Posing in the Cornfield

 

Here is the block that I began working on at the quilting retreat which I recently attended. Last night while watching "Dancing with the Stars" I added the final few stitches and bead work.  In this photo my grandmother is the second from the right. 

When we see the selfies and photos that are taken today, I guess it shouldn't surprise us that folks also took fun and interesting photos back at the turn of the last century. Just wait until you see the "ladder" photo that I will be posting soon. Anyway, I wanted to add stitches which would suggest the cornfield, so I chose 4mm light green silk ribbon to make the Japanese ribbon stitches (elongated green leaves) to which I added variegated gold embroidery floss bullion stitches to suggest the corn. At first I thought it might be a tad busy, but the more I look at it the more I like it. :-)

While at the retreat, I was asked which crazy quilting books I would suggest. I have a number of books on crazy quilting, but here are the ones I use/consult the most. 

 

Crazy Quilting - The Complete Guide is always in my crazy quilt project box. It's compact, but it has page after page of wonderful blocks, basic crazy quilt info, and very clear stitch illustrations. If I were to recommend only one book, this would be the one.

 

I saw Brian Haggard on The Quilt Show a couple of years ago and his Crazy - Quilted Memories gave me the idea to incorporate vintage photos in my pieces. 

Finally, Foolproof Crazy Quilting by Jennifer Clouston is another wonderful crazy quilting book to have on your shelf.

If you're wondering why I didn't mention any book by Judith Baker Montano, that's because I will be writing a special post next time about her.