February CQJP block

February CQJP block - not finished but well on its way

This is Polly's block. She was Mom's second oldest sister, and lived to be 94. She outlived her son by a few months, and was the next to last sister to pass away. I think she just got tired of being the one left behind. She had a great outlook, was a terrific cook, artistic, and could do a mean Charleston - which she did every year at the family Christmas party.

I love this picture of my Aunt Polly

Heart detail

Another little detail

I'm still pondering this block. I'm slow, I admit it. I'm also holding off a little until next weekend when I go to the sewing expo here in Atlanta and see what they have. Last year I bought some cute things there that were not expensive. I just want to get it right.

Next CQ block:

Ella Mae

This is Aunt Mae's Block. She was the aunt I was closest to. We moved in with her in 1952, when my grandmother became too ill to be left alone during the day. Both pictures are of Aunt Mae and my grandmother, Malvie Lee Hawkins. The picture on the right was taken just before my grandmother died. Can you believe she was only 65 in that picture?

CQJP progress

I added linens to the corners of the surrounding blocks. The next step is what to do about a border around the picture.

Below are some shots of the many letters, cards and postcards from my mother's French pen pal, Michelene. They wrote to each other during World War II and for a while afterwards. In the early 1960's, I wrote to Michelene once or twice. Most of her letters were saved.

I had thought about scanning some of these & printing them to use in my quilt. If not, I think they'd make a great quilt on their own.

CQJP - more blocks

Here are the eight blocks i've completed, surrounding the center picture which I printed today. I'm very happy with the way it turned out. Several people have strongly suggested keeping the white linen border. I wish I could come up with a way to do that without using pieces of the linens in the blocks themselves. Somehow I feel that it takes away from the center piece in each block.

I do like this and I look forward to getting on with the handwork.

CQJP fabric

These are some of the fabrics I will be using for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2012.  I have been thinking about using photos in a quilt for awhile but I was trying to come up with something a little unique. Making a crazy quilt should give me the opportunity to make the quilt very personal.

I'm in amazing company in this group and to tell you the truth it's both intimidating and exhilerating.

Inspiration

Here's some inspiration to get me going on my Crazy Quilt adventure:

Source: crazyquilts.ca via Angie Kay on Pinterest

Lots of inspiration here

...and, oh my, here!

I'm looking forward to this. I've been looking for some different way to create a memory quilt using photos and keepsakes I've been hanging on to that I wanted to display. I think this will give me that outlet.

New AAQI quilt

 

From a design by Lenna Anderson of Stitching Cow.

I took Lenna Anderson’s lovely spring flowers embroidery and added a crazy patch border. These are actually strips of leftovers from another project. All the pinks, greens, and lavenders lend such a cheerful spirit to this small quilt. Spring is all about beginning again and renewal which is what makes it such a happy season full of hope. And, that’s what the AAQI is all about: hope.