Abstract Modern Textile Art

An improv pieced textile art piece featuring a couple of gorgeous hand screen printed linen scraps from Umbrella Prints, an Australian company, now defunct. I'm using my remaining bits sparingly. They're just so good.

I love how warm this piece feels with the neutrals and the subtle pop of orange.

The art itself is 8 x 10, matted to 11 x 14. It is available in my etsy shop.

Abstract Minimalistic Textile Art

This textile art piece uses simple linear shapes and neutral fabrics. The style, abstract minimalism, is at home in modern or traditional settings. The pop of the single print fabric adds interest without detracting from the calming simplicity of the piece.

It was created in an improvisational manner, making it truly one-of-a-kind. The textile composition is 8 x 10 and matted with a 11 x 14 mount. It is listed in my Etsy shop. SOLD.

Improv Appliqué Pillow

My latest improv appliqué piece was inspired by dried coral. I wanted to create a shape that mimicked its organic curves, specifically the holes within the coral. The technique I used was the same as my previous improv appliqué pieces (cutting the appliqué shape by eye, basting it a quarter inch from the edges onto the background, and using needle turn to sew it down), with the addition of careful basting around the shapes to be cut out within the larger appliqué shape. I cut the holes one by one as I appliquéd them in order to maintain the structure of the piece and avoid distortion. I'm really pleased with how flat I was able to keep the piece using this strategy.

I had a false start with the quilting, trying out some ocean-like waves which went awry. I set it aside for a while and ignored the impulse to put the whole thing in the trash can. After a couple hours of laborious unstitching, I decided to create a dense, random crosshatch. I love the texture, and the bonus of dense quilting for an appliqué piece in particular is how durable it makes the pillow.

Another change from my original design is the shape of the finished pillow. I started with a square, but I didn't like how the appliqué shape moved across the square. It works so much better as a rectangle, although it hurt a bit to lop off a good 6 inches. It was worth it in the end, as the piece achieves just what I set out to make - a natural, serenely flowing shape.

You can find this unique, quilted pillow in my etsy shop.

Modern Strata Quilted Pillow

I used the leftover bits from my scrap solids quilt to create this cheerful, improv pillow (do scraps ever really get completely used up?). This random looking piecing is called strata, and I give detailed instructions on the technique  in a section of my book, Improvising Tradition. I never really noticed, but until now all my strata has been monochromatic. The riot of color from the multicolored scraps has a very different feel, but I think it works in small doses.
 

The quilting is an easy free motion swirl that creates such a fun, contrasting texture to the geometric piecing.

For a nice plump pillow, the cover finishes at 19 x 19 inches to be filled with a 20 inch pillow form. The pillow backing is fully interfaced and closed with my favorite finish for quilted pillows - the lapped zipper.

This happy little number is available in my etsy shop.

Scrappy Log Cabin Blocks

I saw Jacey's blocks on instagram and got an itch to sew with my scraps. My scrap bin of random width strips has been over flowing for a while now, so this project will be good for scrap management.

The blocks (maybe called 3/4 log cabin blocks since they are just missing one side) are sewn improvisationally and trimmed to 9  x 12.

I've got 15 so far. I think I have enough scraps strips to sew a few more, don't you think? The pile wouldn't even fit in the frame, and it doesn't seem to have diminished in the slightest. The magical procreation of scraps.

Improv Art Quilt

Another improv appliqué project, this time pairing appliqué with pieced improv. I have found I really love the process of improv appliqué, from the cutting, to the basting (pictured below), to hand sewing.

I used matchstick quilting which works especially well to lend structure to wall hangings like this art quilt.

Although this shot is from before I hand stitched the facing, you can see the method of binding I chose. A facing is perfect for quilts you want to avoid framing with a binding that would show. I have to admit I find facing a bit tedious though.

On to the next experiment.

Improv Appliqué

In the interest of creating a hand sewing project for a recent road trip, I put together a small improv appliqué experiment. I cut the appliqué fabric by eye into rough atomic shapes, and pinned them in place. After basting them down, it was just a matter of some leisurely needle turn appliqué in matching 50 weight Aurifil thread. I didn't have 80 weight in the right color, but if you have time to source it, 80 weight is a dream for appliqué.

I wanted to keep the impact of the appliqué shapes, so I chose not to quilt on top of them, echo quilting instead about an 1/8th of an inch from the edge. Then I filled in the background with a free motion figure eight shape to make the appliqué really pop.

I interfaced the back of the pillow and finished it with a lapped zipper, which is my favorite type of closure. The pillow finishes at 18 x 18. It truly one of a kind, although I may be inspired to do a series with slightly different shapes.  What a fun way to make appliqué improv. I encourage you to try it, and if you are interested, the pillow is in my etsy shop.

Memory Pillow

From the scraps of the memory quilt I made last year, I created a simple, 18 x 18 improv pillow for another family member. Strip sets are a great way to use a variety of prints.

I quilted it with straight lines to keep the focus on the fabrics, which were cut from men's dress shirts.

This type of design works just as well oriented in horizontal or vertical stripes. It's a quick project that will be meaningful to the recipient.

Placemats for Meals on Wheels

At Thanksgiving I finished up the final placemat for my charity sewing project for 2018. This paper pieced pumpkins block is a free pattern in my Craftsy shop, by the way. The block had been sitting around for quite a while, so I added some cute flying geese to round it out to placemat size and quilted it simply with straight lines.

Today I rolled up all my placemats (made from leftover blocks, improv panels, and binding scraps), tied them with candy canes, and dropped them off at my local branch of Meals on Wheels to be given to home bound seniors with a holiday meal. I hope they make the recipients feel special. I didn't meet my personal goal as far as the number I hoped to make, but there's always next year, right?

Tara's Shattered Chevrons Bed Runner

It's so fun to be able to share a completely different take on the same pattern as the last post: the Shattered Chevrons pattern from Improvising Tradition. Tara of Quilter's Stash, made this lovely bed runner version. I think the chevron design is so effective in this long, thin arrangement.

I also love the fabrics Tara chose. This isn't a color scheme I have ever used, but I think I will. It feels autumnal, but I think it will work throughout the year too.

The quilting is fabulous as well!

Thanks so much letting me share your work Tara!

Quilt As You Go Coasters

It's fun to pull out your own book to make a project. These are the Jewel Box Coasters from Improvising Tradition. It's so nice to have the quilt math done already by the pattern.

The center of each coaster is improv pieced strata, although really, you could put anything you like in the center, including a fussy cut square or a miniature block like the hour glass I used in this coaster set. The outer frame is pieced quilt-as-you-go. It's a simple technique that works perfectly for projects which can be made turn and flip.

As the pattern specifies, I used a layer of Insul-Bright and a layer of batting, which gives the coasters a nice weight as well as real heat protection. They really stand up on their own, and who really wants a floppy coaster, after all?

The pattern makes four coasters, but I doubled it to make a nice matching set of eight. I like that each coaster is unique because of the improv centers, but they still go together as a set.

The coaster set is a great host gift, although I'm contemplating making another eight and keeping these.

The Morse Code Quilt

I get a little thrill every time I come across a quilt or project made from one of my patterns. I suspect every designer does. I found this Morse Code Quilt on Instagram because its maker, Andrea, included the hashtag #improvisingtradition which is a great way to add your work to a group of other quilts from the same book,designer, or pattern, FYI.

I appreciate how the dramatic background sets off the cool colors. Check out Andrea's other sewing projects and great photos on her Instagram page. Thanks for sharing Andrea!

photo by Joe Hancock

To my surprise, when I tried to find my original post about this quilt to add the link, I discovered there was none. I never posted about this quilt. Really? Well, better four years late that never, right? The Morse Code Quilt is in the sewing with strips section of Improvising Tradition, and it is a super simple throw sized quilt, great for quilters new to improv. The varying sizes of the strips reminds me of the dots and dashes of morse code. As you can see, I chose warm colors in contrast to Andrea's cool palette. Both work beautifully with grey.

More Improv Quilted Placemats

I finished up another couple of improv quilted placemats for my charity project for the year which is placemats for Meals on Wheels (#placemats4mow if you want to join in) made using up leftover blocks and scraps.

This was originally a test panel of strata for Improvising Tradition (affiliate link, although it looks like you can buy a signed copy from me in my etsy shop cheaper than that at the moment).This panel taught me that I prefer strata that is more monochromatic, but I chose to celebrate the pops of green as is by binding in a leftover strip of Kona grass green binding.  The perfect backing presented itself as an old Denyse Schmidt print. Love those dots.

I had fun coming up with a different quilting design for each shape, although some worked out better than others and some got repeated.

I made several strips of the improv technique in the second placemat a while ago. Several of the strips became a pillow, but I had a spare strip I've been looking to use. Bingo!

These placemats are numbers seven and eight, so it looks like I'm on track to make my goal of twenty to donate by December.