But I have come to realize that some people struggle with working this way. It does not come naturally to them. One fellow stitcher wants to sit by me to see how I work. She is a thinker so it could be interesting.
One of the pure pleasures of this blog for me is that it gathers kindred spirits, those of us who love improvisational work. So my question today is how do you work? How do you do this improvisational work? What works for you?
p.s. Barbara wrote a great blog about a recent project of ours, see our guild blog.
complete improv... it calms and relaxes me... no patterns.. I don't want someone else's idea of what my quilt should look like...although I appreciate that others feel that process relaxes them...
ReplyDeleteI just did a post today.. it's funny, maybe it's the full moon, there's bee a few posts similar today about process... improv piecing brings me to that quiet place. and I feel great joy in watching the little bits take their own form... there in lies my 15minuteplay.com project... sometimes it takes a little encouragement to get people to let go... thanks for you words...
I began as a traditional quilter many years ago as that was all there was. Even then I tried to tweak things to my liking. I have started to do improv and it becomes almost impossible to go back. It is a little bit harder for me because I tend to be a thinker, but I am also a good decider. So improv lets me decide without over thinking. I love being free to just sew and piece and then see what becomes of my work. Even when it starts to resolve into a quilt there is the joy of moving everything around until I am pleased
ReplyDeleteI like to be lost in the process of quilting. Do I think much about the colors or how they are placed in my quilts? May be, but I am not following the rules while I do so.. There is no color theory in my book and so as I go along with what feels right becomes my way of quilting.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy putting pieces together and see what becomes of them. And some idea or story starts developing in my head which stays with me forever.
When I am working on an improvisational quilt, I truly am putting my own stamp on the quilt. It comes easy to me. Even when it is inspired by other styles.
You and Victoria has definitely got my wheels turning again! Thank you!
What lovely comments. I'm loosening up more over the last few years. At first, I loved the process of putting everything on the wall and spending hours and hours rearranging pieces until I got them all just right.
ReplyDeleteThe last few weeks, I'm enjoying choosing scraps BLINDLY out of my scrap bin and sewing together whatever I pull out. This brings fun surprises. And I find that when I put these blocks on the wall, they magically work together. It's like the scrap fairy is taking charge and telling me she knows best. And she does!
Just a thought! Wouldn't it be interesting to let go of the design wall too?
ReplyDeleteI am going to try that for my next scrappy quilt.
This will eliminate overthinking and constant shifting and trying to achieve the 'balance' in the quilt.
Let's see what happens!
let's try it! thanks for all the thoughtful comments. I'm preparing the scrap bag now........
ReplyDeleteI tend to swing like a pendulum between precision piecing (but very simple blocks) and this intuitive block construction. I find a certain kind of mindlessness in the precision piecing, especially when I'm using patches I've pre-cut from leftover bits of yardage. I don't stress over colors or values or prints too much at those times. But then there's the freedom of sewing oddly shaped scraps together to see what they become... Different types of construction for different moods I guess!
ReplyDeleteI just put things together. I don't use a design wall, purposely. I lay things out on the floor, sometimes, mostly to judge fit of the blocks to each other. I have a job that requires precision and perfection, and when I want to sew, I just want to sew! I don't want my quilts to look like anyone else's. (I do know how to sew with precision, I sew clothing, but in quilts I hate to copy.) I like my quilts to surprise me!
ReplyDeleteRight! That's it, wollywoman! I want to surprise myself too. That's what keeps me coming back for more. I don't want to make a quilt that will look like I expected it to. I want to say, "Wow! did I really do that?"
ReplyDeleteI went on a class that was teaching how to make a scrap quilt. We all said it was hard at first, just to play and join scraps. By the end, some were hooked, some went back to following a pattern. Me? I went scrappy improv wild and loving it :D
ReplyDeleteI hard a hard time learning to let go and sew in the improv style at first. But, like anything else, the more I did it, the easier it got.
ReplyDeleteI've been just sewing bits and pieces together as mindless therapy for a while now. I sometimes play with the colors, and sometimes just let it flow. I've been cutting what I come up with into 6 inch or so blocks, but after reading everyone's comments, maybe I'll try for more free-form now.
I do sew precision sometimes, but it's getting harder to do that. I love the improv approach so much, I just want to do it all the time! And I love the idea of my quilt surprising me!
At this stage of life it's improv; at one time I sewed clothes from patterns. I, too, want to be surprised by what's been created at the end of the work period.
ReplyDeleteI replied on my blog. I really like handpiecing - but I enjoyed trying something new. The thick fabrics I used seemed to dictate this sort of work.
ReplyDeleteI love messing around with fabics. I have a bag full of beautiful silk ties that I have been buying at opshops for years, and I am itching to pull them apart and make a wall hanging or something with them. I did a six week course on patchwork last year, where I learnt how to make six traditional designs (Dresden, Churn Dash, etc.) and as much as I like those, I prefer to use the scrappy method that I see on so many blogs and websites.
ReplyDeleteScraps Rule!!!!
ReplyDelete