Project Improv: Not as easy as I thought

I've done what I think is my charity block for Project Improv, but I'm not sure yet. I signed up for the Red/Acqua combo and at first I wasn't sure if my fabric choices were "red" enough. Now I'm not sure I'm happy with how simple the block turned out compared to the ones other people have posted. So while I like the block and will use it somewhere, I think I will play around some more before sending this off to Jacquie for the charity quilt. Here are some things I learned while making this one though:

• Improvising can take longer than working from a pattern


• Some traditional quilt rules are still good, like pressing your seams to the dark if you can. I can see from my picture that this block needs to be pressed some more


• A quarter inch seam is not always necessary. If you aren't matching seams, then don't worrry about it.

And don't tell the quilt police but I used whatever thread was already threaded on the machine. How's that for wild and crazy? It sort of reminds me of the "quilts" my grandmother used to make--she would cover old blankets with whatever scraps she had on hand. Now they call them utilitarian quilts. And she wouldn't have dreamed of matching the thread to the fabric color or trying to use a neutral color. She just wanted to get it done and keep her family warm.