Crazy Quilt Book Recommendations

Barbara Blankenship © 2010

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Ten years ago, I took my first crazy quilt class from Jan Campbell, and I give her full credit for the addict I have become. She continues to teach the art of basic crazy quilting, in addition to several original designs.

I decided to ask Jan for her recommendation for resource material. The following three books are her favorites:

AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CRAZY QUILT STITCHES & MOTIFS
By: Linda Causee
ISBN #: 0-88195-840-9

This book features ninety fully illustrated crazy quilt stitches with color photos of each stitch. There are also eleven ribbon motifs with detailed instructions. It is a well-illustrated book offering many ideas for stitching and embellishing.

THE MAGIC OF CRAZY QUILTING
Published in the USA in 2004
By: J. Marsha Michler
ISBN #: 0-87341-622-8

Or:

MAGIC CRAZY PATCHWORK
New edition published in the UK in 2004
By: J. Marsha Michler
ISBN #: 0-7153-1865-9

These two books by J. Marsha Michler include the same material so you will only want to purchase one.

The author offers a complete guide to crazy quilting. She illustrates how to piece a crazy quilt block with clear and concise illustrations. Numerous pages are devoted to embroidery stitches including silk ribbon embroidery and motifs.

She has chosen a number of basic embroidery stitches and devotes one full page to each one. One such page features the Featherstitch. An entire block is embellished with only combinations of that stitch.

I love to see the photos of the vintage crazy quilts she has included throughout the book. They provide lots of inspiration for those of us continuing the art.

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