Improv quilts Building confidence in color and technique

Loewen encourages readers to throw out the quilting rule book in this creative take on the craft. The projects start out relatively structured, limiting improvisation to color selection. For instance, Loewen shares how to make an Irish chain quilt by cutting 125 fabric squares of various colors and feeling out where to place each of them in the chain design. Next, she incorporates the "ruler-cut piecing" technique, showing how to construct a ramshackle sawtooth star quilt by sewing half-square triangles at imperfect angles and trimming the lopsided edges against a ruler. Additional techniques are even more distinctive, including "wonky log cabin" blocks made from irregularly sized rectangles and half-square triangles with curved lines instead of straight diagonals. The quilts become more impressive the farther they stray from the neat geometry of traditional quilts. The "scrap-bin cleanout" quilt involves assembling bits of leftover fabric in an elaborate collage of rectangles, while the "rainbow arcs" project juxtaposes deliberately lopsided arcs of color with sawtooth blocks that resemble the jagged shapes used to emphasize comic book punches. The asymmetrical designs offer a refreshing departure from standard quilting fare, and an extensive section on color theory will aid readers in creating harmonious compositions from their fabric scraps. This is sure to get quilters' creative juices flowing. (Jan.)