As with all other crazy quilting instructional books there is the usual section for beginners where materials, fabrics and tools are discussed. Ideas for selecting fabrics and threads for embellishment are shown in color photos. Instructions on how to print images from your computer onto a special fabric that you can print from a printer are also included. Several traditional embroidery stitches are shown too. The photos of her work are where the reader gathers ideas on seam treatments. Aller normally combines 5 or 6 embroidery stitches into one seam treatment.
What I liked most about the book is Aller's methods for piecing the squares that she later embellishes with embroidery. For many years I made my squares too big. Her squares are just 6 inches square while mine were 12 inches or more. The reason that her embellishments cover the square entirely is because those squares are small. The heavy embellishment is what makes her crazy quilts look exquisite.
Another interesting feature of Aller's work is that she does not always attach her squares in a traditional shape. Included in the book are designs that the reader can follow to make a landscape quilt out of crazy quilt squares. Another design attaches several squares into a larger square for the middle of a piece and then attaches borders that are later embellished. Sometimes the borders are embellished to continue looking like a border. Sometimes they are not.
Allie Aller's Crazy Quilting is the best book on the subject that I have seen. If you are interested in learning about this craft I highly recommend her book over others that are out there.
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