Take a bag of scraps and some happy thoughts…

I’ve got lots to do, deadlines to meet, samples to make, bags to pack, so what to do first? Why, how about a new little quilt that I can use as a class sample for this week’s Happy Scrappy Improv workshop in Santa Barbara?

Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Don’t worry about the placemat, table runner, wall hanging, throw quilt combo that needs making!

Thinking about my trip, I chose hot pinks, reds, oranges, a bit of yellow and some green and started making blocks and stitching them together. Improv nine patches, log cabins, cross blocks, gentle curves. My inspiration was the Californian Poppy. Did you guess?

Time to quilt my piece. Lots of straight lines, a few spirals, a touch of hand embroidery… outer narrow border strip and some binding…

And this is what I made!Yes, three sides are straight and the bottom ends where it ended!

Organic curves…Straight line spiral…Round spiral in 12 weight thread, thread ends buried…Six in total!Bits coming down from the tree during my photo shoot?

Let’s embrace them!A beauty shot?Enough of that. You said there was some embroidery?And what was that with the narrow purple border?Nice full binding, stitched on at 1/4″… ?

Would I do a few things differently next time? Of course! That’s half the fun of improvisational piecing to me. Let’s just try and see what happens 🙂

Lots of happy thoughts while I made this one. I’m looking forward to my trip out west to visit the members of the Coastal Quilters Guild.

Time to pack my sandals and sunscreen.