Cindy Grisdela and I met through SAQA—the Studio Art Quilt Association. We are both on the Special Events Committee which helps organize the SAQA annual conference. So, while she is on the far east coast and I am on the far west coast, we have gotten to know each via tele-conferencing.
I have long admired Cindy’s work for its wonderful texture and color, and when Cindy gave me a ride from Philadelphia to Delaware after last year’ SAQA conference, I got to personally know the artist behind the stitches. Cindy is thoughtful and sincere, and it shows in her work.
I am honored to review Cindy’s new book Artful Improv published by C&T Publishing.
Here are my ten most favorite things about this book.
1. Cindy is a master quilter. She is a stitching wizard on the domestic machine.
2. Color. Color. Color. Cindy’s use of color is inspirational and truly unique to her work.
3. We both like scraps. If you are bit maker like me, you will love Cindy’s tenacious use of scraps. It is truly inspiring.
4. She has good advice about working intuitively. I don’t think I have seen that before.
5. As the book title indicates, Cindy is a master at improvisational piecing. If you want to know more about this topic, you will want to read Cindy’s book.
6. She has great tips for tackling curved piecing which I know many of you are interested in exploring.
7. Cindy’s work is grounded in traditional quilt making which makes us sisters of sorts.
8. She breaks down improv piecing into do-able chunks. I am an improv piecer myself, and I learned several new tricks from Cindy’s book.
9. Her hand stitching is absolutely yummy. I am a machine girl, but Cindy inspires me to think about getting my thimble out.
10. Cindy is an excellent teacher. I always say if the student’s work is amazing, you know the teacher is doing her job. Check out this piece by Cindy’s student Libby Samuel. LOVE.
You can win her book here! Just leave a comment about what you think you could learn from Artful Improv, and I will select a lucky winner at the end of this blog tour. That means you have until midnight AK time on October 19th to comment. I will be in China, so if there is a slight delay on my end, I hope you will understand.
If you want the book now, you can have it. It is for sale on Cindy’s website , at C&T Publishing, and Amazon .
And if you want to follow along and see what others have to say about Cindy’s book you can by visiting the following stops on her blog book tour. Each blog post is an opportunity for you to win her book.
October 10: C&T Publishing
October 11: Maria Shell
October 12: Rayna Gillman
October 13: Yvonne Fuchs
October 14: Sujata Shah
October 17: Heather Kojan
October 18: Generation Q Magazine
October 19: Cindy Grisdela
I think that I would like ot have this book because all of the quilts are eye candy!
Looking forward to getting this book. I’ve long been an admirer of Cindy’s work ( and yours!). I’d like to learn some new tips on curved piecing. Great review!
I love Cindy’s work too! It is so rich in color.
Thank you Debbie–there’s a lot to learn about curved piecing in the book.
I would love to read and see examples of how Cindy thinks about the quilting she uses in her quilts.
Cindy’s quilting is amazing!
I would love to learn more about improv piecing! Love the process but what I know and do is mostly self-taught.
Jane- Cindy has some great tips on improv piecing. I think we all have our own self taught methods, but can always learn something new from another quilter.
Jane–improv piecing is so much fun because there’s always something new to explore! Hopefully some of my tips will be helpful to you.
Nicely organized summary of Cindy’s book.
Thanks for the information and the quilt samples.
It looks like a winner! Love her work.
I love her work too!
Thanks Elaine–Maria did a great job of putting it all together!
I love improvisational piecing but am stuck in a rut doing the same thing. I need more ideas and inspiration. Her colors are great!
I think Cindy’s book could get you out of that rut!
Julie – Artful Improv has lots of ideas and inspiration for you to apply to what you’re already doing!
I recently started my first improvisational series, so I’m sure Cindy’s book would give me some helpful guidance.
Good for you! A new series is always exciting.
Kay, an improv series is so much fun! The book has lots of tips about asking “what if” questions that help you decide what to do next.
I think I could learn more about using my scrap collection if I had this book.
I am always amazed at all the differnt ways quilters organize and use their scraps!
Vickie–my improv style is just the thing to help you put a dent in your scraps!
I have long admired Cindy’s style and can’t wait to get my hands on this book!
It’s been on my Amazon wish list for a while…..Love improv & love color! What’s not to like about this book!!!!!
I totally agree Cindy!
Thank you Cindy–that’s a great thought–improv and color are my two favorite things too!
Looks like a wonderful book! Have fun in China!
It is a great book to have in your collection. Thank you Heather!
Thanks Heather! I’m looking forward to hearing about Maria’s trip to China too–so exciting.
I love Cindy’s use of color and her improv style of design. I look forward to her book and this chance to win a copy. Linda H.
Cindy’s color use and design are very distinctive. I always recognize her work!
Color and improv are a great combination, Linda–thanks!
I had the good fortune to meet Cindy at a Craft show in Atlanta and get a nice close up of her quilts! They are awesome – I love how she quilts them – something I really need help with on my creations! mumbird3(at)gmail(dot)com
I love that Cindy does craft shows. She represents quilters in a fine way.
Allison–thanks for remembering me from Atlanta. I really enjoy doing that show and sharing the idea that quilts are art generally. There’s a whole section in the book with tips about improving your machine quilting–I hope it’s helpful!
I’m an admirer of Cindy’s work and I’m sure I could learn a thing or two from her book.
I totally agree Linda!
Thank you Linda. I think there are nuggets in the book that can inspire quilters at any stage of their creative journey.
I’m an improv scrappy quilter myself, and I love Cindy’s work. Her book looks great, and I would love reading more about her process and enjoy looking at her colorful quilts.
Those are all great reasons to get this book!
I’m an admirer of your work too pennylanequilts! C&T did a great job with the quilt images and I’m happy to share my process!
Does she dye her own fabric? Love the rich colors!
I believe Cindy uses a lot of Cherrywood fabrics. She will be checking the comments here and I am sure she will get back to you with a complete answer. Thank you for commenting Diane!
Thank you so much, Diane. I don’t dye my own fabrics–that’s not one of my skills, unfortunately! I do use hand-dyed fabrics in my work, though, mostly from Cherrywood Fabrics. I highly recommend them!
What can I learn from Artful Improv? Everything!
I would love to see you give improv a try. I am sure the results would be wonderful.
Improv is a lot of fun and there’s always something new to explore!
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Maria, Thank you so much for such a great post on Artful Improv! It’s my hope that this book offers an accessible way to approach improv quilting and that each person can take something to add to their own repertoire to make wonderful original quilts.
It is a great book and an honor to share it with my readers!
One of my first art quilts with free motion stitching was inspired by Cindy’s “marbles”, which I found on Pinterest a couple years ago and loved! She is inspirational! I love to look at the delightful color combinations as I try to enrich my own knowledge of how colors work together.
That is a great story Debra. Thank you for sharing it.
I love that story too, Debra and I’m so glad you’ve found inspiration in my work! It’s all about the colors and textures. “Marbles” is still a favorite of mine!
Such fabulous colors! I would like to see how to work improv piecing, which I love, into an overall plan.
This book would be great for you Nancy!
I always start with the color and go from there!
I love Cindy’s work and have been following her for years. Would love to add this book to my library. Especially love her use of color set in to a solid background to set it off.
Cindy has a lot of fans. It is great that we can now have her book!
Thank you Linda and I hope you enjoy the book!
It looks like Cindy speaks in motion and color. Love it!
I totally agree!
I love that idea, Colleen–speaking in motion and color is exactly what I do!
Love Cindy’s work!
Looking forward to the book.
Thank you Lori for stopping by. It is super fun to hear all the great comments.
Thank you Lori–I hope you enjoy the book and get inspiration from it!
Love her work and would hope to learn more about improv piecing and her free motion quilting.
Yes. The free motion quilting is a bonus!
This is the book for improv design and free motion quilting, Lois! I hope you’ll enjoy it!
I am new to Cindy’s work, but seeing it and knowing she uses a domestic machine gives me hope. Her colors and shapes invite me to try new things. I’ve been shy to step outside the color/shape box, but she inspires me. Thanks so much for posting her work!!
Lennie- What a great comment. Thank you!
Thank you for your kind words Lennie–I hope the book will help you try something new!
I love improve but have no confidence I can do it, I think the book would enable me…..I need an enabler 😊
Caltexgal@aol.com
We all need an enable from time to time!
There’s lots of guidance and encouragement to help you along the way in Artful Improv!
I love Cindy’s use of bright colors. The book will be a great inspiration for new work.
I love the way Cindy uses color. It is very fresh.
Color is one of my favorite things and I hope you’ll find some inspiration in the book.
I always want to do more improve piecing but I get nervous when it is time to start. I need someone to give me the guiding steps to get going.
Ann–This is the book for you!
Ann–this is the book I wish I’d had when I first started doing improv! I hope it will be helpful for you.
From the pix you provided, looks like there’s a lot to love here. Gorgeous colors, incredibly appealing designs. I’D love to have some insight into her whole process.
Yes. The quilt images in the book are awesome!
Nancy–C&T did a great job with the photography and I’m really pleased that the color and design showed through so well.
I need to learn more about improv and curved piecing. I have lots of small hand-dyed scraps from a friend that I would love to use in a wall hanging.
Oh. Those small piece would be a perfect pairing with Cindy’s book!
Scraps are the way to go, Marilyn!
I would learn more color choices from Cindy’s book.. Also can’t wait to get my hands on your book too when it comes out!! China is so great have fun !!
Thank you Penny. Cindy is a color expert. I have been watching Youtube videos on China while I stitch. I am so excited!
Penny–there’s always more to explore with color, and I hope you’ll see some new ways of thinking about it in the book.
Wow the patterns are exciting with all that color, love it. I want to learn to quilt like that.
I think we all want to quilt like that!
Thank you Donna! It takes a little practice, but so worth it!
I’d love to learn more about improv, and I know my machine quilting could use some help! Thanks for the chance to win this book!
Sharon, I think you would really enjoy it–both the improv and the quilting!
A chance to work more intuitively and more improvisationally from a master teacher — just what I could wish for.
Vicky. That is a perfect way to describe it.
Maria I look forward to your pictures from China and hearing about what inspired you.
I’m not a scrap person, so clearly I could learn something along those lines. Might inspire me to try something new.
I would love to see what you could do with scraps Kathie!
Maybe letting go of structure.
That is really something to think about. I like letting go, but I also like structure!
I really like Cindy’s work. As a fairly linear thinker, I think I’d learn a lot from her book!
I think some of the best quilters possess both qualities. They are linear, but they also let go. Controlled Chaos!
My family laughs that I save my scraps, sort them and play with them. What I could learn from the book is to let them go and be free in a quilt of their own! My problem is that I want to organize them and have a hard time with random.!
I am always happy when my scraps find a home in a quilt. I think Cindy’s book could really help you let go!
I have been following Cindy for a while and am so excited she is sharing her knowledge and art in a book!
I know! Having Cindy’s work in a book is awesome.
Everything you mentioned about this book makes it sound like the perfect book for me. I adore modern quilting and everything improv. One thing I’d like to be more skilled at is hand stitching and curved piecing. I know I could be inspired by Cindy’s work and photos to get myself going in that direction!
Curved piecing is super fun once you get the hang of it.
I’ve long been a fan of Cindy’s work and I’m looking forward to reading her book, especially the creative thinking bits.
Creative thinking bits. I like that!
I would love to learn more about working improvisationally and intuitively and allow myself not to think so much! Cindy’s use of color and her machine quilting are quite inspirational. I would love, love, love to win her book!
Judy–thanks for the great comments. I think all the commentors agree with you!
I really look forward to this book and learning how to turn the traditional into the improv.
Nan, one of my favorite things to do is piece traditional quilt blocks improv style. It is harder than you would think!
I would be a total newbie to this style of piecing and quilting but I absolutely love it. Her use of colour especially!
I agree Deborah. Cindy’s use of creative piecing plus the quilting really makes her quilts shine.
I love the color but I’m sure I could learn how to mix curves and straight lines.
Curves and straight lines! Yes. That is tricky.
Just Awesom…so much to learn
I agree! Marty, that is one of the things I love about quilting. There is always something new to learn.
Can’t wait to see her book! Love the red piece you showed in your blog!
Alice- I love that piece too!
I am a improv piecer and I am always interested in seeing how other improv piecers do their thing.
Patty- We do learn so much from how others do things. Good point!
I can’t pick one thing that I would learn. Looks like there is a lot — curves, color, putting it all together, etc.
Shelly, That is the great thing about this book–It is comprehensive!
I could use tips on improvisational piecing.
There are some tips and tricks to improv. I know Cindy has some good ones.
I have never done improv piecing, but would like to try and this book looks like to would be very beneficial. Thanks for sharing about the book and for the chance to win a copy
You are welcome Donna. Thank you for stopping by!
I love her colors and quilting and hope to study the book. Quilting designs are always a challenge for me.
Cindy has the best quilting designs!