All 52 Improv Quilt Blocks Sewn Together!
Cheryl Arkison created and hosted a year-long sew along for 2022. Each week she designed a new improv quilt block and demonstrated making it in an Instagram live on Tuesday.
At the beginning of the year she sketched out a number of blocks that she might use. We definitely made some of those designs. But just as often, something in her life or something that happened during the week would be the inspiration for that week’s block.
There is a Ukrainian tryzub which she designed when war broke out and another block showing solidarity for folks affected by flooding from monsoons. There are fireworks for a Canadian holiday (and the US Independence Day). There is a Strong Woman like the statue on Wall Street—though mine is a grandmother welcoming all with open arms. There are lakes and hills, leaves and a glacier and ripples on the water. There is sunshine and a smile. A winter cap called a toque, a fireplace and a cozy looking home. There is a spiderweb, and a section of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco. A heart and a gnome and an arrow. The last block was an American Sign Language
Thank You” sign (the bottom left corner block), her thanks to us for playing along all year, but really it is we who should be thanking her for all her hard work!
I managed to get all 52 blocks into this quilt top. I organized the blocks in columns by their widths and added strips of fabric to the smaller blocks as needed. There was one very large block comprised of a set of 4 log cabin blocks that just didn’t fit anywhere. I cut that block down to fill a gap in a row. Two of the log cabin sections are intact, while only a fraction of the other two remain.
This photo is a bit blurry in places because I took the picture with the quilt lying on the floor. It looks fine on Instagram but not great here. Once it’s been quilted I’ll post another photo of it hanging up properly.
If you want to see what other folks have made, check out the hashtags #qpadventuresewalong and #quiltersplaycation on Instagram. My quilt is scrapy, but there are some truly spectacular quilts made from carefully curated color/fabric combinations. Check them out!