Crazy Quilt Series~"Vintage Ribbonwork"

This is the first in a series of crazy quilt creations our RAGS group has lovingly produced over the past 12 years we've been sharing our creativity...I'll be asking their permission to air their "pretties"on my blog, but in the meantime, I'll begin the series with my own crazy quilt, "Vintage Ribbonwork".

Its name comes from the antique pieces from my collection used to embellish it. Many of the photos that center each block are tobacco silks from a bygone era. Eight of the nine blocks began as a twelve inch demonstration block made during my workshops over a seven year period.

The center Victorian Lady is handpainted (I used fabric markers...). She's surrounded by a delicately embroidered and beribboned apron from the 1920's. My own ribbonwork is carried onto the lady's gown.
When I decided to sew the blocks together as a quilt, I added other fabrics and ribbons to enlarge them...all stitched to a large foundation of interfacing backed muslin. It was very heavy and needed to be secured to the backing with free-motion quilting...quite a chore for such an embellished quilt.




I had such a glorious time adding vintage collars, a ribbon bed cap, odd bits of jewelry and antique trims.













Many different flowers from ribbons were added. Each block is a treasure to be explored...