My mom started this quilt long ago. She died in 1987, so it probably goes back at least twenty-five years. When she died, I took the box of crazy quilt squares, made from neckties that she got at the second-hand store or that people gave her. Some were stitched in blue, but most had gold stitching.
Probably ten years ago I made an attempt at putting the squares together but I lacked the skill and the tools and took them apart again and put them back in the box. On Sunday I was sitting in church with my mind wandering - a common occurrence - and realized that I could probably finish this quilt now.
I did the piecing Sunday afternoon, using a large square plastic ruler to square up each block and the dual feed foot to keep the squares feeding smoothly. I also set my sewing machine for woven heavy since the ties were stithed on a muslin base. All these were options I didn't have on my first try.
The piecing went easily and quickly (the blocks are 9" square) and I put the sashing on last night. The next step will be the quilt sandwich, then stitch in the ditch around the squares.
Then things get a little unsure. I know I can't duplicate my mom's lovely hand stitching so I'm going to try using one of the crazy quilt stitches on my sewing machine to go around the squares. I got some 12-weight gold thread today. I don't know if this will work well or not, but I'm hopeful. If not, I can leave it with just stitch in the ditch quilting and it will still look lovely. I'm hoping for more, though.
Don't worry, Aaron, I haven't forgotten your Noah's Ark quilt.
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