improv

Some REassembly required from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

I'm so glad to see people ARE using those special dishes! And eating in the dining room! That won't happen at our house, but that brings back memories. Remember those houses that had the "front room," and the furniture was wrapped in plastic. Oh my --- someone was afraid of a little stain or two. Thankfully, our mindsets have changed, and crack out that good china!!!!!

So we're happily ensconced at Retreat at the Farm in Shelburne. What a nice, cozy house. I can hear the wind whipping outside this morning, and I'm toasty warm in the ...

added by Elaine 2 years, 5 months ago. under boho heart , half square triangles , improv , retreat at the farm

not quite a quilt coat from Ellyn's Place

Hello friends! I have a fun finish to share with you today. Here's me in a denim jacket I recently dug out of the back of our coat closet. I'd forgotten I even owned it! I looked at it for a bit and then I had an idea. So I set to work.

Last weekend I was on retreat with my quilty pals and I whipped up this improv panel using some extra solids from projects I had brought along. I used a few of may favorite shapes and techniques, triangles and Xs, skinny lines. The finished panel ...

added by Ellyn 2 years, 5 months ago. under garment sewing , improv , quilting

Improv Stars...Design Wall from May Your Bobbin Always Be Full

I have been stitching together

Improv Star components since November...

Now that the design wall is cleared off,

it is time to put them up on the wall...

These go together like a jigsaw puzzle...

the star blocks are not square,

they intersect one another.

I have a limited amount of the

black and white surface design fabric

that I created, so I don't know

how far I can go with this design...

15 Star Blocks up on the wall...

Time to cut out the background fabric

and fill it in to create an edge treatment

around the star ...

added by LuAnn Kessi 2 years, 6 months ago. under design wall , improv

Improv Stars... from May Your Bobbin Always Be Full

I am playing around with a stitch and flip

improv technique...

Improv Stars

This is what my work table looks like today...

I pawed through my scrap bin and

pulled out a few jewel tone scraps

and sorted them by color...

I also found this...

I placed strings under white cotton

and rubbed over the top with thickened dye.

I cut it into 2 1/5 inch strips,

then cut it into 2 1/5 inch squares

and 2 1/5 x 4 1/5 rectangles

Then I stitched triangle shapes

to the corners...

The 4 squares go in the ...

added by LuAnn Kessi 2 years, 7 months ago. under improv

Grandmother’s Fan Meets Modern Improv Bee Blocks from Goer

In September Elizabeth chose this happy color palette and the traditional inspiration of the Grandmother's Fan quilt block with some guidelines for us to use improv piecing to modernize the block.

I had such fun creating these blocks for Elizabeth. The best part of improv is that the leftover bits that don't fit into one block became the sourdough starter for me to begin the next block. The second best part is that you can't tell where I made "mistakes" cause it's improv and I just rolled with it!

You can learn all the improv skills ...

added by sarah 2 years, 9 months ago. under bee blocks , building an improv toolbox , improv , improv blocks , quilting (Comments)

A New Old Project from Sew........This Is My Blog

When I was working on Kacie's quilt in 2021 (you can read about it here) I pieced a backing for it using leftover fabrics from the front along with a few pieces from my stash. I liked it so much when it was finished that I decided to turn it into a quilt top at a future date instead of using it as a back.

I added an orange strip .....

..... and knew it needed more, so I set it aside. A few weeks ago I was in the mood to get something off my UFO list, so I pulled ...

added by Sandy Panagos 2 years, 9 months ago. under anna maria , free spirit , improv , kacie , love always am , so scrappy

Improv Houses....Quilt Top Done from May Your Bobbin Always Be Full

The last two days I spent putting

these improv houses together...

all different shapes and sizes...

it was like putting a puzzle together,

challenging and FUN !

The black thickened dye scribble fabric

worked nicely for a border treatment...

it also brightened up the whole design...

Lots of movement in those borders...

I am thinking gray thread

for the machine quilting...

It will blend with the dark and the light fabrics.

Basting and Quilting....Next

The bees are loving the sunflowers

just outside of the Thread Shed.

Enjoy what is left of our summer !

CLICK HERE to view all my improv ...

added by LuAnn Kessi 2 years, 10 months ago. under design wall , flowers , improv

Improv Houses.....Design Wall from May Your Bobbin Always Be Full

Time to get the Improv Houses

up on the design wall...

I had to get them up just to see if

the sold red hand dyes

worked with the black X commercial fabrics...

The X fabric creates some texture...

The more houses up on the design wall,

the better I like it...

It has been great FUN incorporating

my thickened dye surface design fabrics

into this project...

Over 40 houses on the wall so far...

Of course, I am already thinking about

and edge treatment...

I have several 1 yard pieces that I created

with black thickened dye...

I folded ...

added by LuAnn Kessi 2 years, 10 months ago. under dyeing , flowers , garden , improv , surface design

Improv Houses....more houses from May Your Bobbin Always Be Full

I spent some time at the wheel of my

sewing machine today...

I am stitching improv houses...

This is my original pull of fabrics...

mostly hand dyes and surface design fabrics

and a few commercial fabrics.

I pawed through the fabric cupboards

again today and found a few more fabrics

that might work for this quilt:

This is a new pile of darker black fabrics...

a mix of my hand dyed and commercial fabrics.

This is a new pile of white and black fabrics...

again a mix of my hand dyes

and commercial fabrics.

This was my best find of ...

added by LuAnn Kessi 2 years, 10 months ago. under improv

Improv Houses... from May Your Bobbin Always Be Full

I was pawing through the fabric cupboard

and found these surface design fabrics...

Created with black thickened dye...

Check out what I wrote on the selvage...

I created this fabric with hand made

nature brushes and

thickened dye.....in 2018

Looks like it was FUN making this piece !

These circles were created with a

nature brush made from feathers...

This fabric was created by putting strings under

the fabric then rubbing over the top with

thickened dye...

I also found this soy waxed fabric:

I wrote on the fabric with hot soy wax,

after it cooled off and hardened,

I ...

added by LuAnn Kessi 2 years, 10 months ago. under dyeing , improv , soy wax , surface design

An unusual quilt and start of another from Art In Search

My husband's mother and grandmother quilted and sewed clothes. I learned a lot about quilting from them. My husband's mom, Rosemary, was a wonderful woman and mother who left us too soon at 66, younger than I am at 68. Very sobering. She used to make improv quilts before anyone claimed them. She used polyester double knits left over from sewing clothes (six kids) to create lap quilts and hand sewed the pieces using the herringbone stitch and perle cotton. These quilt wear like iron, never fade, are warm and have a certain charm that many dismiss.
Victoria ...

added by Linda Swanekamp 2 years, 11 months ago. under improv , upstairs

Crosscut Tote Bag... from May Your Bobbin Always Be Full

Remember this Quilt Top?

I pieced this back in 2018...

It is a Crosscut Quilt

I had lots and lots of leftover blocks...

I pieced enough of the blocks together

to make a tote bag...

Here it is:

Crosscut Tote Bag...

I used Pellon Flex Foam...

so fun to quilt through and also creates

a super firm bag that stands up nicely...

I lined it with leftover fabric from the quilt top...

covered a piece of cardboard for the bottom.

I boxed the bottom corners to create

a flat bottom...the bag stands up and doesn't

fall over when ...

added by LuAnn Kessi 2 years, 11 months ago. under bags , crosscut quilt , fabulous finishes , improv

Wild Goose Chase.....Top Done from May Your Bobbin Always Be Full

I spent some time in the Thread Shed

yesterday piecing the last 2 seams

of the Wild Goose Chase quilt top:

2 Seams left to piece together...

1 seam left to piece together...

Giving it a final pressing...

I took it outdoors for a photo shoot...

I put it back on the design wall

and noticed that the very last flying goose

on the bottom right corner...

is upside down.

Time to get out the seam ripper !

Wild Goose Chase 56 x 66

CLICK HERE to view all Improv posts

CLICK HERE to view all Fabulous Finishes 2022

CLICK HERE ...

added by LuAnn Kessi 3 years ago. under contemporary quilts , design wall , improv , new work

Improv....Wild Goose Chase.....Progress from May Your Bobbin Always Be Full

This is what the improv piece looked

like a week ago on the design wall:

I have continued to add more flying geese units

around the outside edges...

I am slowly filling in all the gaps...

I started to piece the top together...

it is like a puzzle putting all of these units

together of all varied sizes.

There are so many seams,

the quilt is shrinking in all directions

as I piece it together...

It is becoming one cohesive unit...

I am in the process of adding a new row

to the right side...

then I can piece all ...

added by LuAnn Kessi 3 years ago. under contemporary quilts , design wall , improv , new work

Improv Piecing.....Wild Goose Chase from May Your Bobbin Always Be Full

In the last 2 weeks I have spent some time

with my latest improv project...

This is what it looked like 2 weeks ago:

I was just getting a few blocks up

on the design wall...

It is growing...

All of these flying geese units together,

remind me of a Wild Goose Chase...

My scraps are dwindling...

I am using fabrics scraps from hexagon quilt

I made a few years back.

I will keep adding geese units

until the scraps run out...

The Thread Shed has a new addition:

Sunflower Quilt Block

The Sunflower Quilt block looks great

on the ...

added by LuAnn Kessi 3 years ago. under contemporary quilts , design wall , flowers , garden , improv , new work , thread shed

My 2022 100 Days Project from Ellyn's Place

Well haven't I been a horrible blogger these past few months? Geez. I will tell you I've been so busy making things I haven't made the time to blog! I guess that's a good thing, right? Anyways, I have some serious catching up to do. Let's start with today's finish, shall we?

Way back in February, I posted here about my plans for this year's 100 Day Project. Just to recap, I purchased recycled men's dress shirts at the Goodwill and planned to make 100 improv quilt blocks inspired by The Great ...

added by Ellyn 3 years ago. under 100 days project , improv , quilt

Improv Piecing and Spring in Western Oregon... from May Your Bobbin Always Be Full

I am trying to finish up some improv pieces

I started back in 2020...

Improv Flying Geese

I put a few up on the design wall...

I have a good start...

I think I will make lots more !

I went through the scrap bag and found pieces

leftover from a hexagon quilt I made

quite a few years ago:

I separated the scraps by color...

Doesn't this just make you want to

sit down and stitch?

While I stitch improv triangles,

I can see how they work together

across the room on the design wall...

I haven't spent ...

added by LuAnn Kessi 3 years, 1 month ago. under birds , cattle , cows , design wall , farm , flowers , goats , improv , new work

Quilts Unscripted Bee Quilts from Goer

In June 2021, Ellyn and I started the Quilts Unscripted Bee. Currently we have 11 improv quilters and each month we create 2-3 improv blocks for one quilter. I've been so excited to see finished quilts and quilt tops in recent months that I wanted to share them with you. My beemates have shared their photos with me. Enjoy!

You may have seen Sarah Ruiz's Unscripted quilt that was awarded first place at QuiltCon 2022. She gave us a color palette and asked us to each choose letters so she would end up with an alphabet of blocks ...

added by sarah 3 years, 2 months ago. under improv , quilt bee , quilting , quilts unscripted , quilts unscripted bee (Comments)

Improv Quilt Top.....Progress from May Your Bobbin Always Be Full

I am making progress on this

Improv Quilt Top:

I completed the top last October

while attending a quilt retreat in Idaho

CLICK HERE to view

The top is pieced from my hand dyed fabrics.

These are improv blocks I played

with back in the Spring of 2020...

I incorporated solid strips of fabric

to calm the piece down a bit...

Just love the luscious lime borders...

I pawed through the fabric cupboards

and found this blue for the backing...

I plan to hang this quilt, so I chose

Quilters Dream Green batting.

The quilt will hang straight and flat ...

added by LuAnn Kessi 3 years, 3 months ago. under cattle , contemporary quilts , cows , farm , free motion quilting , improv , new work

A Fingerpaints finish-tada! from Sew Sunshine

This is the Fingerpaints quilt by Quiltfortco from last summers qal.

I used her pattern but made it improv style. I used a ton of scrappy solids and tone on tone pieces from my stash along with tons of strips in my scrap bins.

I finished it out a little bigger by using a few more strips.

74" x 79"

quilted by Grace Elizabeths longarm

I grabbed a few photos but it has been super windy the last couple of days.

This was truly a fun quilt to make. I love the play on light with the fabrics and I ...

added by Kris 3 years, 3 months ago. under 2022 finish , fingerpaints , improv , modern , quiltfortco , scrappy , stash

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