 1890 and she was born here to parents who were immigrants.  I just share that because I really love the picture.  They were married in 1910.



Please ignore the funny blue spots.  That's the wash-out ink that I have so much trouble washing out.  I made a tiny cross out of tag board for a template and then spaced out lines for the arrows.  The sets of threes are, of course, for the Holy Trinity.  I tea dyed all of the thread and silk ribbon for this.  I really like how it turned out, especially against my favorite shade of green.

My Little Man

Have you ever noticed that your favorite project is the one you are working on now?  That's how I feel with my blocks.  My favorite is always the most recent.  This one showcases a picture of my son from 10+ years ago.

The pink medallion in the upper left corner is one that I tatted.  The shamrock is the national flower of Ireland.  The spiderweb is just because you have to have one on a crazy quilt, the orange and green lace medallion is one that I bought and dyed, and the lace is from my stash of vintage lace.  I can't get enough of that stuff. 

This pink silk is from an old kimono.  I picked up a grab bag of large squares of vintage kimono fabric at the 2011 San Antonio quilt show.  A friend mentioned that my block was looking a little sad, so I embellished this piece by stitching over the basket and making little tulle flowers with melted edges.  The flowers are about 3/4" each.

This is my big melty flower, about 4" across.  The tutorial for these flowers is on the Calamity Kim site.  I've only made the one large and 4 tiny, but it is so much fun!  I hope to make lots more soon.

Crazy in Love

This is block four, also finished quite a while ago.  Good looking couple in the center, eh?  That was certainly a few pounds and a lot of grey hairs ago!
Most of my fabrics I found from scrounging bargain bins, yard/estate sales, and a few are actually from treasured memories.  Then there are the ones from my friend Lisa's donation of those designer's fabric books.  The stripe above the wedding picture is an example of that.  There is some really cool material in those books, especially the silks.  Lisa also gave me an awesome book to haul around (as in, it's a handy size and has spiral binding) to reference stitches and ideas:  Crazy Quilting-The Complete Guide by J. Marsha Michler.  I have really good friends.  And not just because they give me things to play with, but because they give me encouragement and a sounding board.  Ok, enough being sappy.  Back to the block!
The fuzzy thistle (I think I like it even more than the peacock feather from block 3) is in honor of my Scottish heritage on the Sanders side.

Bet you can't guess what the needle and thread are for! 
I'm throwing in a close-up of the vintage lace collar.  It's a found piece, not a family heirloom.  I'm a sucker for old lace, though.