Improv That Block: Churn Dash

4-hrs / All Levels

an IMPROV QUILT-A-LONG from the heart

Where tradition meets innovation, with a restorative dose of loving acceptance!

This short format, improv patchwork, quilt-along is designed to get your guild members improvising and flow-sewing in fresh and surprising ways from your head, heart and hands.

A playful, contemplative exploration of the Churn Dash quilt block. This unique immersive improv quilt-along, includes

90 min ruler-free piecing demo & brainstorming session identifying key construction pivot points of the block, and ideas for pattern for variations. (head)
15 min break
15 min in-depth pattern specific, visualization/ centering meditation. (heart)
60 min of flow-sewing (hands)
30 min Q&A, trouble shooting & composition ideas.
30 min wrap-up and sharing session

Churn Dash, sometimes called Monkey Wrench or Hole In The Barn Door, is a very old nine-patch quilt block pattern, originating between 1800 and 1849. It has been inspiring quilters for over 200 years! Are you ready to rediscover the Churn Dash quilt block and make it new?

Skills & Techniques

Basic ruler & template free piecing techniques.
Darting fixes on and across the seam when patchwork doesn’t lie flat.
Enjoy connecting with abstract classic blocks to discover fresh new patterns that are relevant to you.
Experience creative flow through play, and relinquishing control of outcomes.
Practice spontaneous piecing and loving acceptance of outcomes.
Improvise in your comfort zone.
Enjoy celebrating “mistakes” letting go of perfection.
Experience the freedom of flow sewing without an end goal.
Harness your presence, emotion energy and truth, through centering before you sew.
Connect with color intuitively and employ it in meaningful and surprising ways.
Learn composition strategies and order of sewing, utilizing filler to equalize different size sections.
Evaluate your surprises, discoveries, satisfactions and overcome challenges, in a non-judgmental format.

Materials

Bring scraps of all sizes and colors in a variety of values, neutrals, shades, tints, brights. I recommend 50% solids so the focus stays on the patterns you make and not on the prints, but ultimately it is your choice. There is no fixed amount needed. It all depends on your personal scale, tempo, and size goals.
Resist the urge to coordinate or “match” your fabric selections with a focus fabric, or with a rigid, predetermined colorway.
Sustainable sewing practices such as shopping your stash and utilizing found materials is encouraged. Note on washing: If my intention is to wash a quilt made from up-cycled materials, I pre-wash and dry all my materials as I would the finished quilt.
It’s improv! You will learn something no matter what materials you decide to work with.