What's in the box?

Well, the box is full of crazy quilting goodies, that's for sure! If you stop in to see the exhibit, you can purchase a ticket and perhaps be the winner of this pretty little hat box full of crazy quilting goodies........

and even better, you'll see below that I am preparing five of them!! So if you are not the first winner drawn, you still have four chances to win! Everything you need to start crazy quilting - or add to your current crazy quilting projects - is in these boxes!
In the photo above, I am cutting fancy fabrics from my "stash" - some from local shops and some from trips to Europe and even some that my husband bought for our Crazy Quilting group while he was in Taiwan! I have included threads and lace and trims, plus each box contains a small velvet handbag and a velveteen journal that you can embellish with crazy quilting. Each box will also include a copy of Crazy Quilt Stitches by Leisure Arts. The Hat Boxes are a fundraiser for the Scott County Historical Society. The drawing for the boxes will be held on October 22, 2009 at the monthly meeting of the Scott County Crazy Quilters. If you would like more info on this you can contact me at my e-mail address. Just click on my profile and you will see the link on that page.

Later this afternoon, I am going to try to make order from the chaos that I created in pulling my items for the exhibit. Plus, since items will be on display for six months, I need to fill the spots where some items were hung here in my house. There is a blank space above my desk where one piece hung and it feels strange not to look up and see it! I'm glad that others can see and enjoy the items made by our group or the vintage pieces that inspired us. All the set-up and hard work was done by Theresa Norman, the Curator and Collections manager at the Scott County Historical Society. She was assisted by a core of faithful volunteers. I sewed muslin casings on the larger quilts and have a tip I can share on that. Most shows require that you have a four inch casing sewn to the top of your quilt if you are submitting it for exhibit. One of the quilts was exceptionally heavy and I worried that one thickness of muslin would not be enough. So, I cut twice the width of muslin I needed and folded it in half so that I would have a double thickness of muslin to "hold the weight of the quilt". There may be many of you that already figured that out, but if not then it's good advice. :-)
Well, I guess I better get started on organizing that "chaos". Every few days, I will post here about aspects of the exhibit or with info on crazy quilting. As Spring arrives, I'll also share stories of The Landing because when the grass starts to turn green and the flowers begin to bloom there is nothing quite so pretty as that little place along the Minnesota River.
Miss Martha

And the winners of the boxes are........
Lavonne Schmitt, Betty Gerold, Elle Blomquist, Sheila Helmick and Deanna Geer! All of the boxes have been picked up by the lucky winners!

Opening Day of the Crazy Quilt Exhibit!

"Crazy Quilts - A Stitch in Time" is the name of the crazy quilt exhibit. As you enter through the main door of the Stans Museum here is what you see in the central hall. On the left is the raffle quilt that was made for Murphy's Landing and to the right is a smaller wall quilt made by Pandora Jurisoo.

Therese, the President of the Scott County Historical Board took this photo of Judith and me in front of the Murphy's quilt. When we "crossed paths" at Murphy's Landing it led to a place for us to crazy quilt.

When I "crossed paths" with Deanna at Murphy's Landing, that was when the whole crazy, crazy quilting thing began. I would show you a picture of her but I didn't get one snapped before she left today. However, she brought me what's in this picture...........roses as a thank you for sewing her blocks together (that's her quilt in the photo at the top of this blog) and for keeping our group "glued" together. Funny thing was that I thought she just brought them for the show and when she said they were for me, well, that was really cool!!! I have never had a dozen roses before so this was a first. Well, except my daughter gave me "second-hand roses" she received from an admirer in college. My husband is not a flower man. End of story.

:-) These are all mine and I am going to enjoy every last bloom!! Thanks, Deanna!

That's all I'm going to post for tonight. I'll be back soon to share a bit more. I'm not going to show you all the quilts and items in the exhibit - 40 in all - because if I did that then you wouldn't want to come and see the quilts. Now I know that many of you can't possibly get to Minnesota so I will post an item or two here and there, and other works in progress that are all crazy quilting related. In October, I will post all the items in the exhibit. In the meantime, I'll make it fun. That's a promise I can keep!!!

See you tomorrow!

Miss Martha