Improv Piecing and Quilting? Yes, Please!

Published: Thu, 03/09/17

Improv Piecing and Quilting
Hi ,

Have you ever tried improvisational piecing? Last week I received an awesome quilt from my quilting friend Vicki Holloway. Vicki pieced this cute quilt and sent it to me for quilting!


This is what I love about collaborating with other quilters: I get to play with quilts I might never have made myself.

It's sometimes challenging to decide on a quilting design for these quilts because I don't want to mess up a beautiful quilt with a design that's either too busy or too dull for the top. 

With Vicki's quilt however, I knew how I wanted to quilt this quilt from the first photo she sent me! I decided to accent the orange pieces with flowing orange lines and fill in the gaps with Microstippling and Cat Hairball Filler. Come see how I quilted this improv quilt with improv quilting!
Piecing the Patchwork Tulip
Patchwork Tulip Quilt Block
This month is all about patchwork as we stitch small shapes together to create this cute Patchwork Tulip Block.

Click Here to find the pattern for Block #3.

Just like our Blooming Nine Patch quilt block, there are a lot of little pieces in this block. Make sure to cut carefully and label your pieces so you don't get confused. It also helps to piece the block together in units from the vase to the stem to the flower.


Did your block finish the right size? You can find the finished size on page 7 of the pattern. Even if it didn't come out exactly this size, that's okay. We're going to trim the blocks down before piecing them together with our Quilt As You Go technique so it's no big deal if your block doesn't measure exactly the right size.

Before we can connect the first three blocks together, we need to quilt it. Next Monday I'll share a new video on how to quilt this block using a variety of beautiful designs you can quilt with regular free motion quilting and ruler foot quilting.
Longarm Quilting with Julie Persinger
Julie Persinger
This week I have an awesome interview with Julie Persinger talking all about running a longarm quilting business.

I've been fascinated about longarm businesses for a long time and it's great to hear Julie's perspective and how she got into machine quilting after being a hand quilter for many years.

Julie doesn't have a website or blog, but you can find her right here on Instagram. Just message her through the Instagram app if you're interested learning more about her longarm quilting services.

We talk about a lot of things in this interview from how Julie began longarm quilting, how she balances that work with homeschooling her kids, and how she prices her services. I loved learning about Julie and hearing her perspective as a longarm quilter.

Julie got back into quilting after her son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and was given a quilt from Project Linus. This quilt was so comforting and helpful to her family during a difficult time that she wanted to make quilts to donate as well. Click Here to learn about Project Linus.


I've also finally gotten my act together and linked up all the podcasts in one easy to find place. You can check out all the podcasts posted so far and be able to listen to all the episodes from one convenient player. Click Here to find LeahDay.com/Podcast

That's it for this week. Remember it's never too late to join the Machine Quilting Block Party and learn how to piece and machine quilt a new block every month with us. Its a great way to build new skills and make a beautiful quilt at the same time!

Let's go quilt,

Leah Day