Monday, December 21, 2015

Doodle Quilt

Our book study group is currently on the doodle quilt in Sherri Wood's Improv Handbook. One month we simply doodled in our sketchbooks. ML led the meeting, posed thoughtful questions and kept us (ok, me) on task. Clockwise from top left: Tami, MK, 5 pages by M-N, me.

Doodle sketches from Improv book study

Tami and I discovered our first sketches were quilting designs; we had to lift the pencil to create piecing designs. She chose to explore assembling orphan blocks and other leftovers and may use a round robin/medallion format.  MK decided her striation layers called for more study. I like the Housetops (or quarter log cabins) and want to repeat them in more colors. But my doodle blocks will start with long sawteeth or triangles.

M-N had the most interesting sketches. Starting with discrete units, she connected them with theatrically motivated designs and realized she had sketched The Odyssey! Hopefully she'll write a post about it soon.

We spent another month sewing some of these ideas. I considered restarting to center more on Sherri's guidelines but finally decided to continue with one design. I cut the rectangles freehand but used the ruler on the diagonals. 

In the mean time...

Another friend is graduating college this spring and wants a quilt. Since she attends LSU I expected purple and gold but instead she likes blue and neutrals. It seemed like a good idea to make the sawteeth in her color scheme.

Blue and cream fabrics cut into long triangles

Lots and lots blue and cream/beige sawteeth. My first thought was to sew rows of teeth the length of the quilt and separate them with long tan sashing. To emphasize the fabrics, I sewed pairs of matching triangles together. In fact, sets of 6-8 triangles in the same fabrics seemed to work best.

Repeated fabrics make 
strong sets of sawtooth triangles.

Enjoy the day, Ann

10 comments:

Kaja said...

Good to have you back! This is, for me, the most interesting/exciting approach so far from the Improv Handbook and I can't wait to see how all these pieces end up.

Monica said...

Those freehand sawtooths (sawteeth?) are going to be gorgeous. That's another quilt "trope" that I love and must try someday. Have a great holiday!

Ann said...

It's good to be back, Kaja. As I read and reread this chapter it sounds more and more like row-by-row quilts or medallion quilts. I'm not sure about either of those styles. I do like the idea of making a limited number of units and then thinking, "Where does it go next?"
When I started the book, the last two chapters seemed most interesting. But I'm finding lots more to say in string quilts and in doodle quilts. Fortunately, everyone felt the same. We spent two months on each. But I'll be back with more ideas, too.

Ann said...

I'm with you, Monica. Are they sawtooths or sawteeth or sawtooth triangles? I'm feeling confused and illiterate. I'm so glad I'm finally exploring them. Enjoy the holidays!

Glen QuiltSwissy said...

LSU? I live in Baton Rouge! are you nearby?

Love those triangles.

Ann said...

Not me, but my youngest son lives there. Let's have coffee when I visit - or go to a quilt store. (It will be a while, though.)

Lisa J. said...

I love blue and neutral fabrics and I have some of those blues. Your quilt will be beautiful. I like the elongated triangles.

Ann said...

Thanks, Lisa. It's fun to discover someone else has our same fabrics, isn't it? Have a happy holiday.

Mary Marcotte said...

Love those blue and neutrals! I am so impressed with the AHIQ group. I'm beginning to think that I have a different definition of improv! Maybe I should call what I do "safe improv" since I'm pretty sure beginning with same-sized blocks is not on anyone else's agenda.
Have a great 2016!

Ann said...

I like them, too, Mary. Funny because these aren't the colors I would have chosen. We can all expand our vision, can't we?
I think we all like to classify things - even when we're much too strict. A friend of mine has decided she like using her ruler, just not stressing over the straightness of the line. Loads of people sew and then square up blocks so why not start with certain sizes?
Improv should be freeing, not a bunch more rules to follow and ideals to measure up to. Enjoy 2016 and I hope to hear from you frequently.