Improv Jolly Roger strip quilt block

Since February, I’ve been working on the 2023 Quilters Playcation Adventure Sew Along—a Treasure map. I’ve designed both of the last two blocks. This month Cheryl Arkison’s prompt was a skull warning of danger. She demonstrated a skull for the large version she’s designing but hasn’t designed one yet for the small abstract version which is the quilt I’m making. So I took her ideas and ran with it.

I decided that rather than make just a skull, I’d make an improv Jolly Roger flag. My strips are narrow so I knew I’d need to place the crossed bones beside the skull rather than below it. Looking at images for inspiration, I kept seeing Jolly Rogers with the skull wearing a bandana. Not only does that add a pop of color, it adds some humor. Humor is definitely something I want to include in my Pirate Treasure Map.

Here is my little sketch planning out the structure of the block. In the end, I improvised on the sketch. But it was good to have a plan of construction.

Last month the prompt was a Booby Trap. Cheryl designed two traps that were based on Hollywood blockbusters and were full of knives. I decided to go with a low tech booby trap you could dig on a desert island with little or no tools. My block is a hole in the ground covered with greens. If an intruder fell in, it might break a leg. But more likely an animal would fall in and might provide a couple dinners! A win no make how you look at it!

Booby Trap block

Here are all the strips together. I’m need to make another one or two ocean blocks. They were the first blocks and the quilt strips have gotten longer as this project has progressed.

I’m thinking about designing a compass for my next strip. Cheryl is taking August off, so it’s good time to try a prompt of my own!

Treasure Map - 2023 Quilters Playcation Adventure Sewalong at 3 month

I’m in for another year of fun sewing along with Cheryl Arkison’s 2023 Quilters Playcation Adventure Sewalong which she is offering free on YouTube. Last year Cheryl gave us an improv block once a week. This year it’s a block a month with a theme: A treasure map. I’m thinking along the lines of a pirate treasure map, but it might just be a map to find a treasure. Cheryl is offering two versions, a more realistic version and a smaller abstract one. I chose the smaller abstract option.

April is the third month of the map. So far we have:

• Ocean waves

• Footprints in the sand

• A volcano

I chose to make my volcano strip a bit of a story in itself. It goes from healthy flora, to dead flowers, to the lava spewing volcano, to lava traveling over a scorched landscape and finally lava dropping into the ocean. I might redo the 3rd block from the right, adding another bright orange flow adjacent to the cooling lava. I think that’s a good idea.

And a little while later…Here’s the re-do. I think it’s definitely an improvement. That’s the great thing about improv. You can just make another cut (or several cuts) if there is something you want to change!

What’s coming next? We’ve been told there will be palm trees, and eventually there will be a treasure, or at least the something marking the location of the treasure, but we don’t really know. It’s an adventure after all! It’s not too late to join the fun—check the link above for the three 2023 videos that Cheryl has done.