Improv Alliance

Whenever a quilt comes together really slowly - such as a block-of-the-month like the one I'm sharing today - the satisfaction at its completion is usually quite high, for obvious reasons. But this time, there are a couple of extra reasons why I am simply over the moon, and I think you'll see why as we go along.



It all started when my guild-mate, Matt/odditease, presented the 2016 BOM plan for Seattle MQG. In his words, we were going to "exercise our improvisation muscles. We will be exploring nine different shapes/techniques, creating a slab of improv patchwork each month that will come together to become a one-of-a-kind quilt. Ruler free, ruler assisted, wild and crazy, simple and controlled…you get to decide and set your limits and comfort level for each technique." Oh yeah! Matt even had a sample quilt top all ready to show us (yes, go look real quick!), and I was so excited for it all to begin!



But as BOMs go, there's always that lag-time when you need to choose your fabric, right? Wanting to somehow incorporate the Kona Color of the Year into my sewing, Highlight seemed a perfect choice as my focus fabric; Kona neutrals Natural, Bone, and Oyster were chosen for the 'background'; and then Pickle and Wasabi as accents, and Fog for some random pops of color. I loved the mix right off, and throughout the year of sewing, with my only complaint being that the neutrals really were too close, and I doubt you'll be able to pick them out in the finished quilt.

So each month, Matt presented us with an improv technique to try, and a suggested "slab" size. It could really go any direction we took it, and in the end, the indicated sizes were helpful, but as you'll see, non-standard blocks allowed for some more personalization as the blocks were all assembled. Come about September, we were thrown a curve ball and told to make an improv adaptation of a traditional block of our choice! Decisions, decisions. Stay tuned, and I'll share a follow-up post with all the block types I used and links to helpful tutorials.

So month by month, I kept up, and creating my newest improv slab was about my favorite thing. And then..... It came time to put all nine of the slabs together. Yikes. Obviously, there were some holes to fill in (see above), and I mulled that over for days, looking through my books on improv to get some ideas. And lo and behold, it was in Gwen Marston's Liberated Quiltmaking II that I found my solution: Improv Spikes.

I loved that Gwen has unknowingly led me forward, and the spike segments were fun to make. Between trimming blocks and adding in three rows of spikes, my top measured 58" x 82" and surely could have been called complete. But something didn't feel right to me.

What it needed was more width and the logical way to achieve that was with more spikes. I tried adding a narrow column to each side, but no, that didn't suit me. I kept making more and playing with the placement until I was satisfied. And then, boy was I.

 

For a backing, I opted to purchase my very first wide-back, thinking surely there were already enough seams in this crazy quilt. I found a fun design in the perfect color in Starlight, a Rhoda Ruth Wide Back by Elizabeth Hartman for Robert Kaufman.

OK then. The top was done and I was thrilled. The backing had been an easy decision. Now what about the quilting? What design? What color? Goodness, at 68" x 82", it felt big and overwhelming. How in the world would I do it justice? Was this one I should even do myself?

And in a spark of what I consider brilliance, it dawned on me that I should ask Matt himself if he'd consider quilting it for me. He had designed our BOM, led us through the process, and once I thought of it, he was the only logical choice. I didn't even know if he quilted for hire .... so the next time I saw him, I trepidatiously broached the subject. And he agreed!

Now I had been at the guild retreat in 2014 when Matt first dabbled with free-motion quilting. He was a new quilter then, and we were in awe of his obvious gift for every aspect of it. As I handed over my quilt top several weeks ago, we chatted briefly about our ideas for quilting. But I gave him free reign, and never doubted for a moment that whatever he chose to do would be perfect.



So fast forward to last weekend, when he delivered the quilt and we pored over every inch of it, admiring our joint workmanship. 

Quilted on his Juki 2200QVP-S, Matt used Aurifil 50wt in three colors: 2886 (Light Avocado) was used in the upper right-hand block, but he wasn't thrilled with the look, so that's the only area that has it. The majority of the quilt was then quilted with 2000 (Light Sand) with occasional accents of 2715 (Robin's Egg Blue) - see the blue triangle in the left of the photo above, for example.



The use of the neutral thread definitely lets the piecing shine, though Matt's beautiful quilting is in no way hidden. I think it melds them together beautifully, and the bits of blue are just plain fun.



I like how Matt quilted around the spikes, letting them stand out a bit. And one of my favorite details is how he used those large 'pebbles' to create continuity throughout the quilt. You can very nearly follow a trail of them from the top of the quilt down to the bottom, weaving to and fro along the way.

The last detail was up to me, and I added a simple binding in Kona Natural.



And with that, an improv escapade is complete. Begun as a simple exploration of technique, it became so much more, and I gotta say I love the collaboration it represents. From puzzling my own blocks together with Gwen-inspired spikes to finishing off with Matt's quilting artistry, this one has become a cherished piece. Many of the blocks were inspired by age-old designs but as a whole, they became something new and speak to a happening time where working together only made things better.

Quilting by Matt Macomber/[odditease]

This quilt was on my 2017 Finish-A-Long list!

Slab Nine :: Hourglass

There have been plenty of hourglass blocks in my life lately, both traditional and improvisational, but still, when it came time to do the final slab for our guild's improv block-of-the-month, I couldn't resist playing with them again.

This slab is nearly 15" x 30", and with it, I'm more than anxious to begin puzzling the quilt top together. I expect there will be a bit of 'fitting together' needed, as in the way of improv, not all of my blocks came out exactly at the sizes suggested. Then it will go right in line behind the bacon quilt and improv log cabin for quilting. All three are on my Q4 Finish-A-Long list, and I so want to make it happen!

Slabs Four & Five :: Crazy-Piecing & Squares

When Matt/odditease announced that the #seaSLABbom assignment for May was crazy-piecing, I was kind of disappointed, only because I had very few scraps from my previous months' blocks to work with. I'd been trying to incorporate them into each subsequent block, which was entertaining, but didn't do me much good come May. So I decided to just wait on that assignment.

Come June, it was time for some improv squares, which I enjoyed very much!

By then, I had a respectable pile of random pieces and decided to give that crazy-piecing a go. It turned out a little smaller than planned, but I think I can deal with that later.

So I'm all caught up and can't wait to face what's next.

Linking up with Scraptastic Tuesday.

Slab Three :: Gentle Curves

For some reason, even though I was looking forward to tackling this month's #seaSLABbom
assignment, I wasn't really happy with what I was coming up with once I got started. The topic was gentle curves, and though I had done my fair share, they just weren't speaking to me. [In case you're new to improv curves, our BOM leader, Matt, suggests this tutorial by Anne/Play Crafts on Lily’s Quilts.] 

Finally, I cut into it, rearranged everything, and liked it a little better. Though now that I've posted this, I'm inclined to go at that right side with my rotary cutter, but we'll see. As it is, my piece is just 21"x25", a tad smaller than suggested, but I think there will be plenty of room for tweaking when it's time to put the blocks together later in the year.

Meanwhile, the block was a welcome addition to my improv strings and triangles blocks, and three months in, these colors are still making me verrrry happy.

Linking up with Ad Hoc Improv Quilters.

Slab Two :: Improv Triangles

I was so pleased with how my improv string slab turned out last month for the #seaSLABbom, that I couldn't wait to get going on March's assignment, improv triangles.

Since this whole block of the month project is about trying new improv techniques, I explored every triangle I could think of. Matt, our project leader, started us off with two tutorials: Ants to Sugar's Little Tents and Improv Stripped Geese by Little Ms. Sew-Unsew. My experiment continued with HST, HRT, and tall and skinny. I especially like the scrappy ones in the upper left, using my string scraps from last month. Puzzling blocks like these together takes a while, but again, the resultant slab, measuring 17"x30", makes me very happy.

Fabrics are all Kona Cotton Solids: Pickle, Wasabi, Highlight, Fog, Oyster, Bone, Natural.

Slab One :: Improv Strings

For this year's "block-of-the-month" project, the Seattle MQG will be making different improv blocks each month. The first assignment is a 15"x30" 'slab' of string blocks.

I posted my fabric choices a few weeks ago, and I'm mostly happy with them. I'm definitely pleased with the colors (including Kona Color of the Year, Highlight), but having second thoughts about the neutrals. Though you can't really tell in these photos (nor in real life, actually), I used 3 - Kona Oyster, Bone, and Natural. Though I do like the look of things overall, so maybe I'll just keep using all 3.

For my first block (the little inset one shown below), I referenced the improv string block tutorial by Penny/sewtakeahike. I continued to add curves in subsequent blocks - just randomly as I felt like it. I also incorporated trimmings as I could - in a couple of 'pieced' stripes as well as a 'frame' around my first block to bring it up to size.

I was surprised how time-consuming these blocks were and how much fabric I used just cutting strips willy-nilly. But I'm really happy with this first slab and anxious to see what's up for next month!

By the way, there's still a few days to join the #konacotychallenge over on Instagram. Click here to see the prize! It's a beautiful mix of Kona Solids, Essex, and Carolyn Friedlander prints - totally worth entering for a chance to win. So perfect timing to get my string slab done!

Spotlighting Highlight

There were several reasons I was anxious to finish up my #seamqgbom quilt early this month. One, obviously, was I'd been working on it for a year. Enough already. Then there was a show and tell planned for our January SMQG meeting, so that was good incentive. But more than anything, I knew something new was coming, and I wanted to be ready.

My bee-mate Matt is our new block of the month leader, and he has something pretty cool planned. We'll be using the hashtag #seaSLABbom, as we make slabs of improv blocks, exploring a different shape or technique each month. And Matt, amazing as he is, had a sample quilt top already! Irresistible, right?

photo courtesy of Matt Macomber

So our assignment for January is pretty simple: curate our fabrics. Using Highlight, the Kona Color of the Year was on my to-do list anyway, so I figured perfect timing. I'm thinking a mix of neutrals for the background, Highlight as my main color, along with the Pickle and Wasabi, and then Fog for some random pops of color.

To say I'm anxious to get started is an understatement!