Final Day of Adventures in Improv Quilts Blog Tour

Today’s the last day! I hope you’ve had as much fun as I have on the Blog Tour for Adventures in Improv Quilts. It’s been a blast reading all the reviews and thank you so much for all the comments–I’ve read them all and really appreciate all your kind words.

I had a great time writing Adventures–even though it was in the middle of the pandemic–it gave me a focus and that was good. It’s my hope that you’ll feel in reading it like you have a trusted teacher or friend by your side to guide you through the process of making your own Improv quilt with no pattern and no rules!

This is one of my favorite quotes from the book: “We all create original work in our own style, because we all have different likes and dislikes, quilting history, and experience. Your style is like your fingerprint, unique to you. No one else can create the same design in the same way you do.” I believe in this, as I believe that we all have the ability to be creative if we give our creativity room to grow.

One of the reasons I enjoy Improv so much is that there’s so much room for interpretation of the same elements. When I teach, everyone comes out of the class with a design that is different from the other students, and usually different from my work as well. My job in my books and classes is to help you discover your own creativity and run with it. You don’t have to compare yourself to anyone else, just be the best YOU you can be.

Some of the new things I’m proud of in this book is the chapter on color, where I use the same quilt design to illustrate the concept of color palettes–monochromatic, analogous, triadic (new in this book) and complementary. I think it makes things clearer, and you can create your own small color studies to play with the ideas further before committing to a new quilt.

 

I’m also really happy with the idea of the guided exercises, where you’ll learn how to put together a quilt with just one multiple cut curve unit, an Improv Puzzle quilt, or a Freehand Curve quilt. They aren’t patterns exactly, but they do include some of the measurements I used to create those specific quilts so you can make your own version. Just try not to get too hung up on the math–I’ve included the measurements for reference, but you can go your own way if you want to! You can also cut all your elements freehand, without using your ruler at all if you want to.

 

The “How do You Know when it’s Finished” chapter is another favorite, which I hope will be a useful reference to evaluating your own work.

And I’m tremendously proud of and grateful to my students–both those who generously shared their work for the book and all the rest who have taken classes with me over the years–I hope you’ve learned as much from me as I have from you!

You still have a chance to win an eBook copy of Adventures in Improv Quilts–generously donated by C&T Publishing. .The giveaway winners will be chosen after the Tour closes at midnight EDT tonight, October 20, 2021, so if you haven’t had a chance to get to all the blogs on the tour, there’s still time to enter and win! You need to comment to be entered. Each blogger will be using a random number generator to select the winner on her blog.

I’d love to know in the comments today what your favorite improv technique is, or if you haven’t tried it yet, what you’re most interested in learning more about. Good luck!

Here’s the full schedule:

October 12, 2021 C&T Publishing https://www.ctpub.com/blog/adventures-in-improv-quilts-social-media-tour/

October 13, 2021 Maria Shell, Tales of a Stitcher  https://talesofastitcher.com/2021/10/13/adventures-in-improv-quilts-by-cindy-grisdela-ebook-give-away/

October 14, 2021 Jenny Lyon, Quilt Skipper  https://quiltskipper.com/2021/10/book-review-adventures-in-improv-quilts-by-cindy-grisdela/

October 15, 2021 Becca Fenstermaker, Pretty Piney  https://prettypiney.com/adventures-in-improv-quilts/

October 16, 2021 No post Saturday

October 17, 2021 No post Sunday

October 18, 2021 Carolina Oneto https://carolinaoneto.com/adventures-in-improv-quilts-by-cindy-grisdela/

October 19, 2021 HollyAnne Knight, String and Story https://www.stringandstory.com/blog/adventures-in-improv-by-cindy-grisdela

October 20, 2021 Cindy Grisdela https://cindygrisdela.com/blog/

If you’d like your very own signed copy of the book, you can order it on the website at https://cindygrisdela.com/product/adventures-in-improv-quilts/, or it is available without a signature from a variety of online sources, including C&T Publishing at https://www.ctpub.com/adventures-in-improv-quilts/

Many quilt stores also offer the book–if yours doesn’t, maybe you can ask them to order it for you!