Block Party Quilters

What symbols and personal themes will you incorporate into your small art quilt collages? Houses, leaves, bowls, ladders? Deborah will guide you through exploring and creating shapes and symbols that have personal meaning. Create 5×7” fabric collages highlighting personal symbols using composition templates and inspiring fabrics. Embellish with machine and hand stitching. Learn simple finishing techniques and mount your art quilt collage on mats ready for framing.

Kits recommended (purchase in advance at https://www.deborahsstudio.com/ and allow time for shipping)

NO recording available; live only for registered students.

Taking the fear out of curved seams is the first step in making this block.  A simple two pin method will be demonstrated along with alternatives. Make your version an individual design by creating all four flowers the same colors or four different colors and make a solid border or pieced border.

This class will leave you with an entirely new way to look at fabrics. The Double Vision quilt uses many layers in the quilt top which create tricks to fool the eye – and there’s NO CURVED PIECING!

This construction method is very versatile and can be used to make many different designs, so it's a fantastic technique.

Many of us have a photograph we would like to print on fabric and enhance the design with thread but just aren’t sure how to go about it. We will discuss the importance of value in thread selection so the thread augments the fabric and does not blend into the fabric. By the end of the workshop, you will be confident to transfer what you have learned to a photograph of your own. Printing on fabric will also be discussed to enable you to decide on how and where to have your fabric printed.

Kits MUST be purchased at least 7 days prior to workshop date.

This landscape class explores a construction technique that gives a landscape a little more depth by bringing layers of it out of the center and into the border. There are two patterns to choose from, both featuring our lovely Oregon coast. The wall hanging will finish at about 14”x 20” or larger (depending on how many layers and borders you decide to use). Help will be provided in selecting your fabrics and choosing a method of appliqué suited to your individual skills. Hand and fused appliqué will be covered as well as a wonderful easy raw–edge machine technique that is superb to use on trees and foliage (pattern fee). Skill Level: Confident Beginner (fusing recommended) and up

Students can choose between the following patterns (additional patterns may be available by time of class).

Leaves and blossoms swirl in through an open window. Flowering branches peek through and wander in. These quilts are fun, easy to make and celebrate the beauties of nature; they can be embellished if you wish. In this class you will create a wall hanging with your own window into a seasonal garden of your choosing with appropriate leaves, branches and/or flowers depending on what season you choose. The finished size of the quilt is either 9”x 20” or a larger 13”x 27” version, you can also design your own scroll to whatever size you wish if you prefer. There will be several patterns for leaves, branches and flowers supplied in the class for those not wishing to design their own or you may opt to use a floral print in a ‘Broiderie Perse’ technique. Fusing or using a nifty raw-edged machine appliqué technique you will learn in the class will apply these leaves or flowers or they may be hand appliquéd if desired.

Let’s make one of these beautiful Herons together. Learn the EASY, new Apliquick method of turned edges. This method is sweeping the appliqué world. Small, complex pieces are easy to turn with these tools from Spain. We will use special Apliquick interfacing for our template material. Edges will be swept over the interfacing and left in place, unlike freezer paper that has to be removed. You will love the extra loft and dimension this adds to each feather. Your beautiful birds will be made as free objects, ready to place on the background scene or a focal block of your new quilt. No need to have your background ready before class. Kathy will demonstrate shading with her optional fabric paint crayons. Expect to get a good portion of your Heron body completed. Finished quilt size: 22 x 29 for the full scene shown in the pattern.

This 6 hour in-person workshop teaches a variety of couching techniques using a zig zag stitch and a walking foot on your domestic machine. While these techniques can be used for both bed/lap quilts and art quilts, the sample projects we work on in class and examples I show will focus on adding couching to traditional quilts. You’ll learn how to couch, as well as how to apply this highly versatile and fun technique. Couching is not just for art quilts!!

During the class, we work on several small sampler projects, learning how to choose the best yarns, machine foot, zigzag stitch, and threads for various applications. I’ll give you tips on how to setup your machine. We will complete one sample project – a ‘Faux 9 patch star’ - learning several ways to start and stop couching on a quilt sandwich, similar to how you might use couching on a bed quilt. We will finish it off with a couched binding that you can use even on a King-sized quilt! Along the way, we’ll discuss common issues – with piecing and quilting, as well as with couching - and I’ll show you how to address them (with more couching!). We will then work on a ‘prettier’ project that you might choose to finish into a pillow, table mat or small wall hanging after class. The focus of this 2nd project - couching a drawn or appliqued heart – will be on curved and multiple layers of couching. You’ll do interior couching if desired, then outline your heart with couching, covering any appliqued edges, then couch around your heart as both quilting and decoration, time permitting. You can even try my “Faux Chenille” technique! Lastly, we will have play time where you can test out different yarns that I’ll provide and/or bring your own, swap with other students, etc. to try.

½ day Lecture style Workshop - In person at TBD. 

Interactive discussion-style lecture.

Learn to add dynamic visual interest and excitement to your borders. What inspires border designs? How can you be more original?
Let's do more than frame or enlarge those quilt tops. Let's put some pizzazz into your that final piece!

The quilt is done. Do your borders enhance the “ Visual Impact” of your quilts? This 1/2 day class gets rave reviews, “my head was spinning with ideas when I left”. Kathy’s inter-active, discussion style lecture, will dazzle you with; multiple ideas, photos, design tips, and actual samples to help you choose the best style and size of border to razzle dazzle your own finish line. Multiple examples will be shown along with a discussion about basic construction.

This class teaches students how to incorporate trapunto into their quilts to really make them POP! Hari Walner’s method of “Trapunto by Machine” is what I will teach. It is very simple, and quite fun. Students will leave the class excited and anxious to go home and try out their newly learned technique on their own quilts.

Students will choose from several basic trapunto designs.  A basic understanding of machine quilting is needed for this class.

This 6 hour in-person workshop teaches a variety of couching techniques using a zig zag stitch on your domestic machine. While these techniques can be used for both bed/lap quilts and art quilts, the sample projects we work on in class and examples I show will focus on adding couching to traditional quilts. You’ll learn how to couch, as well as how to apply this highly versatile and fun technique. Couching is not just for art quilts!!

During the class, we work on several small sampler projects, learning how to choose the best yarns, machine foot, zigzag stitch, and threads for various applications. I’ll give you tips on how to setup your machine. We will complete one sample project – a ‘Faux 9 patch star’ - learning several ways to start and stop couching on a quilt sandwich, similar to how you might use couching on a bed quilt. We will finish it off with a couched binding that you can use even on a King-sized quilt! Along the way, we’ll discuss common issues – with piecing and quilting, as well as with couching - and I’ll show you how to address them (with more couching!). We will then work on a ‘prettier’ project that you might choose to finish into a pillow, table mat or small wall hanging after class. The focus of this 2nd project - couching a drawn or appliqued heart – will be on curved and multiple layers of couching. You’ll do interior couching if desired, then outline your heart with couching, covering any appliqued edges, then couch around your heart as both quilting and decoration, time permitting. You can even try my “Faux Chenille” technique! Lastly, we will have play time where you can test out different yarns that I’ll provide and/or bring your own, swap with other students, etc. to try.

1.Prerequisites:

a.Experience with doing a zig zag stitch with feed dogs up (normal walking; not free motion) on the machine you are bringing to class

b.Experience with adjusting top tension on the machine you are bringing to class