The True Treasure of a Crazy Quilt

In the Victorian era embroidery and sewing were a part of every young woman’s life… no matter what her station in life. Articles in newspapers about quilting and sewing were common, but now they are the exception. Patterns were shared and now they are copyrighted. Quilts were more utilitarian than art pieces. Labels were rare other than the date written as part of the design or signature quilts.

Sometimes people wonder why we take perfectly good fabric and cut it apart and sew it back together. It’s the creative part of us that can see something special on the other side of putting it back together. Quilting has taken on a new role in our lives as something that we do for ourselves and for the people we give them to. Only you know the amount of work and details that went into making that quilt a treasure. Crazy quilts are even more so because of the nature of what goes into them…not only the treasures that only you know the stories behind but also the special meaning of the crazy quilt itself.

Stitches have evolved into combining stitches and adding beading along with adding laces and treasures in as many ways as you can think of. Initially the stitches were a single type of stitch along a seam but now we combine and embellish with everything imaginable. The availability of these “treasures” is a big part of this. Beads, buttons, laces, trims and threads have come a long way and we are so affluent that we collect these little bits and turn them into something to treasure.

Crazy quilts can be simply one block as a wall hanging or memory quilt or an entire quilt with a lifetime of treasures. Crazy quilts can be a number of things to each person. Sometimes you take a piece of yourself and sew it into the seams and the crazy quilt takes on its own personality. The special things that you create and sew take on new meaning. I think that’s why I love crazy quilts so much because of the story behind each stitch and the love that each person puts into the quilt which becomes a true treasure to behold!