2024 Session 4
Instructors
April 14 – April 19, 2024
Priscilla Bianchi
Ethnic Waves Improv: Art Quilting and Design Workshop
Over time my artistic work has evolved and so has this workshop. More freedom, more abstraction, more improv, and much more play! This workshop introduces students to elements and principles of design, and explores a variety of ways to create curves, waves, and circles. All these art quilting techniques will enrich the students’ repertoire and provide the flexibility an artist needs to create original, innovative work. Students will be encouraged to experiment and stretch out of their comfort zones in order to express themselves in their own way. The kit of assorted hand-woven Guatemalan textiles (provided in class) is the basis to create a strikingly attractive design with color, movement, texture, rhythm and ethnic flare!
Level: Confident Beginner to Advanced
Sandra Bruce
Material Matrix
Material Matrix is a technique that uses piecing (no fusing here!) to interpret a gridded image made up of 2-inch squares. Students will create “Alight” to learn a new way of “seeing” and also sharpen their piecing skills. Topics covered in this workshop include curved piecing, how to grid your own photo, what makes a good image for this technique, color/value/composition, and how to make a matching binding. If you are looking for a new challenge and love piecing, you will enjoy this workshop. Kit fee: $5.
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Vicki Conley
Designing from Photo to Imagination
You will learn how to simplify and combine photos into a graphic design both the old-fashioned way with tracing paper and with apps on the iPad. You will learn my turned edge machine piecing technique using Floriani Stitch n Wash stabilizer. Cutting apart the stabilizer to use as templates you will see how easy it is to turn the edges with glue stick. It is left in the finished piece giving nice body to the art quilt. You will also learn my fussy piecing technique using a gradation fabric. You can construct either a landscape or an animal. Bring plenty of photos. $7.00 kit fee for stabilizer.
Level: All
Josephine de la Cruz Keasler
Independent Study
Josephine de la Cruz Keasler is a Judy Niemeyer and Fiberworks Certified Instructor and an Authorized Jacqueline de Jonge Instructor. Did you begin a Judy Niemeyer or Jacqueline de Jonge quilt, put it away, and now don’t know where to start to keep going and complete the project? This is the perfect class for you. Josephine can help you get back on track. She is also a certified Fiberworks instructor if you have a Laura Heine design that you purchased and haven’t started or finished. Josephine is an experienced teacher and will help you problem solve your project.
Level: All
Kathy Doughty
Spider Webs
Spider Webs quilts are a traditional format that transforms modern when made with interesting contrasting fabric combinations. The outcome captures and holds our attention in a web of colorful delight. In this workshop we will made the blocks by foundation piecing with freezer paper which is super fun. Variations on the layout will be presented so be prepared to experiment! You will love this workshop if you enjoy working with color and design.
Level: Intermediate
Michelle Jackson
Light the Portrait with Color
Making a portrait in any medium can seem difficult. I will guide you through a step-by-step process to create your realistic portrait (human or animal) in fabric. It’s easier than you think, and we’ll have lots of fun along the way! First, we evaluate our photos, render a line drawing (don’t worry, you don’t have to draw them free hand!), and do a value study to prepare for color and fabric selection. I will share with you my view on color and the emotions color can evoke so that you feel confident choosing fabrics to construct your piece. Next you will have your line drawing enlarged, select a background fabric, and transfer your line drawing to the fabric back. (No Worries! All will be explained and demonstrated!) You will learn how to make the pattern pieces and start to build the portrait a piece at a time and the portraits begin to come to life. It’s so fun to see them start to look like real people! I hope you can join me on this adventure!
Level: All
MJ Kinman
Treasure Hunting
MJ’s class is perfect for any quiltmaker who wants to create a design in which every piece is a different shape and size. This is NOT foundation paper piecing. Instead, MJ calls this powerful technique “traditional Piecing using freezer paper as templates”. Using images of gemstones – or your own inspirational image – MJ will show you how to transform it into a quilt. Create sparkle and glow using value and saturation contrast; evaluate fabrics’ impact on design: learn MJ’s fabric-painting techniques; create a coded pattern; and discover new finishing techniques. At week’s end, you’ll have created a gorgeous, faceted quilt.
Level: Confident Beginner
Robin Long
The Modern Mariner’s Compass- Strip Piecing
Do you love those radiating points of the Mariner’s Compass block, but are too intimidated to try them? Not a fan of paper piecing or using tedious templates? You’ll love this strip piecing method (that’s right, no paper piecing!) for making 16- and 32-point compass blocks and variations available in 16 different sizes using the Robin Ruth Design mariner’s compass rulers! Join Robin in this technique-based class to learn how to use her rulers and method, and benefit from her fabulous knowledge of block construction. Her gorgeous examples combined with her terrific tips will be the perfect inspiration for your own modern or traditional Mariner’s Compass project. Let’s bring the mariner’s compass into the 21st century and see where will your compass take you!
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Pearl P. Pereira
Ole Time Santa or Independent Study
Ole Time Santa is the center block from Baltimore Christmas Quilt 13 block album style quilt and the Ole Time Santa Wall Hanging with it’s Snowman & Ginger bread border. The center Santa block is perfect place to start either project for a beginner or experienced applique student. Join Pearl as she guides you through careful prep work for perfect applique results; and let her introduce you to her uniquely successful techniques she has developed. Learn Pearl’s Off the block” prepared edge freezer paper appliqué techniques. Perfect your appliqué skills as we learn the basic step to make: “any size Perfect Bias Stems,” reverse appliqué, sharp points, perfect circles, plus smooth concave & convex shapes. Pearl’s workshop is open for independent study; please feel free to work on any appliqué project of your choice.
Level: All
Julia Scheffelin Graves
Shimmering Triangles
Join award-winning quilter Julia Graves and make this gorgeous quilt that gives the effect of water rippling in a stream. It is a perfect pattern to showcase beautiful fabric, especially large-scale prints. You will achieve the shimmer by applying easy to understand color and value concepts that you can also use to enhance all your future quilts! This quilt looks complicated but is actually quite easy to construct. You will learn a quick piecing method for half-square triangles with perfect points. You will use Jenny Bowker’s pattern with an instructor taught by Jenny herself (pattern fee $18). By the end of class, you will have a design layout for your fabrics, completed many if not most of the blocks, and understand how to complete your quilt on your own. See lots of examples on Facebook.
Level: Confident Beginner with enough color and value interaction to keep experienced quilters interested.
Del Thomas
Collector in Residence
Amaryllis by Ruth McDowell