Monica Curry Quilt Design: Improv Quilting: The modern scrap quilt

One of my favourite piecing techniques is Improv. I come from a fine arts and design background so I love to go off the beaten path. I enjoy the freedom Improv provides. I believe it's quilting for the soul. There are no real rules for Improv quilting. You are basically piecing scraps together in a free-form way. The results are stunning. The textures and all the combined colours can result in a true work of art.

My piece Summer Aspen below was submitted for a new wing at a local hospital. The theme for the submissions was trees. I chose the Aspen tree because I love how Aspen leaves rustle in the wind. Unfortunately, the piece wasn't chosen but I ended up with a very nice quilt for my home.

SUMMER ASPEN by Monica Curry

The strips I used for the tree trunks in Summer Aspen were cut from fabric that was printed from a linocut I made. I wanted each strip to look like an actual Aspen tree.

I liked how this quilt turned out and it hung in my office for a couple of years. I now enjoy it as a sewing machine cover.

My art quilt Closing Time below was shown at the Manitoba Crafts Council Exhibition 2013. The quilt was named after Leonard Cohen's song Closing Time. While I was making the quilt this line from the song kept coming up in my head, "and the men they dance on the polka-dots" because of the polka dot fabric I was using.

CLOSING TIME by Monica Curry

CLOSING TIME (Detail) Photo by L. Norman

Improv Quilting Books

Several years ago I bought Rayna Gillman's book Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts: A Stress-Free Journey to Original Design. I wanted to try something new and push the envelope a little. I also had a ton of little scraps I couldn't bear to throw out. The result was my improv quilt called Summer Aspen (shown above). I really enjoyed making this quilt. Gillman's book is very comprehensive and well written. She provides very good step-by-step directions for her "free-form" quilting technique.

In 2017, Rayna published her new book Create Your Own Improv Quilt: Modern quilting with no rules and no rulers. I haven't bought it yet but from what I can tell her style has changed from her first book.

See more great examples of Improv quilts at my Pinterest board.

4 comments:

AnonymousApril 10, 2018
I love your use of the printed fabric for the aspens—it is perfect! Thanks for sharing your lovely quilt with us.
rayna gillmanDecember 26, 2019
Hi Monica,

Thanks for your nice comments about my earlier book. It may appear that my style has changed, but I’m still addicted to using strips and working improvisationally. This book gives people who prefer to start from “somewhere” the option of starting with a square, a rectangle and to go from there using strips and playing, as always. Yes, my work has evolved but the spirit is still “what if?” and then experimenting. I love the quilts on your blog! Keep going:-)
warm regards,
Rayna