Houston heat, improv patchwork and a lizard
Last week I visited Quilt Guild of Greater Houston with a trunk show and workshop. It was a great trip with some adventure.
Spring is nearly over in that part of Texas and it was almost hot with high humidity. My hostess Elizabeth took me to Houston Botanical Garden where things are very much in progress, beautiful nonetheless.
This cactus was so happy—it was covered in new growth.
And I’d never seen quinoa on the plant. I hadn’t given any thought to how it grows, so this was really interesting.
Here’s a broader view of quinoa:
The guild meeting was held in a synagogue.
I’ve never been in a synagogue! It looked a lot like a church except that the adornments featured Hebrew. Some of what I know as Old Testament ideas were evident in the artwork.
A couple of show-and-tells caught my eye, including this scrappy basket quilt.
This little guy modeled a lion mask.
Two memory quilts like the one below featured baby clothing from brothers. I’d never seen infant garments used in this way and I thought it was really different. I liked the quilts!
Intro to Improv workshop
These quilters were eager learners as we took on a few basic ideas regarding improvisational piecing. It was so much fun.
Not only did they learn about improvising traditional blocks, they were also challenged to think about value and contrast.
Improv is like taking a road trip without a map or even a destination. You just start out and see what happens. It’s very different from following a pattern and it can be hard for some people, but these women were brave. They never flinched.
We talked about creating scrappy backgrounds, using fabrics that are very similar so they look like siblings. It adds depth to the patchwork and is quite effective as you can see above.
Several people brought orphans and leftovers, which made their way into improv blocks as seen just above.
Sometimes when you have too many options, it helps to stick with one color and go scrappy within that hue. I thought these stars were really terrific.
Using a dark background adds instant drama to patchwork—such an easy way to add interest!
Before the day’s end, people branched out from stars. I love this Churn Dash block. Isn’t it great how that dark patch at the bottom right is echoed at the top left of the block center? A clever way to tie things together.
Hotel room visitor…
The last bit of excitement was in my hotel room the night before I headed home. Apparently these little guys are plentiful in humid climates and are quite harmless. When I first spotted him under the desk, I wasn’t sure of his status but the next morning, he was still there. So…not alive.
That wraps up my business travel until summertime. I’m looking forward to getting my flowers going in the next few weeks! I’m also going to have some serious sewing time and I can hardly wait.
Quilt on,
Here’s a related post you might enjoy:
How to Combine Quilting Fabrics: Let Go!
Tags: classes, fabric savvy, improv patchwork, improvisation, improvisational quilting, make extraordinary scrap quilts, quilt design, scrap quilts, trunk shows