Posted in quilting

Improvisational Quilting with Joe

Posted on by Laura Kate

I came to learn quilting almost as an afterthought. As I started to get ideas for making fiber objects, I became aware that I lacked the skills I needed to realize them. Thus started my quilting education. There are some things about quilting I like – choosing fabrics, developing my design, adding surface details and actually doing the quilting. The things I dislike are cutting many identical pieces of fabric, squaring up blocks and especially matching corners.

So naturally I am drawn to improvisational piecing. Joe Cunningham (aka Joe the Quilter) and his process were a revelation to me. He offers the promise of freedom. Freedom from all the dull parts of quilting, which leaves more time for fun. The quilt featured at the top of my post is one of his. His website can be found here:

http://www.joethequilter.com/aboutjoe.html

Joe Cunningham has been a professional quilter since 1979. His philosophy is unique. He doesn’t use patterns. He designs out of his head, adjusting things as he goes along. He has no specific end in mind. He explains that as the quilt approaches the finish, he finds out what it will look like. He practices randomness, chance and serendipity. To this end, his method relies on chance from the first cut.

As an example, the class I took with Joe featured a quilt called “Rock the Block.” Here is how to make it:

Step 1: Choose three fabrics. Include one big print. The other two can be prints that don’t necessarily go with the big print. Also choose a solid color that you will cut into narrow strips, which Joe called “sticks.”

Step 2. Cut out a square. It doesn’t need to be perfect, but does need to be bigger than 7 inches.

Step 3. Cut off a corner.

Step 4: Cut out a triangle from one of the other fabrics. Sew it to the square at the cut edge.

Step 5: Cut through the square, across both pieces of fabric.

Step 6: Sew in a stick.

Step 7: Press seams open and trim the block with a 6 and 1/2 inch square ruler.

Repeat steps 2 through 7 until you have enough blocks for the size quilt you want to make. Use all the different combinations of your three fabrics. Your blocks might look like these.

Or they may look entirely un-like these!

Now the fun begins. Lay out your blocks in rows. Move them around, arranging the blocks until they look “pleasing to you.” Lacking a design wall, I laid mine on the floor.

This arrangement is pleasing to me.

So far, this has been painless. Nay, it has been truly pleasurable. I plan to add more yellow blocks around all sides. Some of them will have patterned fabric crumbs and a few “sticks” sewn into them. Some may not.

While I acknowledge there will be corners to sew, I plan to adopt a laisser-faire attitude about the matching part. If this sort of design process is intriguing to you, I suggest you check out Joe the Quilter’s website to see more of his quilts.

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Author:

One of six children, I was raised by a busy mom, who instilled in me a love of fabric. Though I learned to sew and knit at a young age, it was the arrival of my first grandchild that pushed me into action. A long-time knitter, I am now ready to explore all things fiber.

14 thoughts on “Improvisational Quilting with Joe”

  2. I love this. The randomness is wonderful. I tried quilting and cannot make corners that match to save my life. I wish I could do this in knitting.

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    1. It’s fun. Feels kinda like shuffling cards. I may feel differently when I start sewing together all those blocks. There’s no permanent escape from matching corners in the quilt world.

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  5. Laura, this method is a take off from crazy patch blocks which have existed since quilting began in the USA. The different part is using the sticks which I like. I am in the process of sewing crazy patches using the left over scraps from sewing almost 200 masks. I embroidered floral designs onto muslin and cut the fabric into 6 inch squares then cut off one corner giving me five sides which I then sew around until I have a nine inch block. I need 21 blocks and I have 19 finished. I had to quit because my sewing room got too hot.

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    1. That’s great. I love to hear about your process. It may interest you to hear that Joe started his career by studying old quilts. His process is always improvisational.

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  6. Hi Laura, I tried to open Joe Cunningham’s blog but could not get in. I am having trouble opening email address embedded into another email.  I think my computer needs to go to Computer ER for a tuneup. Have fun with your piecing.  Love MOM

    I

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