Four friends decided to study The Improv Handbook for Modern
Quilters by Sherri Lynn Wood over the next year. Having seen some of Sherri’s
quilts, we were impressed with her skill and creativity. Once the book arrived
we knew her ability to explain improvisational methods merited serious
attention.
Reading through it (several times) is one thing; but
actually following each score in order and meeting to discuss our results raises
the bar to a much higher level.
I decided to make a lap quilt in order to try several ways
of combining the fabrics. Fitting together blocks of different sizes was one of
the most interesting skills to me.
All the fabric came from my stash but I chose to use
leftovers (slightly smaller than a fat quarter) for the two squares. Some fillers were larger pieces. I also made a
rule that if/when the fabric ran out I could only pull from my scrap bag (not
stash.) The smaller pieces would hopefully add some interest.
The blocks finished about 12-18 inches. In hindsight, I
think their finished sizes are too uniform.
Here are some of the blocks:
The colors and contrast in this block are attractive but none of
the small blue squares overlapped. The
green in the lower right was added to complete the block.
I was very pleased with the way both squares went together in this block.
The filler is a Marimekko scrap so when I ran out of greens, I cut the dark green Marimekko square to add to this block.
By the end of this exercise, my freehand cutting is
straighter and I can estimate the widths needed by eye much better.
