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
A Look Back at 2025
Well–this was a year! I spent a lot of time traveling and teaching, but I also made 26 new quilts in a range of sizes, and wrote my third book–Freehand Curve Quilts: Improv Techniques for Creative Play & Bold Expression, due out next month. The quilts were four large, nine medium, and 12 small (12″…
2026 Teaching Schedule
I have an exciting year of teaching planned for 2026–a mix of new things like my Hawaii cruise in January and February, plus return trips to Empty Spools Seminars in April and Woodland Ridge Retreat Center in August. Check out the list below to see if I’m coming to an event near you (or that…
Working in a Series at the Crow Barn
I just finished another two weeks studying with Nancy Crow at the Barn in Ohio. The class was Working in a Series and I think it was the best one yet! Of course I wouldn’t have been ready for it without taking all the others. This was my tenth class with Nancy, going back to…