Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of another maker’s improvisational play? Now’s your chance to see it in action in Improv Behind the Scenes!
Working without a pattern can feel like you’re diving into murky waters – you know you’re going in, but you’re not sure what you’re going to find in those waters.
This is why I’m so excited to share a little more about my process and invite you to take a full peek behind the scenes!
If you’ve ever wondered how you can go from a stack of mismatched blocks to a full improv composition, then you’ll love seeing the steps I took!
When it comes to improv quilting, one of the biggest struggles I see is learning how to navigate without a quilt pattern. It can feel super intimidating to step up to your cutting mat and just start.
And the best way I know how to walk you through that is for you to see me diving into my own improv quilting play. Today, I wanted to share with you how this project came to be and why I’m so excited to share it with you.
How this project got started
A few years back, as we were heading into the summer months, Amanda (@broadclothstudio) and I (@shannonfraserdesigns) were looking to let loose and have a little quilty fun. Specifically, we want to focus on improv. I had been working on lots of workshops and pattern designs and the thought of stitching without a plan was exactly what I needed.
As we were chatting away, we got so excited about challenging ourselves that we thought it would be fun to invite you along for the quilty ride 😉 Which is exactly what ended up happening.
During the month of August, every week you focus on a new shape to explore improv quilting with. All the details about the specific weekly challenges and additional tips are shared in the weekly newsletter. We wanted you to have a place where you could store the emails to create a syllabus you could refer to time and time again.
Sign up for the 2023 30 Days of Improv QAL here.
You can read more about that original journey here in the final quilt blog post but suffice it to say we connected with our friends at Art Gallery Fabrics and before I knew it, I had this gorgeous stack of Pure Solids sitting in front of me to play with!
See what I made during the previous QALs:
When this idea came to me
Since we were doing a sew-along, I decided I was going to share some fun Instagram Reels with you along the way. Well, as I was about to hit record and dive into my first day of cutting, I had the impromptu thought to record all my sessions for you.
Instead of just seeing little snippets, I wanted to share the whole behind-the-scenes of how each day unfolded.
- No filters.
- No sped-up scenes.
- No editing out steps.
This thought got me super excited and also a little nervous. Exactly how I feel about improv – ha!
Since this was my gut instinct to record it for you, I went with it. That’s a key component of improv quilting, and it just seemed so fitting.
I hit record and dove into cutting.
Compositions
In addition to seeing how each of the blocks came to be, what I’m excited for you to see in Improv Quilting Behind the Scenes is that there’s no straight path to an improv composition.
There’s no straight path to an improv composition.
There are usually twists and turns that occur and that’s all part of the fun! There is quite a bit of thought that goes into bringing an improv piece to life. Just like a painting evolves, so does an improv quilt.
Go behind the scenes
If you’re looking for more improv inspiration and an actual look at how an improv piece comes to life, then I’m excited to introduce Improv Quilting Behind-the-Scenes.
Settle in for some quilty entertainment while you pick up some improv tips and tricks, as you watch how this improv quilt came to be!
I’m pulling back the curtain and sharing how each of my improv blocks came together. This is shot in real time and shows the evolution of cutting into my fabrics, how each block started and ended for each of the weekly challenges, all the way through seeing how I pulled the composition together.
Hear me talk through my thought process as I share with you what’s going on in my head as I’m working on an improv project: from cutting my fabric (something I don’t normally do, since my improv normally stems from scraps), to diving in on Day 1 with squares. This is a no holds barred view on exactly the steps I took to create this improv quilted wall hanging.
If you want a real and honest, almost confessional style – then this is the improv crash ‘course’ for you!
xo,
Shannon
PS After you’ve watched Improv Behind the Scenes, I encourage you to sign up for the 2023 30 Days of Improv QAL and put your new learnings into practice!
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