Create Your Own Improv Quilts: Modern Quilting with No Rules & No Rulers

by Rayna Gillman

Overview

A natural follow-up to the best-selling Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts, this book applies Rayna’s no rules, no mistakes, no worries style to modern quilting. Starting with strips and geometric shapes, you’ll cut and sew without patterns, required yardage, or complicated diagrams. This freeing method lets you create modern quilts organically as you follow your instincts, ask "what if…?", and experiment with scale, color, value, and placement.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781617454448
Publisher:	C & T Publishing
Publication date:	12/07/2017
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	420,820
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Rayna Gillman has been creating improvisational and free-form quilts and teaching others to do the same for nearly two decades. She splits her time between New Jersey and West Palm Beach, Florida.

Table of Contents

Dedication and Acknowledgments
Foreword
How to Use this Book
Getting Started
Consider the Rectangle
The Art of Improvising
Modern String Quartet
Free-form Paper Piecing
Color and Pattern
Art and Inspiration
Get Inspired!
Are We There Yet?
About the Author

Editorial Reviews

11/20/2017
Gillman (Hand-Printed Cloth) encourages readers to break from the confines of traditional quilting in this practical guide to the improv method. An avid quilter since 1974, Gillman decided to ditch patterns in 1996 when she took up improv quilting and began creating “wonky, improv, original” quilts instead. Rather ironically, she has written a clean-cut guidebook for being spontaneous, using what-if prompts to encourage readers to add their own creativity. She discusses designs and fabrics, including “repro” prints and batiks, before digging into the how-tos: “Start simple. Clear the decks. Start with solids. Select three colors. Use one geometric shape.” She recommends beginners start with the rectangle as a base and use black, white, and a “medium-value color that makes you smile.” Then she looks closely at the art of improvising, especially with strips and strings. She offers a gallery of other improvisers’ work—Catherine Whall Smith and Cindy Grisdela included—and cites examples and mistakes from her own quilts. For intermediate or experienced quilters looking to get into the improv technique, this is an excellent starting point. Color photos. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Like the looks of a modern improv quilts, but scared to jump in and make one? Have no fear—you'll enjoy the process are you 'play' with Rayna's ideas, and discover where the freedom of personal expression can take you!

Winter 2017/2018 Quilter's Connection

03/01/2018
Veteran quilt artist Gilman (Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts) guides quilters through the process of designing and creating improv quilts in this handy book. The content is split evenly between design skills, such as understanding color, movement, and layout, and sewing techniques, including clever methods for sewing improvisational blocks. There aren't any patterns—in true improv quilting fashion, Gilman provides jumping-off points, and it's up to the quilter to create their own masterpiece. Improv requires an experimental streak, and Gilman isn't afraid to show off her mistakes, explaining why the quilt didn't work out as expected and providing useful hints for quilters to troubleshoot their own problem pieces. VERDICT Improv quilting continues to be a hot topic among modern quilters, and this guide provides a thoughtful, concise, and design-centered approach.

Library Journal

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