Welcome!
I’m Cindy Grisdela – an Artist, Teacher, and Author from Reston, VA.
Color and texture are the driving forces behind my contemporary art quilts. Browse my site to see how I combine line and shape, then add stitching lines to create texture and dimension – a process I like to think of as painting with fabric and thread.
See the headings below for information on my books, Artful Improv, Adventures in Improv Quilts, and Freehand Curve Quilts, my lectures and workshops, and my on demand classes.
I am offering Independent Zoom workshops that run for three 3 hour sessions over 3 weeks. Sessions are recorded for later viewing. Visit the shop for my next classes--Improv Scrapmania--starting in June 2026 and Artful Improv Medallion--starting in July 2026.
Latest News From Cindy
String Scrap Quilt Tutorial
I’ve had such fun making my string scrap blocks. It’s an easy way to use up some of your scraps to make quilts, pillows, table runners, baby quilts, or anything else you can think of–all without foundation papers to pull out at the end. The top above isn’t all sewn together yet–I’m still making blocks.…
Abstracting from Art at Empty Spools 2026
I had a blast at Empty Spools Seminars teaching my Abstracting from Art class in April-May 2026! I had 16 engaged students in one of the most beautiful classrooms I’ve ever had the privilege to teach in. Lots of windows and a view of the ocean every day. Abstracting from Art is a design class.…
A Taste of Freehand Curves
I wrote a guest blog post for my publisher, C&T Publishing, about my new book recently, so I thought I would share it here too. Take a look for a sneak peak at my process for cutting freehand curves without templates or patterns! I just had the opportunity to teach a class from my newest book, Freehand…