Improvizational quilts
 

I've noticed several books and multiple authors on Improv. Maybe it has just peeked in my interest column. So I've been trying these methods.
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Anyone else have thoughts on Improv. Would love to see photos.

I like it is it hard to do?

I like what you've done. Can't wait to see more.

petthefabric,
Your quilt is really cool! I hope others will contribute their improv quilt photos.

Wow! I'm really impressed with your quilt.

That is so interesting!

My favorite part of making a quilt is designing. Improv keeps the designing going until the quilt is pieced and quilted. Most are small, less than 10x16. So there's not a lot of fabric investment (although my stash will last longer than my lifetime). Time.... well that depends upon how long I enjoy working on it. If it's going smoothly, it can take 2-3 hours. If it's not going well-it's time for a break until maybe next week. This is suppose to be fun, so if it's total frustration, I may cut it up in little pieces for dog bed stuffing.

Sometimes the biggest stumbling block is where to start. Personally for me I find I tend to think/design symmetrically...I like 9P's....yes my symmetrical thinking is another stumbling block. Crumb quilts are improv like. Once the block is done, do you square it off and put it in a traditional setting? Can you call that improv? (I'm asking rhetorical questions.) With that being said, I try to hop out of my symmetrical box once in a while. This full size quilt illustrates a crumb quilt with a traditional setting.[ATTACH=CONFIG]571998[/ATTACH] This is a mini I am working on.[ATTACH=CONFIG]571997[/ATTACH]. Here is yet another experiment, made with 3/4" widths and imprecise piecing...yet to be finished[ATTACH=CONFIG]571999[/ATTACH]

We need improvisational quilters here! All kinds of quilting is intriguing to me, so I, personally, wish we could see more and more pictures of modern, improv, reproduction, and crazy quilts with embroidery, here on the QB!

Jan in VA

I'm with you, Jan. Really enjoy seeing what people can do that's a bit "out of the box".
I'm not very original or creative...I have to see things in order to get ideas to work from so new techniques always spark my interest.

Watson

Cool quilts, petthfabric and OKsewglad!

I love making improv quilts. I will try to post some when I get to my computer where my pics are stored.

Rob

Very nice. A new to me avenue of quilting.

Here are some of my Improvisational quilts
 

here are a couple of my improv quilts:

The first was just finished this week. The next two are from last year.

Rob

OK-love your examples/pics.

I think crazy quilting is improvizational. As is crumb quilts. And your strippy quilt. I think of improv as starting with what is available, adding to it until it's big enough. Anybody have a definition?

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Ryder, these are wonderful. What parameters did you use to direct what you used? Maybe a picture you liked, trying a new technique, scraps you wanted to use?

Thanks, Petthefabric- For the first one, I had a bunch of fabrics that were gifted to me. They were not fabrics I would have bought, so I decided to experiment with dyeing them using alcohol inks, then I tore them into pieces and layered them. There was not really any idea or parameters beyond experimenting with materials that were out of my comfort zone. Once I had a composition I liked, I tacked the pieces down, added some batting and backing and figured out the quilting as I went. It's going into a show at a local gallery this week. I've decided to call it "there might be a rip in the space/time continuum..."

The 2nd quilt started out as an improve piece based on a Joe Cunningham series of rules: take a square of fabric, cut off a corner, add a "stick" (thin piece) put the corner back on the first piece, or add a corner from another piece. Do that as often as you like and square up the pieces. I made an entire quilt top using four fabrics and while it was interesting, I wasn't happy with it. So, I cut it diagonally into a variety of different width strips, then cut some squares of batting and backing and laid a strip of the cut up quilt top diagonally across each square as the starting point. Then went to my scrap basket and started pulling scraps that I pieced onto that in a quilt as you go method. Once the squares were made, they sat for several years while I decided what to do with them. The design wall helped me get the layout and the size I needed of the black fabric and batting in between the squares. I named the quilt Koyaanisqatsi (which is Navaho for "life out of balance") because it reminded me of the movie Koyaanisqatsi.

The third quilt initially started out as mindless sewing of crumbs. When I had some pieces I liked, I squared them up and set them aside for a couple of years. When I came back to it I decided that it would be fun to put them into a modern layout-- my inspiration was mid-century modern design. It was a bit of a daunting task, since they were many different sizes, which meant that once I liked how they were laid out in relation to each other I had to figure out the size of the white polka-dot and off white solid filler pieces that went in between them. I ended up laying them out, taking measurements of each and drawing it on graph paper to get a cutting diagram for the filler pieces--so a little more planned than some of my improv. pieces. The quilting was dictated by the fabric so the crumb pieces are ditched around every crumb. The white polka dot is quilted in zig zags from dot to dot and then part way around a dot, and the off white is quilted in diamonds just because. LOL...It's called "Slice 'N Dice: A Handful of Parameters".

Rob

Petthefabric- I really like the quilting you've done on both your improvs. Gives a lot of movement and nice counterpoint to the piecing.

Rob

I'm just starting to piece a hex quilt using 2" hexies. Yesterday I whipped out a bunch of stash bits, and did a first "flower." (It's not going to be floral, but that's the easiest configuration to put hexies together.) Today I whacked up the stash bits, and basted some hexies during a meeting. I haven't a clue what this is going to end up - whether it will be a full top, or a bunch of hex-amoeba-appliques, or what. The fun is in the journey, and it's a Ziploc baggie project, so it's HIGHLY portable. And no precision cutting.

I think you said something really important, "The fun is in the journey." I'd call that, living in the moment.

I'm so enjoying this thread...SillyBear, this is a hexie quilt I put together a while back...when I got tired of making these I called it quits:D...I have a question/comment...if these are improv, why do we "square" them up and neatly encase them in some even geometric form?http://www.quiltingboard.com/attachm...azy-hexies.jpg

These are all wonderful innovative quilts. petthefabric, an awesome creation.
peace

I really enjoyed seeing these examples and agree with both Jan and Watson.

OK, Since it's improv.... the maker makes the decisions. You can make it any shape you want.

Some reasons for me are:
1. Most of mine are wall hangings and it's easier to hang with a straight edge.
2. Some are mounted on stretcher bars and they're 90* corners.
3. Easlier to finish the edges.
Here's a quilt that called for the bottom edge to be left uneven. It was very hard to finish the edge.

The process to make this involved one item at a time, first the round pot, then the pitcher. It's representational (vs non-objective), yet one decision informed the next without a plan at the beginning. I just wanted to use the red fabric.
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Love the texture and your other improvs.

Curious with this one. Did you put the fabrics together then cut the shapes you wanted then applique to the strips? [QUOTE=petthefabric;7811316]OK, Since it's improv.... the maker makes the decisions. You can make it any shape you want.

Some reasons for me are:
1. Most of mine are wall hangings and it's easier to hang with a straight edge.
2. Some are mounted on stretcher bars and they're 90* corners.
3. Easlier to finish the edges.
Here's a quilt that called for the bottom edge to be left uneven. It was very hard to finish the edge.

The process to make this involved one item at a time, first the round pot, then the pitcher. It's representational (vs non

I absolutely love your quilt. Did you have any quilting books that helped you get started.?

There are some exciting quilts here. I want to do more improvisational work, so it's great to see the ideas being posted.

beautiful, excellent work

[QUOTE=tessagin;7811329]Curious with this one. Did you put the fabrics together then cut the shapes you wanted then applique to the strips? [QUOTE=petthefabric;7811316]OK, Since it's improv.... the maker makes the decisions. You can make it any shape you want.

I think you're referring to the quilt with the uneven bottom. The big round pot is 2 fabrics. The red print is all one big piece, the top and stand are black. The pitcher is also 2 fabrics. The body is one piece and the handle/lip is another. When possible, I let the fabric do the work. After I had these 2 shapes, the focal area developed into this diagonal arrangement. Dragonflies appear and mums bloom in the fall. The mums were fussy cut and applied broderie perse (sp). Then I thought of fall and the wheat harvest (the vertical strips and diagonal grain heads) and of course a harvest moon. Then applied more dragonflies with broderie perse and irridescent gold paint stamp.

This quilt took several years to let it speak to me. Well worth the effort. It was a wedding present (she saw it in progress & of course it was late) to our daughter and SIL.

Is this question for me?

Do you mean get started on this quilt. Or get started with improv?

Inspiational for sure, all of them. Thank you for sharng these pictures; outstanding unique beauties.

I love the sashed crumb blocks in the first picture - containing your improvisations in a more formal framework that brings it all together. Brilliant. I love making crumb blocks - you've given me some fresh ideas. Thankyou.

Thank you...I too love to make crumb blocks...I hate to see fabrics go to waste. I also make miniature quilts. I try to use fabric leftovers that are the size I need rather than cut to size. I will make a bunch of tiny blocks, then create a setting for them. Oftentimes the blocks simmer on my design wall waiting for inspiration. Just like petthefabric indicated, it can take a while...

petthefabric~ thanks for posting this fun topic! I like your work, and seeing others' is inspiring as well. I'm enjoying digging through my small pieces for my own improv project! :):)

I had the opportunity to take a class with Kathy Schmidt, who wrote the book "Rule Breaking Quilts". It was a wonderful class and Kathy introduced me to her methods and she brought along books on the same subject from other authors. Here's her website if you're interested: https://quirksltd.wordpress.com/

I made the red, yellow and blue quilt as part of the class (it was a practice piece to learn the method) and the quilt with the pink border was my second effort. I'm hoping to get back to working improv soon and will keep up with this thread. I love all the work that's been posted!

Fun colors....Thanks for the links Lynda...

Jean Wells has several books on improv quilting. I've done a lap quilt for a family friend's wedding and am working on a partially improv landscape quilt. I've found that the improv piecing is not as easy as just sewing pieces willy-nilly together. But very fun!

In the blue/yellow/red quilt I see wonky 9p and stratta, good starting points.

Thanks! Good eye, Pet! That's exactly how Kathy took us through the class, by taking basic units we were familiar with and showing us the improv possibilities as well as how to combine them into something cohesive. Beyond the benefit of showing us how to work improv, it also helped me in some of my more traditional pieces where incorporating a few of the techniques took my work to another level.

I highly recommend the experience.

petthefabric, your wall hanging with the uneven edge is meltingly beautiful. Great topic.