I came across a
beautiful improv quilt by Kathy Loomis via Pinterest and was pleased to find
an informative blog post attached. Kathy explains the technique for making what I'm calling wonky stacks, a method she learned in a workshop with
Nancy Crow. The technique is one of those easy, genius methods you immediately wonder why you didn't think of on your own. I pulled out my scrap strips to play (this technique is the perfect use for scraps). The method is so simple! Just sew strips together in groups of three (using light, dark, light or dark, light,dark), subcut into bars, and stack.
I trimmed the bars to 4 1/2" wide and joined enough to make a column 20 1/2" long. I joined five columns to create a 20" pillow top.
It was so fun, I made another, playing with value by using light aqua strips paired with navy strips.
I quilted the orange pillow in straight lines and the blue pillow in a fun lily pad free motion design from
Christina Cameli's book on free motion quilting. I backed both pillows with a simple self-lining envelope closure (
tutorial from Crazy Mom Quilts).
In the off chance you don't want to rush to your sewing machine and make your own, both pillows are available in
my etsy shop.
