THURSDAY APRIL 18, 2013

Classes: 10am to 5pm  Lunch: 1pm to 2pm

ONE-DAY CLASSES

BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND

Tutor: Christine Porter

Skill level: Beginner

Christine explains: “Do you stand back from your quilt and think: ‘Somehow it looks boring’? Do you have problems knowing what goes with what? Do you look at the colour wheel and then give up because your fabric has patterns on it and doesn’t look like any of those colours? Then this is the class for you. Learn how to group your fabrics into colour families, learn about value, and learn how to add that zinger and zap into your work. We’ll end up designing blocks for a small quilt and you can expect the unexpected!”

Techniques include accurate piecing and colour placement.

Click here to view Class Requirements.

BOTANICALS: WHOLECLOTH PAINTING – SOLD OUT

Tutor: Susan Brubaker Knapp

Skill level: Beginner up

Materials fee: $15

Choose from one of four botanical subjects and learn the basics of painting on fabric. Do not worry if you’ve never painted anything before… this may look complicated, but it isn’t once you learn a little. You’ll go home ready to use your own photos to create original wholecloth painted quilts. We will discuss:

• selecting the right photos for great results
• how to mix colours, shades and tints
• which paints and fabrics to use and why
• how to transfer your design to fabric
• painting and blending techniques
• heat setting
• interfacing and thread sketching considerations
• batting, backing and preparing for quilting
• options for finishing (facing, binding, pillowcase turn) and hanging your work.

Click here to view Class Requirements.

LONG ARM QUILTING 1: FREE-MOTION FREE-FOR-ALL

Tutor: Debby Brown

Skill level: Beginner

Materials fee: $25

The thought of free-motion quilting causes terror for some but by learning just a few simple shapes, students can mix them to create endless designs. After completing the class, students will have the confidence and ability to enhance their quilts with custom-created free-motion quilting designs.

Learn various ways to move a cot-sized quilt through the throat of a longarm machine, plus machine-quilting basics such as threads, needles, and tension.

Free-motion micro-quilting will be explained as well.

This class is hands-on and participants will be using Handi-quilter Sweet Sixteen machines.

Click here to view Class Requirements.

TWO-DAY CLASSES

COLLAGE WITH FABRIC

Tutor: Suzanne Gummow

Skill level: All

In this workshop you will learn to look at fabrics and colour in totally new ways to create images to suit your textile works or quilts. Fabric collage is a technique that can be developed almost spontaneously out of the love of the fabrics themselves and don’t we love those fabrics?!

You will create a small quilt top and some of the techniques covered in this workshop will be basic design, raw edge appliqué, free machine embroidery/quilting and finishing techniques that will be required for your special fabric collage work. Students will work on individual themes and therefore all finished work will be different. A fun workshop!

Click here to view Class Requirements.

BEGINNERS: EASY LOG CABIN OR H BLOCK

Tutor: Chris Timmins

Skill level: No previous knowledge needed

Beginner bonus!: Rulers, mats and rotary cutters will be supplied for use in class by Unique Stitching!

If you want to get into quilting but need to know the basics, this is the perfect class. And you’ll make a lovely quilt – in fact there is a choice of two designs. Create an Easy Log Cabin or an H Block quilt.

Easy Log Cabin: the Log Cabin quilt is one of the oldest and most loved patterns in quilting history. This a quick quilt to create using large strips and a great way to learn the basics of patchwork. Finished size is 150cm square.

H Block: a quilt created using the strip piecing technique. Only eight fabrics plus an insert fabric are used to create this interesting design. Also a great quilt to learn the basic techniques of patchwork. Finished size is 170cm square.

The basics will be covered:

Using a rotary cutter Cutting straight Sewing accurately Pressing correctly Cutting blocks to make the design Joining blocks to create the quilt Adding borders Mitre corners Joining the quilt, batting and backing Quilting How to make and attach bindings

In this class students should complete the quilt top, add the borders and begin quilting the quilt.

Click here to view Class Requirements.

BLUE GUM CREEK

Tutor: Amanda Daly

Skill Level: All

Materials fee: $40 Kit must be ordered from the tutor at least two weeks before the class.

Amanda explains: “I draw most of the inspiration for my quilt designs from the Australian landscape. This quilt depicts the tranquillity of my morning walks along Blue Gum Creek. Flannel flowers abound under a canopy of gum trees.”

“This is a project workshop where we will complete a 50cm square wall hanging. Skills taught include raw edge appliqué and reverse appliqué. We will explore Basic Fibonacci and Golden Ratio theory, as a design aid. You will have the choice of free machine quilting, or a simpler quilting design achievable with a walking foot. It is expected that everyone will finish the quilt top and commence the quilting during the class.”

Click here to view Class Requirements.

SHADES OF THE FOREST

Tutor: Gloria Loughman

Skill level: All

A forest is often filled with a play of light as the sun filters through to some areas and leaves others in mysterious gloomy shade. A way of recreating this dappled sunshine backdrop is to tile a background in a variation of colours. The addition of detailed trees, branches and leaves in the foreground adds perspective and interest. The tiled background is created by fusing small squares or rectangles.

Consideration of the season and type of trees will be important design elements. Background colours could range from the stunning autumn tones of reds, browns, oranges and gold, to the new crisp greens of spring to the grey and white tones of the stark bleak winter.

Participants will design their own wall hanging working from a photo, sketch or picture.

Fusing, fabric painting, free motion stitching, bobbin work and quilting techniques will be included. This workshop is suitable for new and experienced quilters, with patterns and suitable hand dyed fabrics available in class.

Click here to view Class Requirements.

MODERN STAINED GLASS

Tutor: Julie Haddrick

Skill level: Basic machine quilting skills required

Materials fee: $6

Have you admired the stained glass quilts of others, but not known where to start? In this class, Julie Haddrick, Australia’s award winning stained glass quilt artist shares her expertise, knowledge and skills to help you learn the techniques and create a unique masterpiece. Choose from three designs (Feathers, Dove or Pelicans) and learn about fabric and colour use, pattern and proportion. Colours of Flight was designed especially for the AQC 2013 workshop and takes a modern slant on the technique of stained glass. Here the feathers and blue wren float on a crisp white background, without the window frame effect. Choose one or two feathers, or in fact make a pair of quilts; one for each of the feathers. Also on offer are Celebrating Dove; a beginners’ project and Pelicans at the River Mouth is for the more experienced.

You will make a wall-quilt top and assemble for quilting. Patterns are original, precise and accurate, with easy to follow notes and instructions and a range of inspiring samples to encourage the creative side of each quilter.

Click here to view Class Requirements.

ANEMONES

Tutor: Mary Transom

Skill level: All

Gorgeous bright and cheerful anemones are featured in this new design by Mary. Your background can be a wholecloth piece, or you might prefer to piece your background prior to class; directions for this will be given with the class requirements list.

The flowers are machine appliquéd using fusible web techniques then machine embroidered before being added to the quilt top. On the first day begin constructing the flowers and machine embroidering them. On the second day, leaves and buds will be completed before assembling the quilt top, ready to complete the appliqué at home.

The flowers are finished with some simple hand embroidery and beading which will be done after the class. This is a project class and in two days you should be well on the way to a completed quilt top.

This is a fun and achievable class for quilters of all levels. This wall quilt measures 95 x 110 cm (38″ x 44″).

Click here to view Class Requirements.

THREE-DAY CLASS

TRIPTYCH – SOLD OUT

Tutor: Jenny Bowker

Skill level: All. Some sewing and patchwork experience is helpful

If you cannot work out how art quilters come up with their ideas – this is the class for you. If you want to work in more contemporary ways – this is the class you need.

This is a design and ideas class which will explore the idea of using several quilt pieces together to give a sense of the development of an idea, whether through narrative, colour, subject or design. While I have called the class Triptych with the idea of making three small tops in the class, some might make more. The work will be exploratory rather than finished but should provide ideas for the next fifteen years. The picture is an example only.

Click here to view Class Requirements.

FOUR-DAY CLASS

PICTORIAL APPLIQUÉ – SOLD OUT

Tutor: David Taylor

Skill level: Need a basic understanding of appliqué techniques

David describes the class: “I will provide hands-on, individual attention on how to adapt a photograph into an art quilt with my pattern-making method, using tracing paper and freezer paper. I prefer creating my works with hand-appliqué, which I will demonstrate, although my pattern style may be adapted for machine or fused appliqué. It is good to note that I focus on a single subject matter for my pictorial works. I do not create portraits or landscapes. Simple, interesting, organic subjects with nice details work best for my method (an animal, a flower, a shell, a bird, etc…) I will show how to get beautiful, painterly images by letting the fabric do all the hard work. Most of our time together will be focused on selecting and blending lots of fabrics, which I believe is the key to my work. For more information, please visit: www.davidtaylorquilts.com/workshop.html

Click here to view Class Requirements.