Stunning Stitches for Crazy Quilts Blog Hop!

Hello all, I am pleased to have Feeling Stitchy to be one of the last spots on the blog hop for Stunning Stitches for Crazy Quilts by Kathy Seaman Shaw! Kathy sent me a free copy of this book, as well as a digital download, so I can assure you they are both equally stunning.

Just so you know, the book link above is an Amazon Affiliate link - clicking through the link and buying costs no more for you and is one way to support our volunteer reviews.

Kathy is also doing a giveaway on this post - so stick around to win a digital copy of this truly stunning book!

Kathy Shaw teaches Crazy Quilt and Embroidery techniques on her site - you'll want to visit her for one more chance to win a copy of this book on her blog tomorrow: https://shawkl.com.

Now, some of you may be thinking - quilting? Crazy quilting? What does that have to do with embroidery? Crazy quilting remains a technique I have yet to try. But whether you are new to crazy quilting, seasoned, or have no intention of ever crazy quilting - this book is a wonderful title for you to explore!

Let's have a look inside!

One of the strengths of this book, and what I know will interest all embroiderers, are the wonderful stitch templates!

These stitch templates are easy to photocopy or print (I'll show you how I used mine later on) and they provide a very helpful framework for where your needle should go in and out of the fabric to achieve a perfect stitch.

If you are a crazy quilter - these designs can be stitched on the borders of your fabric pieces to embellish them, and Kathy gives excellent instructions on placement.

There are 36 stitch templates in all - with her directions they are all easy to achieve. I found myself drawn to stitches I had tried in the past, but wasn't happy with - like herringbone and feather stitch...

Kathy provides full instructions for using each of these stitch templates, so there is no guessing at all!

Now, here is the stunning part - using those base stitch templates, Kathy has created 480 different designs!

Each design is very carefully illustrated, and is a wonderful springboard to creativity!

For each design, Kathy includes a detailed color-coded line drawing, stitches, and suggested materials used.

There are also stitched examples so you can know exactly what your finished stitching could look like!

My stitching

I decided to explore a stitch I've never been comfortable with - feather stitch - and see if I could improve my stitching with the stitch templates...

I printed my templates on regular copy paper, then cut and taped them into place on my fabric. I used a large, thick needle to punch holes in every dot...

Then I used a chalk pencil to color in each dot on my fabric - you could also use a water soluble pen or heat erasable marker...

A few hours later, I was stunned to see the neatest feather stitches I'd ever attempted!

Then, using Kathy's seam designs as inspiration, I began adding embellishments...

Here are my three experiments with the templates - as you see I used templates 2, 3, and 4, stitching one unembellished row, and one embellished one.

I had SO MUCH FUN with this project! Now you see why I would recommend this book to any stitcher, beginning or advanced - quilter or non-quilter - there are so many different ideas contained in this book to inspire your embroidery and embellishments.

Kathy has done an incredible job with this book, and I highly recommend it - if you're looking to improve your stitching, your crazy quilting, or just looking for some creative exercises, this book will do the job!

The Giveaway!

Kathy is giving away 1 free digital download of this book to 1 lucky winner on this blog!

To enter - leave a comment on this post and tell us: are you a crazy quilter, embroiderer, neither, or both? We will draw 1 winner and announce them soon!