Little Boxes—Silver Lake, Kansas 2010
45H x 45W

Artist Statement—I grew up outside the small rural town of Silver Lake, Kansas, and I wanted nothing more than to travel as far away from that podunk place as I could go. Little Boxes is based on the Log Cabin block and is inspired by the folk song of the same name.
 Many years later, a student and I were discussing this quilt, when she pointed out that I was not making a log cabin block because after attaching three strips of fabric of the same color to three sides of the quilt block, I switched directions and added three strips of fabric of the same but different color to a different selection of three sides. Can you see it?

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day,” - Edith Lovejoy Pierce

To kick off your 2024 quilting year, I hope you will join me for the lots of bang for your buck $30 Improv for Everyone—Half Circles & Lines on Saturday, January 6, 2024 from 12 NOON-4PM East Coast time. This is a live workshop that will be recorded and made available to all students who sign up.

This is the third workshop in what I am calling the Improv for Everyone series. Since I have been teaching virtually, I have experimented with different formats, subject matters, schedules, and the like. Over time, I have settled on two basic formats. My favorite is the month long class. We meet once a month for four three hour sessions. These classes are capped at 36 students. I love this format as it gives everyone plenty of time to absorb new information AND create a quilt.

I also offer weekend intensives which are two four hour sessions held on a Saturday and Sunday. Because the action happens quickly over the course of a 48 hour period, there is less time for student feedback. This format works well for quilters who work during the week, want total immersion for a short period of time, and are interested in trying out one of my classes without making a huge commitment. 

At some point, I realized there are students out there in the quiltiverse who might want a TASTE of what one of my workshops is like for a super reasonable price. Improv for Everyone is my attempt to meet that demand. Improv for Everyone is a four hour virtual workshop that features a specific improv unit. I share my history with the unit, demo how to make the unit as well as cover basic improv piecing information and answer all questions to the best of my ability.

Half Circles & Lines is my third Improv for Everyone workshop. In 2022, I taught Canyons and Caves, which is based on the modified Log Cabin block featured at the top of this newsletter. This past summer, I taught Pieced Pods which was a surprise hit. So many great quilts have come from that class and that unit!

Leafy Pods by Jane Beatty

I plan to offer an Improv for Everyone workshop twice a year in January and July-ish. The topic will always be an improv pieced unit that I am intrigued by and want to explore. And that is why we will be exploring the topic Half Circles & Lines on January 6, 2024. 

The half circle is a good unit that can be stacked or combined with other half circles to build more complex units. And then once you add line, well, as I like to say To Infinity and Beyond—the possibilities are endless! 

This workshop will be recorded and all students will have access to that recording for approximately six months. 

Here are the final details. Just follow this link to sign up. 

Improv for Everyone—Half Circles & Lines
January 6, 2024
12NOON-4PM EST

I hope to start my New Year by seeing you in class!

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Round & Round 
Four Three Hour Sessions 6 PM—9 P EST
January 24 & 31 and February 7 & 14, 2024

This workshop is all about playing with concepts of radial symmetry within the classic medallion quilt structure. Students will learn about medallions and how many cultures use this structure in their societies, how to piece improv units so that they are approximately the same size and will fit together to form a border, how to do intuitive math, and how to create asymmetrical symmetry, while stitching a super satisfying medallion masterpiece.

Plaidtastic Plaids 
Mancuso Quiltfest Virtual Schoolhouse #7

Three Hour Workshop
12PM - 3PM EST
Saturday, January 27th

Learn all about cutting and piecing improvisational plaids in this fun and informative workshop. In addition to exploring the basics of cutting and piecing plaids, students will also learn how to incorporate fussy cut prints into their plaids and how to design and compose with plaids. 

STUDIO SNAPSHOT
A messy floor means there is serious action happening on the design wall! There is no time to sweep when the stitching is good. 

Happy New Year to All!

Maria

PS—The folk song Little Boxes was written by Malvina Reynolds in 1962 and made popular by her friend Pete Seeger in 1963. You can listen here.