A little Bit of Improv

Improv piecing is always fun for me.  I was surprised to learn that improv piecing is one of the elements of modern quilting.  Why? you may be asking.  You see, I have never thought of myself as a modern quilter.
The following comes for the Modern Quilt Guild "What is Modern Quilting" pdf.  There is a lot more information there about modern quilting.

MQ Design Elements 

• Use of negative space 

• No borders 

• Minimal 

• Bright and graphic color palettes       

• Improvisational piecing 

• Grid work 

• Asymmetry 

• Modern traditionalism 

• Exaggerated scale •

 Pixelization 

• Texture 

• Less is more

At least some of these are the usual hallmarks of what I like to do, although I do tend to add borders. I love bright and graphic color palettes AND improv piecing.  Here is what I have been working on.

Two improv "blocks" and an improv strip.
Aren't those bits of "snakeskin" batik a fun addition?

 I hope you are noticing the gray fabric in these pieces.  It is an Island Batik solid made from the same fabric used for the batiks. It is more densely woven which results in less fraying.  It also comes in a black and a white version.  I absolutely love using it.

On this section of the improv strip you can see that some of the pieces are not cut straight.

Here is a close-up showing some of the tiny pieces that I rescued and added to the piecing.

The pennies are there for scale.

And finally, here are the Island Batik Moroccan Bazaar strips that I am using as part of this.

The fabrics used in this were all provided to me as an Island Batik Ambassador to use in projects and challenges.  However, I do buy Island Batik fabrics for other projects because I love working with it.


Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

More of My Work from the class

There are three of the pieces that I made in the class that didn't make it into the window before I took the pictures.
So, first let me share those with you.

 This one above looks similar to one of the others I made.  In the window, it looked like stained glass.

This one is a fairly simple block that I cut a diagonal line through and added the blue strip. This was my first try on this way of altering a block, although the block was already "free-pieced."

This third one was dubbed "Pickles and Peanut Butter" by Julie who sat next to me.  I showed her the two pieces of fabric and said "I am going to use these two pieces in a block"  She replied "What?!?!  That is like pickles and peanut butter."  She didn't think they went together at all. It is a bit unusual but I think I like it. I used what I remembered of a technique that I learned in a book.  Of course I didn't remember the exact method, so I had to just wing it.

There was plenty of fabric to play with.  China and Mary Ann brought in several bags and tubs of fabric. It was all piled on or stashed under two tables. I call this the "Pile o' fabric"

This photo was AFTER the students had gotten fabric and started sewing. However, it was different again at the end of the class.  I know that I added some from my scrap bag back onto the table.  I probably used more fabric from the table than from what I took with me.  I have fallen in love with using solids.  I think there is a Zen feeling that solids can bring.

One of the students sewed everything by hand.  At lunch we were discussing it and she said "I work in front of a computer all day. I just didn't want to be sitting in front of another machine."  She had lots of pre-cut strips laid out and sewed them into  strata. Here is a picture of her basting them onto the batting and backing while China visits her.

And here is her quilt pin basted.

She did all of this by hand in the class time from Monday night until Thursday morning.

Now, let me show you the two pieces I have made since getting back.

For the first one I took a piece of fabric that I had embroidered on and used it as the center. I pieced pieces together and worked out and around from there. 

For the second one, I simply started piecing odd bits together and "making" fabric.  In both of these I added some bits of muslin that I had stamped with fabric paint and my leaf stamp.
In doing this process  of free piecing, I have learned to use my scissors more than I ever did before. it is much easier than jumping up to go to the cutting table to trim a seam.

Let me challenge you to try making this type of block.  There is no pattern, no templates, and best of all no rules!  Let yourself go and try things.  Don't over think it - that limits your creativity.  Just play like you are a kid and the fabric is your box of crayons.  Color outside the lines.  Trust me it is fun!