Click on each Workshop Info-Graphic (below) for more details about confirmed Sewing & Quilting Online Interactive Zoom Workshops confirmed so far in 2023!

PS: We'll be adding more dates for April, May, June (and beyond!) 2023 just as soon as we have all tutor availability & class content confirmed!

If you are unable to attend any of our upcoming Online Interactive Workshops due to living in a different time-zone

or because you’re otherwise engaged:-

EXCITING NEWS!!!

Sarah Payne

Saturday 25 February 2023

4.00pm - 7.00pm (GMT)

Online Interactive Workshop

Striptease!

We're absolutely delighted to welcome back Sarah Payne into the CraftyMonkies spotlight for a much-requested repeat of her Striptease workshop, which last ran with CraftyMonkies way back in 2020! If any of you missed this class last time, or indeed are new to CraftyMonkies, please don't hesitate to book. Sarah is such a great teacher when it comes to beginners and for people who would like to learn some traditional quilting techniques. Her strong army of followers love her genuine, fun, friendly nature and her willingness to make sure you learn lots!

Introduction by Sarah:-

An overflowing stash pile is a common conundrum for quilters. We love the fabric when we buy it, we have great fun making stuff with it, and then we are loath to throw away those last little bits! So we keep them, and keep them, and keep them. We add to the pile until we can barely see over the top of it! So here is a quilt that will get you using up all those little pieces. Who cares if they match – even better if they don’t!

This Quilt As You Go (QAYG) project is perfect for bashing that stash!

What you will learn on this Online Interactive Workshop:-

This is a really fun way to work your way through all of those piles of scraps you have been collecting in a corner of your sewing room. This class will show you how to create a fun block, and then quilt as you go to put it all together. You won’t get the quilt done in a class, but you can at least make a start!

You will receive a full pattern after the class so don’t worry. You will also be shown how to put the QASG blocks together.

Skill Level for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

This workshop is suitable for ALL skill levels: Beginner and above!...

Material requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

This sample quilt is approx. 30 x 40 inches and the requirements are based on that size. But you don’t need all of it to get started and can add to it as you go!

A mixture of fabrics for the pattern. Just grab some scraps or some fat ¼ s

50cms of a neutral colour for the contrasting strips
15cms of a neutral fabric for the sashing on the quilt front ( I used the same fabric as the contrasting strips)
1 ¼ m of backing fabric
1 ¼ m of calico (or similar) to be used as the foundation – this wont be seen as and long as it is a light colour, you can use anything, including old sheets.
12 pieces of wadding measuring 10.5” squares of wadding (60cm of wadding cut from the bolt)

Prep before the class:-

Cut out a 10 ½ inch square from the wadding, the backing fabric and the foundation fabric. You can also cut some strips from your scraps if you don’t have any. We will use a mixture of 1 inch, 1 ½ inch, 2 inch and 2 ½ inch strips. You wont need many to get started, and we will cut more during the class!

Equipment requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Sewing-Machine with a Walking Foot

Pattern Information relevant to this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Sarah's FREE pattern will be sent to you after you have booked & before the class.

Tickets for this Online Interactive Workshop (via the Zoom platform) will be limited and allocated on a first-come/first-served basis! Any free pattern and other information, relevant to this course will be forwarded to you after booking and approximately 5 days before the course date.

The ticket price of £30.00 is based on ONE person attending this crafting class.

This CraftyMonkies online interactive workshop is being broadcast from the United Kingdom and the class time given is based on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). We advise you check via Google Search (or similar) to see corresponding start-time in YOUR location!

Ordering MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT Online For Any Class/Workshop!

Please ensure you book your place & order any materials/fabrics/equipment online in plenty of time ahead of course dates.

Are you not able to attend this class due to living in a different time-zone?

Are you otherwise engaged on the date of this workshop?

Well, we have excellent news!

A recording of this workshop will be sent to all who buy a live ticket for the Zoom broadcast approximately 5 working days after the event; the video will be available to view for 30 days from the video release date.

Cindy Grisdela

Saturday 04 March 2023

4.00pm - 7.00pm (GMT)

Online Interactive Workshop

Wonky Stripes!

As ever, we're beyond excited to welcome another NEW star improv talent to the CraftyMonkies creative pool and to this end we hope you'll join Cindy Grisdela who will be hosting her fabulous Wonky Stripes improv workshop! This class will see participants embrace their inner 'improv' self and have all kinds of fun whulst learning some excellent techiniques - be sure to book your place TODAY!...

Introduction by Cindy:-

As an improv artist, I’ve always loved stripes, but many of the techniques to make them seemed a little tedious—making strip sets and cutting them up, or adding strips to your units one at a time. Wonky Stripes are made from sets of rectangles that are cut into varied stripes, shuffled, and chain pieced to make the process go faster. They work great on their own in a variety of settings as blocks on their own, or cut up into various size stripes and combined. The asymmetrical lines created by putting the stripes together in a variety of ways add interesting visual texture to your final project. You may never look at stripes in the same way again!

What you will learn on this Online Interactive Workshop:-

You will learn Cindy's method for easy, fun wonky stripes for a small wall hanging or cushion cover. We’ll talk about choosing colours, cutting the stripes from rectangles and shuffling them, and chain-piecing to sew the stripes in no time. Once you learn the technique, you can use it in all kinds of projects—wall quilts, table runners, cushions, bags—whatever you like to make! Best of all, there’s no way to make a mistake in Cindy's Improv classes! If your elements don’t end up to the size you intended, she has lots of tricks to make things work without unstitching or starting over.

Skill Level for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

This workshop is suitable for ALL skill levels: yaaaaay!

Material requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

While not essential for the workshop, Cindy Grisdela’s Artful Improv (C&T Publishing 2016) book expands on the wonky stripe technique and also includes FOUR other techniques that students can use in combination with the wonky stripes to explore the possibilities further after class!

Fabric requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

6-12 fat quarters of fabrics in colours that you like together. Remember to include a variety of values - from light, medium and dark.
You may also use scraps, as long as they are at least 7” x 9”—to make a small wall hanging, you’ll need at least 18 rectangles.
Fabrics can be solids, prints or a combination

Please remember that this is an 'improv' process, so if you just want to come to class with fabrics that make you happy and decide at the time what to use, that’s absolutely fine! Oh, and you don’t have to cut any fabric beforehand!!!

Equipment requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Sewing-Machine
Neutral Thread for Piecing
Rotary Cutter - with a new Blade!
Patchwork Ruler – recommend 9” square
Cutting Mat
Thread Snips
Seam Ripper (we hopefully won’t be using this much!)
Pins - if you use them

Pattern Information relevant to this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Not applicable for this improv class!

Tickets for this Online Interactive Workshop (via the Zoom platform) will be limited and allocated on a first-come/first-served basis! Any free pattern and other information, relevant to this course will be forwarded to you after booking and approximately 5 days before the course date.

The ticket price of £30.00 is based on ONE person attending this crafting class.

This CraftyMonkies online interactive workshop is being broadcast from the United Kingdom and the class time given is based on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). We advise you check via Google Search (or similar) to see corresponding start-time in YOUR location!

Ordering MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT Online For Any Class/Workshop!

Please ensure you book your place & order any materials/fabrics/equipment online in plenty of time ahead of course dates.

Are you not able to attend this class due to living in a different time-zone?

Are you otherwise engaged on the date of this workshop?

Well, we have excellent news!

A recording of this workshop will be sent to all who buy a live ticket for the Zoom broadcast approximately 5 working days after the event; the video will be available to view for 30 days from the video release date.

Gary Mills

Wednesday 08 March 2023

7.00pm - 8.30pm (GMT)

Online Interactive Easy-Art Class

Design Retro Doodles & Patterns!

We're delighted to be hosting the second of three Easy-Art Classes run in winter with the wonderful & hugely talented Gary Mills! This class will see participants engage with Retro Doodles & Patterns - we look forward to seeing y'all in class!...

Introduction by Gary:-

Have you always wanted to learn more about being creative? Have you wanted to explore design, but never had the opportunity? Well, I've created a series of specifically designed classes just for you! They can be accessed by everyone and at all levels and abilities. This is for all of you who would like to learn and have a go, and those who enjoy being creative but would like to become a little freer and more open to some new ideas.

If you love, colour, doodling and playing with scraps of paper, cloth, and ephemera then you are really going to enjoy your time on Gary’s 90-minute Art & Design classes. This 'ticket' is for the March class, Design Retro Patterns & Doodles, which takes place on Wednesday 08 March 2023.

When you buy this ticket you will receive your Zoom link and if applicable, any free pattern, or other information, relevant to this course will be forwarded to you after booking and approximately 5 days before the course date.

What You Will Learn in this Online Interactive Workshop:-

In this short 1 ½ hour lesson you will cover making stencils and masking off areas to create your initial shapes to decorate. You will be using both acrylic paint and water colour paints. You will be shown how to mark you’re your stencilled images and assemble your designs with templates supplied to follow.

The outcome measures: A3

Skill Level for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Beginner to Intermediate

Material requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

All the materials are easily accessible. Such as papers and inks and paints can be sourced from local shops or online and most other materials can be found around your sewing box or in your desk draw.

You will need for this workshop:

· Acrylic paints & water colour paints used:-

§ Titanium White

§ Yellow ochre

§ Orange & Brown

§ Green

· Something to make permanent black marks with, such as a gel pen, ball point pen (a pen which will not smudge or run when wet)

· Optional a white Posca pen for white dots (I love this pen and is great fun adding white highlights to your work, I purchased mine on amazon) alternatively you could use liquid paper such as “Tipex” or even white paint and a small brush)

· Optional some semi-permanent fixative spray to hold down the stencils, although not necessary as you can just hold down while you dry brush in the paint) A Glue stick such as a Pritt Stick or similar

· 1 sheet of good quality paper A3 either water colour paper or mixed media paper 250g /m2 -135lb (I have used a sheet from Winsor & Newton brand but there are many on the market and some art suppliers will sell individual sheets of paper)

· Plus, some extra pieces paper or this card to make stencils 5” x 5” (12cm x 12cm)

Equipment requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

· Sharp paper scissors & craft knife & cutting mat

· A ruler or quilting square for measuring and cutting against

· 2 x containers such as a jam jars to hold some clean water.

· A large plate or a palette for mixing paint

· 1 small paint brush 1x medium sized flat paint brush

· Either sponge brushes or pieces of sponge for painting

· Some paper kitchen towel to hand

· Ruler or quilting / crafting square

· Pencil and rubber

Additional Information relevant to this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Those attending the workshop will receive Gary’s StencilTemplates & Layout Plan

IMPORTANT: Have a hair-dryer to hand when speed drying is required!

Tickets for this Online Interactive Workshop (via the Zoom platform) will be limited and allocated on a first-come/first-served basis! Any free pattern and other information, relevant to this course will be forwarded to you after booking and approximately 5 days before the course date.

The ticket price of £17.00 is based on ONE person attending this crafting class.

This CraftyMonkies online interactive workshop is being broadcast from the United Kingdom and the class time given is based on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). We advise you check via Google Search (or similar) to see corresponding start-time in YOUR location!

Ordering MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT Online For Any Class/Workshop!

Please ensure you book your place & order any materials/fabrics/equipment online in plenty of time ahead of course dates.

Are you not able to attend this class due to living in a different time-zone?

Are you otherwise engaged on the date of this workshop?

Well, we have excellent news!

A recording of this workshop will be sent to all who buy a live ticket for the Zoom broadcast approximately 5 working days after the event; the video will be available to view for 30 days from the video release date.

Sarah Payne

Sunday 26 March 2023

7.00pm - 8.30pm (BST)

Online Interactive Talk

Books, TV, Teaching & Quilt Collecting!

As well as hosting educational and interactive classes here on our Zoom platform, our desire has always been to provide you with some very interesting Online Talks from some great experts in their crafting fields.

The online talks give you a chance to grab a glass of wine or cup of tea, sit back and relax as Sarah talks about her areas of expertise and passions. As always you will be able to ask your questions and be very much involved in the Talks; it's almost as if you were all in one room, but of course the beauty is that you don't have to leave your house or jump on a plane! Simply buy a ticket, press a button, sit back and reeeeeeeelax!...

For our second talk of 2023 we're absolutely thrilled to welcome Sarah Payne, author of two books: Sarah Payne's Quilt School and Sarah Payne's Appliqué School to the CraftyMonkies spotlight for what promises to be an interesting insight into the many areas in which she works: Books, TV, Teaching and Quilt Collecting!...

Introduction by Sarah:-

"Hi CraftyMonkies! Anyone who knows me knows I love nothing more than a good chat with either a cup of tea or a gin and tonic! All I ask is that you come along with your beverage of choice and any questions you would like to ask me! I'm going to warn you, my collection of vintage quilts that I'll be showing you in full technicolour close-up may make you cry. chief Monkie Rachel witnessed this at the fabulous CraftyMonkie retreat I taught at in 2022. I love collecting quilts, it's one of my many passions, particularly vintage quilts from around the world.

My favourite quilts are the ones that are full of imperfections and handmade with love. I have so many wonderful stories that I would like to share with you! I should point out that I'm also a freelance quilting teacher, designer, author of two books, TV demonstrator, mountain climber, charity supporter and proud owner of my campervan myrtle! Have you ever wondered what it's like to write a book? How do you come up with the ideas, and how do you approach someone? What is it like to work on television with someone talking in your ear and the machine that's not working and yet you have to state how wonderful it is!? LOL. My plan for the evening is to talk about all of this and more. I would love you to come and join me!"

It would be wonderful to have your support: if the talks we are providing prove popular, we here at CraftyMonkies will aim to provide many more for you! We look forward to seeing you on Sunday 26 March 2023!...

Tickets for this Online Interactive Talk (via the Zoom platform) will be limited and allocated on a first-come/first-served basis! The ticket price of £15.00 is based on ONE person attending this crafting class.

This CraftyMonkies Online Interactive Talk is being broadcast from the United Kingdom and the time given is based on GMT (Greenwich Meantime). We advise you check via Google Search (or similar) to see corresponding start-time in YOUR location! Here's a great world time zone reference:-

https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/

IMPORTANT!

This class is a live Zoom-chat ONLY, it will be recorded for the participants who have bought a ticket. So if you can't attend we will send the recording to you a few days later..

Nicholas Ball

Saturday 01 April 2023

4.00pm - 7.00pm (BST)

Online Interactive Workshop

Improv Triangles!

We're absolutely delighted to welcome Nicholas Ball back under the CraftyMonkies spotlight for a repeat of his Improv Triangles workshop, which last ran with CraftyMonkies in February 2023, to coincide with his Improv Triangle Sewalong on Instagram, also during February. There were so many of you who emailed us and Nicholas to ask if we could please put on a second class as you missed this class in February, so we did! Please make sure you book early!

Introduction by Nicholas:-

I’m so pleased to be able to offer a companion workshop to the Improv Triangle Sewalong I’m hosting on Instagram in 2023. If you’re new to improv piecing, or want a little extra tuition during the sewalong, then this is the class for you.

What I love most about my Improv Triangles technique is the versatility of the units created. This simple shape has so many uses in improvised patchwork and is a great skill to add to your improv arsenal. Where some people see trees, others see gnome hats! You can use the familiarity of triangles to suggest all sorts things in your compositions. After you make a few you’ll soon find the only limit is your imagination!...

What you will learn on this Online Interactive Workshop:-

You'll learn how to throw off the dreaded 'shackles of constraint' and let your inner-creative run wild with this fabulous technique-based improv-quilting class! In the workshop you will first learn Nicholas' basic method for creating improv triangle units. We’ll then look at adding variation to these units using inserts. Finally, a quick and easy stacked triangle method will be explored, giving you three different way to use triangles. We will also discuss fabric choice and the different ways to arrange your sewn units into a finished composition.

Skill Level for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

This class is suitable for all skill levels. It’s perfect for competent sewers who want to explore more liberated piecing, perhaps as a change from traditional quilting, but it’s also a perfect improv introduction for quilters who are just starting out and have little quilting experience.

Material requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Whilst not essential for the workshop, Nicholas's book Inspiring Improv (published by Lucky Spool, 2019) will expand upon the techniques learnt and provide many more improv tips and tricks. Improv Triangles is one of the six techniques featured and detailed instructions for piecing irregular shaped units together are also included.

Fabric requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Whilst difficult to give exact fabric amounts and measurements when sewing in an improvised way, please use the following as a rough guide. Remember, Nicholas will be discussing fabric requirements in more detail during the first week of the sewalong.

For the basic triangles, large scraps of solid and print fabric in square-ish and rectangle-ish pieces work well for the background, whilst smaller scraps are perfect for the triangles. Feel free to cut your pieces from yardage. The background pieces shouldn’t be smaller than approximately 4” for your first attempt at this technique.

For the insert triangles, the same sized background pieces as the basic triangles can be used. For the triangles, strips of approximately 1.5” - 2.5”. These need not be full width of fabric, so feel free to use what you have.

Finally, for the stacked triangles, an assortment of squares, anything from 5” to as large as you want! As the name suggests we will be cutting through stacks of fabric, so as long as your prices are all roughly the same size, anything will work. A layer cake or charm pack would be perfect.

Please don’t stress about these requirements!!! They are simply a guide and Nicholas has yet to teach a class where something couldn’t be made because of the wrong fabric pieces. If in doubt, gather up a selection of prints and colours you like and you can cut during the workshop. Accuracy at the cutting stage is not so important using these techniques, so it won’t take long at all if you want to cut your pieces along with Nicholas. They also needn’t be perfectly square or straight, so feel free to use scissors!

This is very much a technique-based workshop. We will be exploring triangles and won’t have a finished project in mind. Feel free to make as many or as few of the units as you like. You can combine them into a sampler or continue to work on the project after the workshop by adding more units to it during the sewalong. Don’t feel any pressure to cut up all your precious fabric!!!

Equipment requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Sewing-Machine
Good quality thread in an appropriate weight for piecing (Nicholas recommends Aurifil)
Rotary Cutter - with a new blade!
Cutting Mat
Patchwork Ruler (we can make any size work, but a small 1” x 12” is very handy, as is a 12.5” square.
Fabric Scissors
Most important of all - a willingness to explore your own creativity! It's going to be FUN!!!...

Pattern Information relevant to this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Not applicable for this improv class!

Tickets for this Online Interactive Workshop (via the Zoom platform) will be limited and allocated on a first-come/first-served basis! Any free pattern and other information, relevant to this course will be forwarded to you after booking and approximately 5 days before the course date.

The ticket price of £30.00 is based on ONE person attending this crafting class.

This CraftyMonkies online interactive workshop is being broadcast from the United Kingdom and the class time given is based on British Summer Time (BST). We advise you check via Google Search (or similar) to see corresponding start-time in YOUR location!

Here's a great world time zone reference:-

https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/

Ordering MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT Online For Any Class/Workshop!

Please ensure you book your place & order any materials/fabrics/equipment online in plenty of time ahead of course dates.

This class is a live Zoom Workshop ONLY!

IMPORTANT!

Sadly, we are NOT able to offer a recorded Pay-On-Demand video for sale in our shop after this event.

The only way to enjoy this class is to book a ticket for this Zoom Workshop.

Gary Mills

Wednesday 12 April 2023

7.00pm - 8.30pm (BST)

Online Interactive Art Class

The Kitchen 'Draw'!

We're delighted to be hosting this third and final in the winter series of Easy-Art Classes workshops with the wonderful & hugely talented Gary Mills! This class will see participants engage in a fun exploration of rendering art from easily found objects in & around the kitchen!...

Introduction by Gary:-

Have you always wanted to learn more about being creative? Have you wanted to explore design, but never had the opportunity? Well, I've created a series of specifically designed classes just for you! They can be accessed by everyone and at all levels and abilities. This is for all of you who would like to learn and have a go, and those who enjoy being creative but would like to become a little freer and more open to some new ideas.

If you love, colour, doodling and playing with scraps of paper, cloth, and ephemera then you are really going to enjoy your time on Gary’s 90-minute Art & Design classes. This 'ticket' is for the April class, The Kitchen 'Draw', which takes place on Wednesday 12 April 2023.

When you buy this ticket you will receive your Zoom link and if applicable, any free pattern, or other information, relevant to this course will be forwarded to you after booking and approximately 5 days before the course date.

The ticket price of £17.00 is based on ONE person attending this class.

What You Will Learn in this Online Interactive Workshop:-

In this short 1 ½ hour lesson you will cover collaging with fabric and paper, using glue and stitch to reveal a drawn outline in stitch. You will then take this idea further by stencilling your image in paint and then reworking back into the stencilled image with machine stitch. You will be shown how to mark you’re your stencilled images and assemble your designs with templates supplied to follow.

The outcomes measure: 2X 10” X 10” (25cm X 25cm)

Material requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

All the materials are easily accessible. Such as papers and inks and paints can be sourced from local shops or online and most other materials can be found around your sewing box or in your desk draw.

Supplies you will need for this workshop:-

· Acrylic paints

§ Titanium White

§ Black

· Optional some semi-permanent fixative spray to hold down the stencils, although not necessary as you can just hold down while your dry brush in the paint)

· A Glue stick such as a Pritt Stick or similar

· To make the stencil you will need A4 strong paper, card, or this clear acetate. (12cm x 12cm)

· 2 x 10” X 10” (25cm X 25cm) firm calico (medium weight or you can use cream cotton or linen (all pressed and ironed flat)

· Black sewing thread

· A couple of old book pages with plain text

Equipment requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

· Sharp paper scissors & craft knife & cutting mat

· A ruler or quilting square for measuring and cutting against

· 2 x containers such as a jam jars to hold some clean water.

· A large plate or a palette for mixing paint

· 1 small paint brush 1x medium sized flat paint brush

· Either sponge brushes or pieces of sponge for painting

· Some paper kitchen towel to hand

· Ruler or quilting / crafting square

· Pencil and rubber

IMPORTANT: Have a hair-dryer to hand when speed drying is required!

Tickets for this Online Interactive Workshop (via the Zoom platform) will be limited and allocated on a first-come/first-served basis! Any free pattern and other information, relevant to this course will be forwarded to you after booking and approximately 5 days before the course date.

The ticket price of £17.00 is based on ONE person attending this crafting class.

This CraftyMonkies online interactive workshop is being broadcast from the United Kingdom and the class time given is based on British Summer Time (BST). We advise you check via Google Search (or similar) to see corresponding start-time in YOUR location!

Ordering MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT Online For Any Class/Workshop!

Please ensure you book your place & order any materials/fabrics/equipment online in plenty of time ahead of course dates.

Are you not able to attend this class due to living in a different time-zone?

Are you otherwise engaged on the date of this workshop?

Well, we have excellent news!

A recording of this workshop will be sent to all who buy a live ticket for the Zoom broadcast approximately 5 working days after the event; the video will be available to view for 30 days from the video release date.

Jennie Pickett

Saturday 15 April 2023

4.00pm - 7.00pm (BST)

Online Interactive Workshop

Hyacinth Supply Case!

We're absolutely delighted to be hosting this Hyacinth Supply Case workshop with the wonderful & hugely talented Jennie Pickett from Clover & Violet fame! This class will see participants engage in a carefuly detailed step-bystep guide to make Jennie's wonderful Hyacinth Supply Case - we look forward to seeing y'all in class!...

Introduction by Jennie:-

I have always loved organizing and sewing pouches and organizers to keep projects separate. The Hyacinth Supply Case is designed to hold whatever supplies you want to organize, keep them together, and provide the p