I said I would put together some fun links for you all…here they are in no particular order!
Right off the top, when I took up quilting, I definitely planned to make ONLY traditional quilts. They are beautiful, and I loved their romance and nostalgia appeal. My quilt 101/102 teacher was a stickler for accuracy, and I am glad she was. Accuracy skills put you in control of the fabrics, and even if you are working improv, that control is critical.
Anyway, I was happily working my way through traditional quilt blocks and kits, relying on my quilt store staff (some online) to choose the fabrics for me as I had absolutely no colour handling skills and of course working traditionally from patterns I did not have design skills either….I am the kid the art teacher gave up on (because I could not draw).
One weekend about 13 years ago, my husband and I booked a romantic weekend away from our houseful of children in Monterey, California. While there I visited Back Porch fabrics in Pacific Grove. The shop (the best I had ever been in) was hosting a Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston exhibition. One quilt up on the wall absolutely astounded me (Freddy’s Red Sticks). The label said it was on page 93 of their book, which was sitting below the quilt. I was annoyed that, upon turning to p. 93, the quilt was nowhere to be seen, nor anywhere in the index….and I realized they had written TWO books together! So I bought them both, and stayed up late looking at all the amazing quilts in those books.
It was my Damascene moment. There was something in all that wild colour and design exuberance that called to me. Freddy was 80 at the time, and I figured would not be teaching much longer, so I booked the next class available, which was a week at Empty Spools. That class changed my life and my quilting life. I realized I could, if I worked at it, build colour and design skills.
So my first two recommendations for stepping off the curb and into the whirl of improv are those two books that got me started: “Collaborative Quilting” and “Freddy and Gwen Collaborate Again” by Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston. ***I cannot stress enough how making a few of the quilts in these books will push up your improv, colour and design skills.” ***
Great 7 part blog series on beginning to work improv, by LuAnn Kessi:
https://luannkessi.blogspot.com/2020...chnique-1.html
My Pinterest board on Improv Techniques:
https://www.pinterest.ca/westernwils...ov-techniques/
There is a terrific workshop by Krista Hennebury called “Speed Date with Improv”. Check out the Instagram posts on these quilts. It is a great, easy to do class that really launches your improv skill set.
I have taken several classes from Maria Shell, and I think in July she will run one of her $30 four hour zoom workshops, always a good look at an improv technique. She introduced me to the 60mm rotary cutter, which I love!
https://www.amazon.com/Olfa-Deluxe-R...st_sto_dp&th=1
I hated Kaffe Fassett prints when I started…now I can’t get enough of them!! Someone who does a lovely job with KFC print is Agile Jack, who blogs out of Oregon:
https://agilejack1.com/
And I am in the middle of making the KFC “Autumn Postcard” quilt.
A great book to get you started on improv by Sherri Lynn Wood:
Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters
There are tons of videos to watch on YouTube, and one of my faves is “The Last Homely House”. Kate put out an Advent series this last holiday season on a wonderful improv Christmas quilt. Well worth a watch for $1 on her Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/collection/225451?view=expanded