“Crazy for Quilts” winners

cow Great 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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The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.”

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them.

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits.

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves.

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit.

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy.

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]

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