Charity Block 3 for GRMQ (Jan 2022)

 And finally, we've got block #3, the improv block. Really what I'm looking for is a piece of one color that we can cut at least a 5" square from (bigger is good too, if it's really big, we might even be able to cut multiple squares from it, so you can really make it any size you'd like).

What you will need:

Choose one color (not white/cream or black) and pull out all of your random sized scraps of that color (if you don't have a scrap stash, you can pull out fabrics and cut random pieces with scissors or a rotary cutter)

They do not have to be ironed or even rectangular. They can be cut offs from previous projects. As long as they're in that color you chose. Mostly prints, but you can throw in some solids as well.

For improv piecing, just throw out the rule book. No precision cutting (I don't even use a rule and rotary cutter most of the time, just my fabric scissors), seams can be as wide as you'd like, as long as they're at least a scant quarter inch. You can do curved piecing. Iron pieces flat by warping the fabric, if you have to. You can even flip fabric around to the other side, if the front is too bright and you want to use the more muted side. The only rules I follow are that two pieces of the same fabric can't touch and that pieces can't be too big. That's it!

I generally start by just grabbing two pieces of fabric and deciding which side to line them up on, and then sewing about a quarter inch seam along a roughly straight line. Once I have a nice little pile, I go and iron them all. You can also build strips without ironing in between, as long as you're not going to go over one of the existing seams. I highly recommend pressing open on these to eliminate bulk in the seams, there will be no seams to butt up or perfect points.

Here's my pile of pieces, roughly in pairs of two. There's some triangle shapes and lots of rectangular shapes. Then just keep building onto those. At some point you can start adding larger pieces to each other.

Don't be afraid to cut your pieces apart if you want to, before reassembling them. 

Also, when putting two pieces together that both have uneven edges, it's good to use your scissors or rotary cutter and ruler to create a straight line on one edge of one of the pieces so you have a line to sew along. Also make sure you trim off any overlaps with your scissors.

Trim the overlap with your scissors using the straight line as a guide.

And don't be afraid to use pieced scraps from previous projects to incorporate into this. The picture above shows me putting the striped piece onto a row of already pieced scraps from another project. 

I decided to stop once I had the three pieces (each one was large enough to cut at least a 5" square from), but you can keep building your sheet as large as you'd like. If I'd had more time last night, I probably would have made another "quadrant" and then pieced them all together somehow.

Do NOT trim these down. Leave them as they are. Making these three pieces took me probably half an hour and again this is a great project to do in little chunks between working on other things. Also a great scrap buster for those weird shapes and thin strips you've been hoarding (you'll get no judgement from me, I do it too). 

While this is for my current guild, the Grand Rapids Modern Quilters, anyone can make these blocks and contribute them to our charity quilts (or just make them for yourself). If you'd like to contribute them, email me and I'll give you my address to send them to (DamascSt@gmail.com). If you're in the guild, we'll have a box at every meeting that you can put your finished (or partial) blocks in, or you can drop them off with me or Cindy.