Everyday Improv & More with Seattle MQG

It had been planned for months - a doubleheader with my own Seattle MQG - and though I was really looking forward to it, I was basically consumed with the anticipation of it all over the past few weeks.

First up was an Everyday Improv workshop! Basically, it was a chance to explore 15 improvisational piecing techniques, all of which are incorporated into my All In quilt. I took it and several other quilts to give my students an idea of ways to either incorporate the improv techniques into their quilts or be the basis of new quilt-making explorations.

What I most hoped to convey was that the techniques were a fun and easier-than-they-look way to include more improv into their sewing day to day - basically show how versatile they can be. And I think that was accomplished!

Of course it was great fun to see what the class came up with and how they made the techniques their own! I look forward to seeing more as they continue to explore.

Then a few days later, at our monthly guild meeting, I shared a trunk show.

I think this made me the most nervous. I showed my very first quilt, which was completely hand-stitched and quilted during a beginning quilt-making class in 1988....

my first improv quilt, made after taking a class with Katie Pedersen in 2012....

Improv Achieved

the first quilt I entered into a show....

Common Affection

and on to more of my more recent quilts.... 25 in all. In a nutshell, it was my quilting journey from the beginning, fraught with 'rules' galore, to the present, where pretty much anything goes. Though thankful for the past, definitely, I'm happy to be right here, creating with plenty of freedom.

Follow the Dots

Whew! All that was exciting and overwhelming all at once! But what a wonderful opportunity it was to share with the group that has meant so much to me and affirmed me over the past five years.

Photo credit at trunk show, Rachel Pascual. Many thanks to Elizabeth Gould and Kathleen Munns for quilt-holding.

All In with McKinney MQG

It was nearly a year ago that my buddy Ellyn/ellyn's place first suggested the possibility of me traveling to Texas to do a workshop and trunk show for McKinney MQG. We worked out all the details and then waited for the time to come. Finally, last week it did!



The workshop, Everyday Improv, focused on the 15 improvisational piecing techniques I'd worked into my recent All In. I also shared several other quilts with the group that used some of those techniques, just to give them some idea of how versatile they can be.



Guild president Martha/@sewgreen created the perfect atmosphere with her infamous letter dishes.



And needless to say, we all had alot of fun immersing ourselves in improv.



It was so good seeing friends again, meeting online friends for the first time, and of course, making new friends.

Bonnie, Debbie, Beth, Loide, Jenny, Ellyn, Bethany, Jackie, Martha

Chris, Chris, Jeri, Stephanie, Michelle [Sterrett, not pictured]

So the next couple of days I had 'off' and had a chance to explore McKinney with my hubby, who had traveled to Texas with me. [Check out the Instagram hashtag #debandjoegototexas if you like.] We also hooked up with Ellyn again to visit Urban Spools, a wonderfully modern shop and 'sewing lounge' in nearby Dallas.



That night, it was time to share a trunk show with the entire McKinney MQG! I had taken 25(!) quilts of various sizes, from my very first quilt to my most recent, and a variety representing my quilting journey in between. I gotta say, it's gratifying when folks are interested in your story... a good reminder to be open and affirming, no matter what phase and stage our fellow creators may be at.



Bonnie gifted me with a McKinney MQG mug and a few tasty treats.



And Stephanie kindly brought one of her quilts that I had admired on Instagram and featured in my most recent newsletter. It was SO good to see it in person!



So... there's a little recap of my visit to McKinney MQG. It was a very good time!

All In

As I was planning for the Everyday Improv workshop I'll be teaching with McKinney MQG in a couple of weeks, I was listing all the improv techniques I wanted to share with them, and decided it might be fun to have a sample quilt using all of them. Crazy, no? Probably. Most definitely. But that's how All In came to be.



I chose some solids that I thought would be fun to work with, and they definitely were - Kona Bright Peri, Tiger Lily, Pickle, and Lipstick. I cut and pieced, adding segments to the design wall as I finished them, not really knowing where I was headed. Gotta say I love designing that way.



Of course things get rearranged as more is added, and eventually some trimming and make-to-fit is in order.



And as some point, you just start sewing parts together and figuring it out as you go. When playing with these techniques, I find I usually just squish things together - ie. go very maximalist and dense. One of these days I might think about giving these shapes some room to breathe. Another time!



For quilting I used Aurifil 50wt #2250 [Red], at first because that was the only coordinating thread I had, but the more I quilted, the more I loved the choice, and eventually that red component ended up following into the binding. About the quilting though.... I used the section of dots as a guide to start an organic grid - straight lines, though angled as needed to avoid quilting over a dot - and then just carried it out from there in both directions, approximately 1 1/2" apart. That's less compact than my usual, but I think it really suits this quilt. Maybe that's where I let it breathe a little.



Just for fun, I added in a little pieced scrap into the binding.



And then I chose just one more technique of sorts for the backing - drawing from a traditional block, the Improv Quarter Log Cabin.



Sooo.... there are 15 improvisational techniques pieced into this smallish 32.5" x 34" quilt. Hopefully my students will have as much fun playing with them as I did.