Moments
One of my favorite things in Crazy Quilting is creating “moments”. OK, so maybe there are than a few favorite things because I love Crazy Quilting so much! Anyway, the creation of “moments” is the simple collection of things such as buttons and laces and pearls, oh my! When someone looks at my crazy quilts, they are always intrigued by the collections. The idea is to take individual items and combine them together to create something special that holds another person’s attention for just a moment. My personal favorite is creating a collection of buttons on a Crazy Quilt block, but laces and trims are right up there too. I am convinced that the person with the most stuff for Crazy Quilting wins, and I REALLY do love to collect things. I think I have been a collector my whole life but never knew why until I started Crazy Quilting. Now all those bits of lace and trim and buttons make total sense.
By combining buttons that have different textures and style, each one reflects off the next and you can create something wonderful. Start with just an average button; you know the type…the one from an everyday shirt in a plain white color with the four holes. Then add a button that has class such as a fancy Czech button that you paid way too much for but it just strikes your fancy! Now we are getting somewhere, so just add another texture such as a lady bug button or a floral button…it’s totally up to you. I usually just keep adding until the right combination just happens. Up until this point you are not sewing them down or even deciding where to put the collection, but just playing with buttons until you get the combination just right!
It looks best if you use an odd number of buttons…it’s an art thing. I’ve heard it said that artists like to use odd numbers because that is what the eye looks for; if you only do two, instead of three, then the eye is looking for the third one. So collections of five or seven look really nice. Once you decide the collection is just right then you can start sewing them into the perfect place – the place on your Crazy Quilt block that makes the buttons look even more perfect. I try to nest them up against each other as close as possible, and, if needed, I then sew in extra pearls to fill in the gaps and maybe add a little flower to top it off. Voila! The perfect collection of buttons creates a perfect moment for your Crazy Quilt and for mine! Check out the pictures and then try one for yourself.
