Shannon Fraser Designs

Spreading quilty joy one stitch at a time!

  • ABOUT
    • FAQ
  • TUTORIALS
  • RESOURCES
  • QUILT ALONGS
    • Little Forest BOM
    • Mouse Trap BOM 2025
    • Shattered Star QAL
    • Winter Star QAL
  • CONTACT
  • SHOP

The Making of an Improv Charity Quilt Block

February 16, 2016 by Shannon 5 Comments

If you were following along last week as I took over 52 Quilters social media accounts (which was a blast BTW), then you already know I’m working on a charity quilt intended for a local women’s shelter.  Just one of the many reasons why I love our quilting community!

After I posted a picture of the first block on Instagram, I received a comment from a fellow quilter who would love to be able to piece like that. I was completely touched to have someone compliment my work and I wanted to encourage them that they too could tackle such a project.

Since I am dealing solely with the scraps leftover from the QuiltCon Michael Miller Charity Challenge the Montreal Modern Quilt Guild tackled, I couldn’t recreate the original block. So I put together my first Flipagram of another block (they will all be different) to help show how it all comes together.

This is complete improv. I din’t have a plan. I didn’t measure things out. I just started sewing strips together. And then decided to cut up them up into various sizes – mainly 5″, 3″ and 2″! There were a few solid scraps that I also cut into similar sizes. 

From there I decided to randomly lay them out on my design wall and thought it could be fun to piece the pieces together like a little puzzle based on where the pieces fit best. 
Here’s how it looks:

I hope this encourages you to think outside the box, skip using a pattern and just follow your gut. There is no right or wrong here. Just fun!
Now if only the blocks came together as quickly as in the video!!
xo
Shannon

Share this:

  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest

Related

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Charity, Modern Quilting, Quilting Community, Tip Tuesday

Comments

  1. Josée Carrier says

    February 19, 2016 at 4:04 pm

    It looks great Shannon! It`s great when you step out of your confort zone, enjoy the process and love the result.

    Reply
    • Shannon says

      February 20, 2016 at 1:58 pm

      Thank you, Josée!! I've made some great progress and have literally used up every last inch of the coloured fabric!! Hoping to have it done for our next meeting 🙂

      Reply
  2. Izzy says

    February 20, 2016 at 2:34 pm

    This is awesome! Thank you for sharing your process – improv is still very new to me and it scares me a little. I really like reading about how other people do it.

    Reply
    • Shannon says

      February 22, 2016 at 12:53 am

      So happy you enjoyed the post, Izzy! I really enjoy improve, even if it can take a little longer than working with a pattern 😉

      Reply
  3. Shannon says

    February 22, 2016 at 12:52 am

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Hi! I'm Shannon. A modern quilt pattern designer based in Montreal. My quilting journey started by stumbling upon a half square triangle tutorial and I've been hooked since. I'm now spreading that quilty joy to you! Read More…

Stay up to date

Categories

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.

To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
This finished Cloud Surfing quilt is proof that unexpected colours can create the most joyful results. Olive Oil yellow-green, bold fuchsia, rich teal, and soft blue come together in a modern curved quilt filled with movement, texture, and personality. Explore the full colour story, quilting details, and five-year journey behind this finished quilt. #CloudSurfingQuilt #ModernQuilting #QuiltInspiration #ColourfulQuilts #CurvedPiecing

Explore the colour, machine quilting and hand-stitched details of this Cloud Surfing quilt—and why every unfinished quilt has its own season.

My quilting pressing routine has become much smoother thanks to a few favourite tools. Read how a larger wool pressing mat fits into my everyday sewing setup. #WoolPressingMat #QuiltingTools #QuiltingTips #QuiltTips

A year after upgrading to a larger wool pressing mat, I’m sharing whether I still love it, how it’s holding up, and the pressing tools I reach for most.

Wondering if big stitch quilt binding is purely decorative? Learn why these visible stitches securely hold your quilt binding in place while adding gorgeous texture and personality. #QuiltBinding #BigStitchBinding #QuiltingTips #ModernQuilt #QuiltTutorial

Learn how to use big stitch quilt binding to add beautiful decorative hand stitching to your quilts. Discover why this durable finishing technique is one of my favourites, plus thread ideas, tips, and inspiring quilt examples.

Copyright © 2026 SHANNON FRASER DESIGNS

imunify-bot-check