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“Crazy for Quilts” winners

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cowGreat news from the Alliance for American Quilts:

The Alliance for American Quilts (AAQ) announces the winners of the “Crazy for Quilts” contest. The contest celebrates the spirit of the crazy quilt, a genre of quiltmaking which began in the United States around 1880 featuring oddly shaped pieces of fancy cloth like silk and velvet, often embellished with extravagant embroidery…

Alliance members voted for three winners in each category from the 84 quilts entered by makers that range from first-time quilters to professional artists. In the Ages 30 and Under category, novice quilter Kelly Phelps of Tennessee won first place with her quilt, “Creative Chaos“…and Luke Haynes of California won both second and third place awards with his two quilts: “But I Know Crazy” (a portrait of musician James Brown) and “Study in Squares [Ego of a Quilter].”

In the Ages Over 30 category, Kathryn Wagar Wright of Colorado, an art director for Quilters Newsletter magazine, took the top prize with her quilt, “Crazy Cow Polarity“.

See all the winners and entrants in the contest gallery. And if you’d like a heads-up about the 2010 contest, be sure to sign up for AAQ’s free e-newsletter.

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Colorful Christmas Tree Cross Stitch Patterns

There’s no rule that says Christmas trees in real life have to be green, and there’s no rule in cross stitch that Christmas trees have to be green, either. While I love a good traditional looking tree (in reality or in cross stitch) there are lots of fun other choices, which we’ll explore here.

Looking for more Christmas tree cross stitch patterns? Check out this post from last year.

I am going to start with a traditional tree, but this one has a lot of color thanks to the lights and other decorations on it. This one is form xCountingtheStarsx, and it uses 20 colors. Worked on 16 count fabric it comes out to about 5.6 by 9.25 inches, or 14.2 by 23.5 cm, with a stitch count of 90 by 148.

These fun designs from Catholic Sprouts have traditional tree shapes but are filled with fun patterns and colors. These would be fun to stitch as a set or you can make each of them and give them as gifts to different people or use as holiday cards.

The Christmas tree shape is a little less literal in this swooping design from Well Stitches. I like this one because it only uses one color so it’s great for beginners, but it still looks dramatic. It is 109 by 155 stitches, which comes out to 7.99 by 11.07 inches, or 19.78 by 28.12 cm on 14 count fabric (dimensions for other counts are also included if you want to make it smaller).

And if you want to go for all color, check out the Merry and Bright Christmas tree cross stitch pattern from Tapestry Barn. This pretty skinny tree is surrounded by multicolored snowflakes. The designs on the tree remind me of knitting patterns. And even though it’s lots of colors, it’s only worked with whole stitches and no back stitching. It looks lovely on dark fabric! The piece measures about 7 by 7 inches, or 18 by 18 cm, on 14 count fabric.