Curve Confidence Schoolhouse by Roberta Parsons 04/17/27

Quiltmaker, pattern designer, and barn quilt painter Roberta Parsons grew up on a multi-generational rural egg-ranch with three older brothers, a rugmaking/quilt teacher mother and a model airplane builder/pilot father. Their unspoken family philosophy was that creativity was a given! Roberta retired from the corporate world in 2019 after a long career in the retail catalog production, magazine and printing industry. She now happily resides in Payette, Idaho.

Roberta says, “This workshop is intended for all the people who see quilts or blocks with curves and decide they can’t do it because for whatever reason, someone once told them that curves are HARD unless they plan to learn applique. Curves are not hard! They’re bias, so they can get stretched out of whack and not behave if you don’t handle them tenderly. But they’re NOT HARD.

Once people are comfortable with improv curves and understand the geometry of how curves work, they can move on to the more rigid, template-based, seam- allowance-added curves without the fear of a block that ends up lumpy and misshapen.

Probably one of the most BASIC things that I’ll demonstrate and teach in this workshop is how I don’t pin, glue, clip or add seam allowance (for improv) to my curves. I’ll teach you how to recognize when you do need to make adjustments for seam allowance or use templates and WHY. From that initial demonstration sequence, we will move into exercises that you can complete at your own pace.”

The photos show a quilt made by Roberta (“Improv with Curves”), and a small table-topper made by a participant during a 2-hour workshop that Roberta taught for the Treasure Valley Quiltmakers.

More Information to Follow!