We’re really excited to announce a new program for VMQG, a Vancouver themed Improv Sampler.
This will be in addition to the Block Lotto and the Round Robin, and we’d love it if you’d play along. We encourage you all to try it for a month or two even if you don’t think improv is your style. We really hope that the Vancouver Improv Sampler will help us all to grow in our improv and our creativity!
HERE’s how it’ll work –
Every month there will be a new image to be inspired by. The images are of different landmarks or sights in Vancouver and the general area. We’ll show you the picture at the meeting, and we’ll post it on the guild website.Â
You’ll look at the image and see what inspires you about it. The images are carefully selected to have a variety of shapes to play with as the year goes on, and the complication level will increase a little bit as well as we all build comfort with improv. You might pick up the large shape, or you might focus on a small detail and play with it. It’s your project, and it’s up to you!
So yes, this is your project. You’ll be making blocks each month and keeping them, but we’re going to ask you to bring them to meetings as we go along. We’re going to put up a second design wall next to the Block Lotto, and we’d like you to bring in your blocks to show them off by putting them up on the wall every month. We think that’ll be a good way to learn from each other throughout the year, and maybe to inspire others to participate too.Â
This is YOUR project, but we’re also intending it to be a sampler of sorts. Feel free to use whatever techniques you’d like, but keep in mind that in the end, the blocks will all go together. To aid in that, and also to make it easier to display them every month, we’re going to suggest making 12.5″ unfinished blocks. There may be some months where you aren’t inspired to make a square block, so we suggest blocks that are divisible by 6″ for those months. That means you might make two blocks that are 6.5″ x 12.5″ that month instead, or one block that is 6.5″ x 24.5″, and that’s fine.
Before you get going on the sampler, you might want to think a bit about what fabrics you use, and if you’re going to continue to use the same fabrics all year long. If you’re feeling lost about what fabrics to choose, Amy at Diary of a Quilter and Angie at GnomeAngel both have great blog posts about where to start when choosing fabrics for a long term project (a quilting bee and a sampler, respectively). It’s going to be so interesting to see what everyone’s colour and fabric choices are, and how different landmarks can be expressed through different prints and colours.
Oh, and one more thing – this isn’t like the Round Robin, where other people are counting on you, so you can’t skip a month or take a break. For the Improv Sampler, you can do whatever you want. If you’re not interested one month, skip it. If you’re super inspired next month, make two blocks. If you don’t have time until your summer vacation and want to catch up then, go for it and make 6 blocks in one month. The important thing is that you have fun!Â
Month 1 – construction cranes lit up with holiday lights
Month 3 – the Museum of Anthropology
Month 4 – the Lions Gate Bridge