Improv Inspired by Nature

In just five days, you’ll learn three exciting improvisational piecing techniques that will help you create richly layered, complex art quilts—without worrying about perfect points or precision sewing.

This workshop is designed for quilters who love piecing and want to loosen up creatively while still producing sophisticated, visually intricate work. You’ll experiment with all three methods before choosing one approach to develop into a large original quilt of your own.

For a one or 2 day class you can select one of these methods.

Method One: Nature-Inspired Improvisational Paper Piecing

Start with images from nature and learn how to simplify them into expressive paper-pieced blocks. Rather than striving for realism, you’ll focus on shape, rhythm, and composition. By combining blocks in multiple sizes with a wide variety of fabrics, your quilt will develop an intricate, improvisational appearance full of movement and depth.

Method Two: Color-Wash Ohio Star Deconstruction

Begin with an image or idea you want to express through color. You’ll create large Ohio Star blocks in coordinated color palettes, then cut and rearrange them into smaller sections on a design wall. The result is a beautifully blended, complex composition that appears to be made from tiny pieced units—even though it all began with larger blocks.

Method Three: Improvisational Pieced Letters & Words

Discover how simple and fun it can be to create improv pieced alphabet letters and combine them into meaningful words or phrases. Whether you want to express a favorite quote, create a personal statement, explore political themes, or make something heartfelt for a loved one, this technique is a wonderful way to use fabrics already in your stash.

If you enjoy piecing but dislike perfectionism, this class is for you. The beauty of improvisational quilting is that the finished work becomes a rich blend of many blocks, fabrics, and ideas—where creativity matters far more than matching points perfectly.