Embrace the freedom and creativity of improv quilting with award-winning quilter Laura Loewen (@QuiltFortCo).
Discover the joy of ruler-free cutting, explore the world of colour play, and dive into fun, fearless creative piecing using Laura's expert guidance.
Embrace the freedom and creativity of improv quilting with award-winning quilter Laura Loewen (@QuiltFortCo).
Discover the joy of ruler-free cutting, explore the world of colour play, and dive into fun, fearless creative piecing using Laura's expert guidance.
This book is a must-read for confident beginner quilters eager to discover new skills and looking for a vibrant, playful quilting experience, but any level of quilter can use this book to begin their improv journey. Laura showcases her own working methods - from sketches and fabric play to painterly colour movement - covering all the necessary techniques in detail, and helping you to create a solid base of colour knowledge before you launch into combining colour play with improv shapes. Inside you'll find:
- 10 stunning colourful step-by-step quilt projects that build your skills as you work through the book;
- Techniques throughout, from building harmonious colour schemes and value sorting to going ruler free and working with curves;
- Stunning photographs and easy-to-follow illustrations, as well as key guidance on quilting essentials including basting, quilting and binding;
- Confidence-building prompts for your own improv quilts;
- Colouring sheets so that you can work out your colour schemes on paper before committing to fabric.
This book is your ticket to fearless, fun, and utterly unique improv quilting. Discover inspirational finished pieces, prompts to begin your own individual improv projects and new ways to design quilts through the mouthwateringly colourful projects inside.
Laura has exhibited quilts at QuiltCon (#quiltcon) in 2019 and 2020, and in 2020 her More Is More quilt won 1st Place in the Appliqué category.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Tools and materials
Quilting basics
Chapter 1 Colour play
Colour harmonies and colour theory
Project 1: Irish chain
Project 2: Your rainbow in squares
Chapter 2 Improv piecing: Ruler-cut
Basics of improv and straight-edge piecing
Project 3: Sawtooth Star
Project 4: Scrap bin cleanout
Chapter 3 Improv piecing: Ruler-free
Basics of ruler-free improv
Project 5: Squash Blossom
Project 6: Large piecing
Chapter 4 Advanced improv piecing: Curves
Exploring curved improv
Project 7: Wagon wheel
Project 8: Rainbow arcs
Chapter 5 Putting it all together: Your improv voice
Creating your own quilt
Project 9: Medallion
Project 10: Combined skills
Chapter 6 Finishing your quilt
Basting
Quilting
Binding
Labels
Colouring sheets
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About Laura Loewen
Laura Loewen is the owner of Quilt Fort Company, a modern quilt artist, pattern designer, and quilt educator. Since making her first quilt as a teenager, her style has grown more experimental, and she now has over twenty years of quilting experience with a love of color and improv. Laura's award-winning quilts have been shown at galleries and museums, including the National Quilt Museum, and her work has been published in Simply Moderne, Curated Quilts, Quiltmaker, QuiltCon Magazine, and more. She has a professional background in interior design and photography, and spends her days at home raising her two boys outside Boulder, Colorado in the US.
