#116: Improv Scrap Play with Sherri Lynn Wood

Would you like to get more creative with your fabric scraps, but you’re just not sure how to approach it? You could be missing out on a whole heap of fun, if only you could learn how to be more receptive to their potential. My guest this week is improv quilting artist and teacher, Sherri Lynn Wood. Sherri Lynn defines the two types of creativity as ‘active’ and ‘receptive’. As garment sewers, we are used to actively creating the garments that we’ve envisioned. However, Sherri Lynn encourages us to access the second type by playing with fabric scraps and existing textiles, to see what we can create without a clear idea of the finished outcome. Whether that play becomes a quilt, a garment, or something else…

Find everything Sherri Lynn Wood is involved in, past and present, on her website. You can also follow her on Instagram @sherrilynnwood.

Find all the workshops in the Found Color series. 

Learn about Sherri Lynn’s improv quilters’ community, Bravepatch.

Eli Leon was a scholar and collector of African American quilts. 

Quilters that inspire Sherri Lynn:

Rosie Lee Tompkins 

Arbie Williams 

Sherri Lynn’s book, ‘The Improv Handbook For Modern Quilters

A Guide to Creating, Quilting & Living Courageously’, was published in 2015.

Sherri Lynn is offering a free warm-up class at the start of the series, which takes place on 6th January 2024. Sign up via her website. 

Sherri Lynn recommends that garment sewers with scraps try strip piecing:

My pieced cardigan that I was wearing during our conversation:

Suay Sew Shop in LA is a fascinating businessthat are doing wonderful things to keep textiles in use for longer. 

Listen to my episodes with improv quilt artist, Heidi Parkes:

Episode #105: A Habit of Curiosity with Heidi Parkes

Episode #106: Reframing a Relationship with Clothing with Heidi Parkes

My scrap pieced denim dungarees that I was wearing during our conversation:

Wool batting by Fairfields is Sherri Lynn’s preference if she’s buying new batting.