A sampling of some of the workshops I offer is below. More workshops are currently in development in anticipation of the publication of Inchie Quilts later this year. For a current and complete catalog of workshops and lectures, including fees and terms, contact me.
Those that got to attend the classes offered by Nadine Ruggles were so very lucky. She is an outstanding teacher and I learned more in 2 days than I had in 8 years. I cannot wait to bring her back for more.—Lisa C., Rheinland Pfalz Quilt Guild, Germany
Inchies are cool, but what do you DO with them?
1 hour lecture
You’ve heard about Inchies, maybe even made some yourself, but what do you DO with them once you have them? Put them in a box or a folder? Make jewelry, or what? Join the latest craze in quilting and learn about the tiniest quilts yet and how Inchies can be incorporated into larger quilt designs. An inspiring presentation
of stories, slideshow of photos and a trunk show of Inchie quilts.
Inchie Mini Quilt
3 hour class, All skill levels, free motion machine quilting experience helpful, sewing machine required
Have fun with beads, embroidery, and found objects while you make the tiniest quilts yet! Join the latest quilting craze and learn to make and embellish a small set of one-fabric Inchies for a petite quilt. We’ll cover the tools, tips and techniques for quilting, cutting, edging and embellishing these diminutive works of art, as well as various methods for attaching them to the quilt. Pattern and instructions provided for two different small background quilts to display your Inchies.
Colorwash Inchies Quilt (photo coming soon!)
6 hour class, All skill levels, free motion machine quilting experience helpful, sewing machine required
Have fun with beads, embroidery and found objects while you make the tiniest quilts yet! Learn to make and embellish Colorwash Inchies and attach them to an easy fusible, satin stitched appliqué quilt. We’ll cover the tools, tips and techniques for quilting, cutting, edging and embellishing these diminutive works of art, as well as various methods for attaching them to the quilt.
Embellishment Dimension
One 3 hour session
Discover unique multidimensional beading, fiber and embroidery embellishment techniques for quilts and fabric art projects. Learn to choose and layer embellishments to achieve depth, dimension and texture in your work. Explore a variety of embroidery techniques and ways to attach beads, fibers and found objects to quilts and other fabric arts while working a sampler piece which can be incorporated into a larger work.
Y-seams & Miters—What’s all the fuss?
One 3 hour session
It’s only a little angle, no need to fret! Get a grip on precision piecing techniques, and learn the right way to match pieces with odd angles, the best way to sew inset or Y-seams, and the easiest mitered border technique ever. Find out when, where and how to mark and connect the dots for perfect piecing every time. One small wallhanging shows it all!
Silken Stitches Appliqué
One 3 hour session
Learn how to achieve the most gorgeous satin stitched edge for fusible appliqué by machine. Delicately done yet full of shimmer and subtle shading, this method is easy to master and can be used with any appliqué pattern. Working with a small design suitable for a fabric postcard or a quilt block, you’ll learn the ins and outs of smooth curves, sharp corners and stitching layered designs. Choose one of three easy appliqué designs for this workshop.
Quilting to the Beat
One 3 hour session
Get in step and learn to dance with your machine for free motion quilting success. You’ll learn fresh techniques from an award winning machine quilter to help you quilt smooth curves and lines and keep your stitch length consistent. Work with your machine, not against it! We’ll talk about the tools, tips and techniques that really work while working on sample quilt sandwiches to get in the groove with free motion quilting.
Machine Quilting—Master the Basics
Two 3 hour sessions
Take the first steps in machine quilting with this comprehensive beginning class. Class is presented in exercise format, and introduces students to machine guided and free motion quilting, including grids, stippling and meandering, echo quilting and other background patterns. A discussion of tools, materials, marking and basting techniques is also presented. Students will learn about and absorb the 7 Keystones of Successful Machine Quilting, and the 7 Keystones of Successful Free Motion Quilting, the basic building blocks for machine quilting mastery.
Machine Quilting—Beyond the Basics
Three 3 hour sessions
Go “Beyond the Basics” and learn advanced heirloom quilting techniques to make your machine quilted projects really stand out. Lecture topics include choosing and combining quilting designs, methods and tools for design transfer, and a roundtable discussion with participants’ quilts. Workshop focuses on free motion techniques, double stitching, meandering, and stippling. Students will learn about and absorb the 7 Keystones of Beautiful Heirloom Machine Quilting. This is a workshop for intermediate level quilters. To get the most benefit from this workshop, students are strongly encouraged to take a beginning machine quilting class before taking Machine Quilting-Beyond the Basics.
Blogging for Quilters
One 3 hour Lecture/Demo
Blogs are everywhere these days, and blogging is for everyone, but especially for quilters and crafters since we have so much to share! Do you want to join the fun, but don’t know where to start? Maybe you have a blog already, but you’re still mystified by such things as HTML, FTP, SEO, URL, XML, RSS feeds, dpi, jpg, gif, domains, hosting…Whew! We’ll cover the basics like how to quickly get up and running, publish a post and display pictures, then move on to the next steps like customizing your look, adding extra widgets and gizmos to your blog and avoiding the pitfalls of Internet communication. We’ll even look at how to boost blog traffic, track your stats and define your niche during this slideshow/online demo. Bring lots of questions!
