Artist, Teacher, Author of Artful Improv and Adventures in Improv Quilts

Cindy Grisdela – Artist, Teacher and Author

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.

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Books

Artful Improv: Explore Color Recipes, Building Blocks & Free Motion Quilting

Adventures in Improv Quilts: Master Color, Design and Construction

Workshops & Lectures

I’m passionate about helping others find the creativity I believe lives inside each of us, just waiting for permission to come out and play.

Online Learning

Take a class on your own schedule in your PJs if you want to! Class content includes video, text, and still photos that give step-by-step guidance to create your own designs.

Latest News From Cindy

So Much Fun with Abstracting from Art!

Last week I taught my Abstracting from Art workshop to a talented group of quilters from Needlechasers of Chevy Chase in Maryland. It was so much fun I’m still buzzing from it! The main idea behind the class is using an inspiration source–photo, piece of art, graphic design, home decor or clothing–to jumpstart your creative…

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Thoughts on QuiltCon 2024

I’ve been collecting my thoughts for a few days about the whirlwind that was QuiltCon 2024 in Raleigh, NC. QuiltCon is my favorite quilt show–there’s so much energy and excitement, the quilts are spectacular, and it’s such fun to see so many artists and makers there. I was only able to go to QuiltCon last…

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Playing with Scraps

I’ve always been a scrap quilter at heart. From my earliest log cabin quilts decades ago, I’ve enjoyed pulling out the leftover strips and strings and turning them into something interesting. Inspired by my friend Susan Lapham’s scrap quilts in the month of January, I decided to gift myself some time to play this week.…

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