What if(?)...Crazy Patchwork Revisited

Crazy Patchwork Revisited - a new challenge set by Jude on her what if blog
Well, I've never really done any crazy patchwork, nevermind revisit it...which got me thinking isn't it about time I did.

Some of Jude's words to explain:

i asked if (?) it would be possible to redefine a traditional style without destroying its concept. to liven it up, to change its context, to bring it up to date, to work freely with out copying it over and over.
i like crazy quilting in some ways and some ways not.

I very much like the way Jude constantly asks herself...what if(?) and uses her blog as a note book to document her textile experiments.One question seems to lead her to the next and so on and so on... A lot of the opinions she expressed about crazy patchwork struck a chord with me , in as much as I can admire the skill of the craftsmanship and the beauty of the materials ,a lot of the crazy patchwork blocks I've seen seem very rigid and formulaic ,which doesn't appeal to me.

For so long ,I've wanted to make my first full size quilt.This challenge seems the perfect opportunity to make a start,although I know it'll be a very long term project .I'm going to start with the aim of making just one block a week .

So to begin - what interests me about crazy patchwork:

• The use of recycled and 'preloved' materials
• The use of personal symbolism in the form of embellishments and embroidery.
• The juxtaposition of interesting fabrics and textures.
• The seemingly randomness of the piecing

CPR#1
For the first block my main thought was what if (?) I just bloomin' well get on with it and see what it turns out like!
I made the foundation piece six by six inches ,plus a seem allowance.all the fabric is from my scrap bag.It was sunny and I thought about trying to capture some of it in the block,so orange linen was the first choice.

A large proportion of the fabric I have is flat colour .I don't really know why because I do love pattern too...must be the puritanical streak in me! My choices were mostly based on colour and I was aiming for bright but not gaudy.I know that I have a preference for close tones and usually avoid strong contrasts... so I just went with it.I realise the close tones can sometimes leave things looking a bit lifeless so I put the palest and darkest pieces next to each other at the top right .
Next step - embellishment. I thought I should keep it simple and opted to use a cross stitch.Now this is when I realised I might have a problem.My natural instinct was to try and unify the pieces to make the individual scraps into something whole.I carefully chose the threads so that the colours would harmonize and not draw too much attention to any particular area.All the while I was thinking " isn't it meant to be about the borders?"
But I couldn't bring myself to emphasize the seams.

The end result is a block which is definitely not very crazy but probably quite me and I have to say I like it! I don't feel I really pushed myself to discover what crazy patchwork is all about .So, this posed the question what if (?) I make the borders the main focus of the next block.Can I find a way to do that and still be happy with the results?

Beside the block in the photo, is an old sketchbook - on it's cover, a colour copy of a felt applique wall hanging by Ida Kerkovius made in 1921.I've spent a lot of time gazing into this image and am in love with those reds ,oranges, and pinks!Can you tell?