QuiltCon Improv and/or Small Quilts

Except for a few years in the late 1990s, when I worked full time and attended college, I have been making quilts since 1976.

Having begun with the traditional quiltmaking, it was about 2010 when I met modern quilts. I found them appealing because: 

1) the look was fresh, with bright colors

2) most modern makers were designing their own quilts; and

3) the combination of numbers 1 and 2 were a push for me - something to challenge myself with that was different.

So for me, the most difficult-to-achieve style of modern quilt-making has been improv. I've taken workshops with Sherri Lynn Wood @sherrilynnwood, Maria Shell @mariashellart, and watched improv idols like Debbie Jeske @aquilterstable, Cindy Grisdela @cindygrisdelaquilts, Irene Hixson @hixsonir, Sheila Frampton Cooper @sheilaframptoncooper, and Paola Machetta @thecultofquilt seem to knock-out improv quilts with ease.

I know improvisation isn't easy!

How 'bout looking at some QuiltCon improv quilts? Below are not only quilts in the Improvisation category, but also improv quilts I came across in the Small Quilts category.

This certainly isn't all the improv quilts I saw, but the ones that captured my attention.

Since seeing Paola Machete's @cultofquilt quilts at QuiltCon Phoenix in 2022, I've been following her on Instagram. She lives in Italy. As you can see, Landing is a small quilt. 

Her detailed piecing takes my breath away. No wonder this little quilt sold for $800 at QuiltCon!

Another of Paola's designs is The Space Between Clouds.

It was domestic machine quilted with a faced edge. Such teeny insertion strips!

River Gone Green is also Paola's. Are you catching on to her style?

Amazing piecing details. 

The Red Thread was made by Maureen Garner @mgarnerrd of Georgia, and is about a Chinese proverb and the invisible red thread that connects those who are destined to meet. 

She domestic machine quilted, added hand quilting, and embroidery stitches- all those French knots!

A small quilt, Textile Intarsia #2 was made by Lorraine Woodruff-Long of California. The quilt has approximately 140 improv, machine-pieced blocks that are 1", 2" and 3". She says, "...an immersive polychromatic experience is my passion." Ha. Ya think?!

This was quilted on a domestic, though none of her quilting showed on the quilt's surface!

Influencing by Laura Klementz-Hartes @creativelifesampler of California, actually appeared in the Appliqué category. But its improv style attracted my attention. 

The quilt was hand-quilted. Laura explains, "The dotted lines were created with machine pieced strips which were dropped into the composition with reverse appliqué."

I love this quilt's name: Back in Therapy. It was made during the pandemic by Laura Hartrich @laurahartrich of Illinois. 

Her domestic machine quilting is bold and dense, with long threads left on the surface that have been quilted over. Lots to look at here. 

This one, in the Small Quilts category, captivated me. Criminal Quilting was made by Carmen Walker @carmen.8494 of Mississippi. The technique she used was raw edge fusible appliqué. After fusing fabric, she cut pieces with pinking shears, then fused them to a background. 

Straightline quilting keeps the little pieces in place. Isn't that neat?!

I'm intrigued by the idea of making an only-two-color improv quilt. By limiting the palette, the maker is forced to use elements of shape to make an effective design. Debbie Kidd @dkidd67 of Oregon did just that with this one - Oopsy Daisy.

It's domestic machine quilted, and Debbie says, "is thread painted." 

Two Color-Two Step is another two-color quilt made by Cathy Calloway @calund47 of Montana who started this piece in a workshop with Irene Roderick. 

Cathy longarm quilted it. 

It fascinates me what my Canon point-and-shoot camera does to color when I take a close-up photo. The above photo of the full quilt reflects the truest colors.

Along Came a Rabbit was made by Patti Coppock @patticoppock of Oklahoma. 

Her quilt is pieced and hand appliquéd, and domestic machine quilted. 

Hash Tags and Top Hats was made by Irene Roderick @hixonir of Texas. 

It was longarm quilted by Dawn Golstab. 

The Nanny was also made by Irene Roderick @hixonir who favors working with large, sometimes people-sized pieces of fabric. The Nanny won third place in Improvisation.

It was heavily longarm quilted. 

On Instagram, I got to watch Beaches as it was being made by Canadian Leanne Chahley @shecanquilt. The cream-colored drape behind the quilt doesn't show off the colors, but they are perfect beach colors, and the design is engaging. You can't help but look for the water, fish, and shells, and then almost feel the sand.

Leanne heavily matchstick quilted it on a longarm. If I could have had a third vote for People's Choice, it would have been this quilt. 

For the first time, I entered an improv quilt into QuiltCon 2023. It was accepted, and made me begin to think I'm finally catching on - though improvisation is still a struggle. 

Here is Harborage, once again, as seen at QuiltCon. I made it during last August's #30daysofimprov. It's domestic machine quilted, with big stitch hand quilting. It tickled me to no end to see it hanging with other sewlebritiy quilt-makers' improv quilts. Harborage sold at QuiltCon.

For those of you who have been following my saga of looking for spice drops (since last December), you'll be interested to know that Atlanta doesn't have them either. At least a downtown Atlanta convenience store, and a CVS didn't have them in stock.

I understand they're back in stock at our local Publix grocery store. However, Publix isn't my favorite brand. It seems I've become a "spice drops snob."

Linda