Allie Aller's Crazy Quilting: Modern Piecing & Embellishing Techniques for Joyful Stitching [Paperback]

Allison Ann Aller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 16, 2011

Allie shows readers how to make crazy quilting more contemporary with an array of easy-to-master techniques. Show your customers how to combine traditional methods with modern fabric tricks. The photo gallery reveals just how creative and modern crazy quilting can be-and anyone can do it.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Review Source: Sew4Home

Review Date: 5/17/11

In today's world of art and crafting, 'mixed media' is all the rage. Sometimes called 'collage' or 'assemblage,' the finished creations combine textures, dimension and types of media into multi-layered masterpieces. As usual, our modern-day discovery is actually a new spin on a time-honored tradition. In this case, the Crazy Quilt is the fore-bearer of today's mixed media. And although it can look beautifully nostalgic, there is nothing old-fashioned about this very creative quilting technique. This fact is brought into amazing focus in a new book from Allie Aller: Crazy Quilting - Modern Piecing & Embellishing Techniques for Joyful Stitching. Allie took some time at a recent event to show us her book, give us a glimpse into her inspiration, and generously provide us with a copy to giveaway to a lucky Sew4Home fan. We met Allie during a quilting event at Fabric Depot right here in Portland, Oregon. Turns out Allie lives just 'up the river' (as we say in the Northwest) in Washougal, Washington, a quaint town that sits at the mouth of the famous Columbia River Gorge. We started talking about living in the country, segued into quilting-speak, and then... she brought out her brand new book. This volume is not only a wonderful primer with great step-by-step tutorials, tips, tricks and tools... it is also filled with eye-popping close-ups of Allie's amazing collages. I do not fancy myself a quilter, but I am a friend and fan of quilters everywhere, and I never cease to be amazed by the sheer artistry that goes into even the simplest quilt. So when I saw Allie's handiwork, I was stopped dead in my tracks by the intricacy and dimensional drama. I was also a little bit jealous, but I'm workin' on that! Her book is very thorough when it comes to showing and explaining the best supplies to use. And, Allie describes not just one, but a number of methods for various techniques, such as block design and piecing or image transfer. I do not fancy myself a quilter, but I am a friend and fan of quilters everywhere, and I never cease to be amazed by the sheer artistry that goes into even the simplest quilt. So when I saw Allie's handiwork, I was stopped dead in my tracks by the intricacy and dimensional drama. I was also a little bit jealous, but I'm workin' on that! Her book is very thorough when it comes to showing and explaining the best supplies to use. And, Allie describes not just one, but a number of methods for various techniques, such as block design and piecing or image transfer.

Are you crazy for Crazy Quilting? If so then you must pick up a copy of Allison Aller’s new book “Crazy Quilting – Modern Piecing & Embellishing Techniques for Joyful Stitching”. Allie Aller’s work has a contemporary spin due to her use of new techniques, fibers, fabrics, and imagery. Allison says working with these materials “really give crazy quilts an updated, contemporary look and feel, taking Crazy Quilting out of the traditional Victorian mold for good!” The book has an in-depth section on materials and tools. Learn image transfer and stenciling methods while creating your own fabrics. There are four ways to create a crazy quilt block presented in the book. The directions are easy to understand and clearly illustrated. What would a crazy quilt be without embellishment through embroidery, beading, lace and dimensional flowers? Allison’s tips on working with these materials are invaluable. The gallery section provides inspiration that will have you jumping right in on one of the seven projects found in the book and thanks to Allison’s expertise you will soon be ready to work on your own crazy quilt.

Review Source: The Appliqué Society

Review Date: 5/1/11

About the Author

Allie Aller has been crafting and quilting for nearly 30 years. In 2001, she discovered crazy quilting and hasn't looked back since.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: C&T Publishing; Large type edition edition (March 16, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1607051737
• ISBN-13: 978-1607051732
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.4 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #114,470 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Allison Aller has been stitching, sewing, knitting, and writing since she was a child....and that child is alive and well in the joyful work she creates today in the field of crazy quilting.

After earning her degree in Design and Environmental Analysis from Cornell University in 1977, Allie has been quilting non-stop. She made bed quilts, Broderie Perse, stained glass quilts, and landscape quilts for two and an half decades and these approaches still inform her creativity...for the past twelve years, the sumptuous and liberating genre of crazy quilting has been her focus. She is currently fascinated by the confluence of vintage traditional quilting and crazy quilting.

Her work has appeared in Quilters Newsletter Magazine, American Quilter, the $100,000 Quilt Challenge, Needlepoint Now, and the Way to Womens Wellness Art Bra Calendars (cover, 2007), as "guest artist" in several books, and in her own "Allie Aller's Crazy Quilting, C & T Publishing, 2011. Her second book, co-authored with fellow crazy quilter Valerie Bothell, is due out in May 2014.

Her awards include:

First Place, Crazy Quilts, American Quilters' Society Show in Nashville, TN 2003
Second Place, Embellished Quilts, International Quilt Association Show in Houston, TX 2008
First Place, Alliance for American Quilts' My Quilts/Our History contest, 2008
Second Place, Embellished Quilts, International Quilt Association Show in Houston, TX 2010
First Place, The Great Pink Bandana Challenge, Simplicity Creative Group, 2011
Grand Prize, DMC Memories Contest, 2013

Her first commercially produced pattern, "Pretty Crazy", offers an introduction to crazy quilting for those who want to work by machine, not by hand. It is offered by Brookshier Design Studio.
Her publisher, C & T, has also come out with a deck of playing cards featuring details from some of her quilts.
Her class on Crazy Quilting for the online education site, Craftsy.com, will launch in June 2013.

Allie has been blogging steadily since 2005 and invites you to come visit her blog, AlliesInStitches, where she posts works-in-progress photos, tutorials, and links to other fine stitchers' works. Note especially the rich archive of subjects in the keywords on the right side of her blog. She also writes for the free e-zine CQMagOnline.com, and serves on the board of the Quilt Alliance (formerly the Alliance for American Quilts) a non profit organization dedicated to documenting, preserving, and sharing the work and stories of quilters around the world..

She enjoys teaching crazy piecing and embellishment, and loves meeting other stitchers all over the country at both national conferences and local guilds. Her workshops, lectures, and teaching schedule can all be found in separate pages on her blog.

Her other passion is gardening, which she shares with her husband, Robert, in their country home outside of Portland, Oregon. They have two wonderful grown sons, and a fabulous soon-to-be daughter-in-law!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Real Quilting Advice for Crazy Quilters -- A Gem of a Reference February 23, 2011

By Susan Elliott

Format:Paperback

I love love love all her ideas for piecing...curved piecing, freezer paper piecing, chunk piecing...it all gives flexibility to building CQ blocks. I often have small bits of beloved fabrics and Allie's ideas for piecing makes best use of those precious fabrics with minimal waste. Yay!

I loved the discussion of using different weights and types of threads and fabrics. And loved that the focus wasn't really on seam treatments (though the seam treatment eye candy on page 38 is pretty great)...

Allie was targeting the book to sane quilters who might want to try CQ. So, she gives many ideas for making quilts of your crazy work...But, for a non-quilter like me, I found the book even more useful.

I came to CQ as an embroiderer and not a quilter, so this book is a treasury of ideas for how to quilt, finish and bind my blocks into large projects. Something I am not so good at. Without a doubt, this book was written to be used and referred to again and again. There isn't another CQ book quite like it out there.

My favorite tricks of all...are on pages 25, 30 and 99. There are 14 original crazy quilts in the gallery section many from folks that I have admired over the years. Honestly, these ladies are talented. They're each more lovely than the next.

The last part of Allie's book has six projects with step by step instructions to complete each one. I think this book will now give me the confidence to try a full quilt.

Who said not to judge a book by its cover? Forget that! The front cover and inside cover are both gorgeous! I didn't need to go any further to know my money was well spent!

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Crazy Quilting Resource February 19, 2011

By Lisa

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

A few days ago, I received Allie Aller's Crazy Quilting book! What a gorgeous book! Now she's not only one of my very favorite blogger's but author as well! I love that she took a slightly different approach to it and didn't focus on embroidered seams, but gave us a look at her methods of piecing and embellishing blocks with as well as how she finishes the backing of her large (and small) pieces. She also included some beautiful and inspiring work by other crazy quilters. I know this will be a book I will return to again and again! Thank you Allie for publishing such a great book!

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Exceptionally Helpful & Inspirational Guidebook February 19, 2011

By Meg Cox VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Anybody familiar with the blog Allie's in Stitches, or anyone who saw the quilt that won second place in embellished quilts at the International Quilt Festival in Houston in fall of 2010, knows that Allie Aller is an exceptional quiltmaker.
But until now, we didn't know that she was an exceptional author. I can't rave enough about how gorgeous this book is, or how practical.
I'm pretty sure I will never be anywhere near as accomplished as Allie in the craft of embellished, embroidered quilts, but she really breaks things down step by step, showing individual stitches and providing simple doable projects, alongside a gallery of more advanced projects made by herself and others.
Until I made my first crazy quilt last year, I never appreciated how different crazy quilts were in their construction from the quilts I've been making for 20 years. Allie Aller's self-proclaimed mission is to create a bridge from what she calls "sane" quilting to the crazy world she knows so well. This book is a perfect introduction.
I think any quilter who wants to try this style of quilting will be well-rewarded, but that people who already make crazy quilts will also learn a lot and enjoy the projects, which include some smaller quilted objects like a pincushion and doll.
I predict right now that Allie is going to become a "star" in the world of contemporary quilts, and I'm hoping this is the first of many wonderful books.