Saturday, May 9, 2009

Crazy for Allie

I fell in love with the work of Allison Aller while she was stitching her award-winning quilt "Crazy for Flowers". I have loved that quilt from afar for years and have grown to admire both Allie's life and work through her blog, Allie's in Stitches.


It was less than a year ago when we hatched the plan for Allie to come teach her unique style of crazy quilting to my Embroiderers' Guild and, for the past week, we have spent many wonderful hours together --- laughing, sharing, stitching, and traveling.


I finally got to see Crazy for Flowers up close and it's magnificent! All the pics in this post are from Allie's quilt -- I just had to share what I saw -- and help you get a sense of the richness I experienced when I finally got to spend time with Allie up-close.


So many details to explore and new wonders to discover about this person whom you've "known" but only just met.


I kept drawing parallels between what I found from my detailed study of her quilt and what I discovered about Allie herself. The depth of color, the exuberance, the love of life and love and gardens and flowers... It's all Allie. And so much more interesting, alive and dear...


She's all that I imagined her to be and so much more.


It's funny -- because we read each other's blogs, we started out "knowing" so much more about each other and so the conversations came very easily and I found myself filling in the outlines of the online Allie I know.


She's real. She's warm and kind and genuine. And the fabric and threads of her life are just as beautifully put together as her quilts. She draws those around her close to herself and leaves them with a sunny smile and a twinkle in their eye to mirror her own.


She's a natural at teaching and her class was a huge hit! Everyone played, learned and loved the time that they spent in her class. She was confident, well-prepared and her passion for crazy quilting lit the room and spread like wild-fire.


She graced our home with a warmth and presence that gave more than she took and both Jim and Jack were charmed by her ease and genuine interest in themselves.


We traveled through the States of Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and New York in 7 days but, more importantly, we traveled through years of each others lives and dreams. And I gained so much more than I gave.


She's a joy, a delight, a beam of sunshine and she is poised for great things in this world, just wait and see.


Beautiful, strong...Magnificent. Just like her quilt.

Crazy for Flowers. Crazy for Allie. It's one and the same.


Allie, we miss you already. Thank you for coming. You're welcome back any time.

Tomorrow, I'll show you how she inspired others through her teaching...

18 comments:

Vicki W said...

What a treat for both of you!

Vicky aka Stichr said...

Vicky 2 here....too...what fun!!!!! I love the Beatles t-shirt peeking out of the ferry shot. I look forward to seeing more pix, which you take so well...

Judy S. said...

Great post, Susan, and thanks for the update. How was "Wicked"?

a2susan said...

You write so beautifully, I feel like I was experiencing Allie's visit. And what beautiful work...when will we see yours????
Susan

Nellie's Needles said...

Thank you for sharing Allie and yours and her visit. I've become quite fond of the online Allie I'm getting to know. Just maybe someday I'll meet up with her and get to experience her in the flesh, too

LindaSonia said...

WoW - I am now crazy about Allie too!!! Her work is awesome. Thanks so much for sharing. LindaSonia

MeganH said...

Wow - gorgeous work.

Cathy said...

Hear Hear!!! The Allie I've met was so beautifully described by you. And something tells me you and Allie are "cut from the same cloth". Warm, smart, funny, talented, lovely! Great post! Hugs, Cathy

Anonymous said...

Stunning. Made me think of this French lady
http://www.cecilef.canalblog.com/
Jess.

Debra Dixon said...

It sounds like the best of trips for both of you! Bravo! I can't wait to see what her students made. She's a great gal so I expect she's a great teacher too (and yes, we are talking about you, Allie!)

Robin said...

Well said! Well photographed! I'm crazy for both of you... and yes, I agree with Cathy K.... you ARE both cut from the same cloth!!!! Hugs, Robin A.

Marty52 said...

Such a great post... thanks for sharing, Susan!

Chris Daly said...

Now I'm Crazy for Allie too! What beautiful and creative workmanship. Your head must be spinning with ideas!

JoWynn Johns said...

This is such a great essay about Allie and her work. Thanks for the close-up shots. I feel so blessed to have been with both of you.

pam said...

How lovely Susan to stop by and to share in the magic of your time together with Allie.
Oh how I would have loved to have joined in too.
Allie's face/eyes are so full of joy, the soul shines in the face!
Thank you for letting us take a peep into such a beautiful fun filled time.
Pam

imquilternity said...

Your photos are absolutely stunning!

Bear said...

wowee wot a terrific time you had- and all who attended, I wanted to just say thank you very much Susan for the many pictures of Allies' Crazy for flowers quilt- Isnt it a amazing, beautiful sensational (no more bear no more) quilt and her love of flowers speaks so elegantly doesnt it?
Thank you again Susan
love n hugs bear xoxoxoxo

Peterspebbles said...

ABSOLUTELY "EYE CANDY" LOOKING AT ALL THESE BRILLIANT FABULOUS CREATIONS!!!! JUST WOWWIE!!!!! DEB

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