Imp

I could tell I was feeling better when I had a free hour and started piecing together the improv blocks from the recent workshop I took from Sarah Goer @sarahgoerquilts, Building an Improv Toolbox. And.I.Could.Not.Stop. Before I knew it, I had a 26.5" x 29.5" little quilt top and had named her Imp. 

Happily, I was able to squeeze 28 of the 29 blocks I had made in the workshop together with very few additions.

Then I made a pieced quilt back that included the one block I couldn't fit into the front, adding in all sorts of bits and pieces, though I also needed to pull a couple of pinks from stash to bring it to size.

After enjoying quilting with a variegated thread on Strings recently, I went ahead and chose Aurifil 50wt variegated 4660 [Pink Taffy] for Imp, and quilted a 1" grid. In person, it really makes for some fun color play as the variegated thread moves across the quilt. 

And finally, since I'd used up all the fabrics from the front, I used a small-scale black and white stripe for the binding. Knowing that it was perfect, but wouldn't quite go all the way around the quilt, I pieced in a pink dot that I'd used on the back. I think it's a very fun finishing touch. After trimming, Imp measured just under 26" x 30", and in continuing to build my improv toolbox, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. 

Linking up with QuiltingJETgirl's Favorite Finish {March 2026}.

Building an Improv Toolbox

Last Saturday, I spent the day on Zoom in a workshop with Seattle MQG @seattlemqg and Sarah Goer @sarahgoerquilts, who led her Building an Improv Toolbox workshop with us. Yes, I know I've taught my own class on improv techniques in days gone by, but I'm always open to learning more, and thought it would be fun to approach it from another teacher's point of view. And it definitely was!

It was suggested we begin class with six fat-quarters, but wanting to use scraps if I possibly could, I pulled a handful of pieces from stash that were all less than a quarter-yard. Some were indeed leftover from other projects, while some were just small pieces. It ended up being a very fun mix to play with.

By lunchtime, I had a nice little collection of blocks up on the design wall. Most of the techniques I'd tried before, but not those radiating strip blocks, shown below just above the stripes. Those were created in a pair, and I enjoyed trying them. I can definitely imagine making groups of blocks of them.

There were two techniques in the afternoon session that I particularly enjoyed and look forward to playing with more - compound shapes....

And slice & shift. With the example below, I also included a pieced slice & insert strip, which basically created another type of compound block.

Below are all the blocks I was able to create during the afternoon.

So by the end of the workshop, I had 29(!) improv blocks to show for myself. That was a lot of different techniques Sarah was able to share with us, wasn't it? She's a terrific teacher, and I'd highly recommend the workshop, especially for those wanting to explore beginning improv piecing.

Meanwhile, I'm planning on somehow puzzling all these blocks together into a small quilt. And even though I don't have a clear plan forward, I haven't been able to resist sewing some like blocks together. So stay tuned. Once I've made some real progress, I'll share this project again.