Friday 12 November 2021: Online Workshop (Making Cat Faces!)

Melissa Averinos - Friday 12 November 2021 - 6.00pm to 9.00pm (GMT)

Online Interactive Workshop: Making Cat Faces!

On the 27th October 2021 Cape Code (in the USA) experienced storms and a huge power outage. Sadly this meant that Melissa Averinos (based there) couldn't teach the scheduled class on Friday 29th October. We hastily re-arranged the class for the NEW DATE of Friday 12 November 2021 (6.00-9.00pm, GMT) and contacted classmates, most of whom thankfully said they could make the new date. Sadly some of our booked students couldn't make the new date and chose to be refunded. The great news for you, if you missed out the first time when the class went live and sold out very quickly, is that we now have a limited number of new tickets available for Making Cat Faces with Melissa Averinos! So if you would like to come book now!

IMPORTANT! If you have already booked & paid for this Making Cat Faces workshop by Melissa which was scheduled for Friday 29 October 2021, please DO NOT BOOK AGAIN - your original ticket is still VALID (unless of course you chose a refund) for this re-arranged date!!! We will remind you of your Zoom-link a few days before class (approx 9th November) and email the Zoom-link to all new attendees at that time also!

A huge 'Welcome Back' to another of our Stateside crafting gurus, Melissa Averinos! Following on from her hugely successful & inspiring Making Faces class in July 2021...

Melissa Averinos is an artist and quilter. She is the maker of My Brother’s Jeans (Best In Show at QuiltCon 2016) and Face #1 (Judge’s Choice QuiltCon 2015) and has designed fabric for Free Spirit, Andover, Hoffman and Wilmington Prints. Melissa is the author of several craft books, her most recent on the face collage technique taught here at CraftyMonkies in July(Making Faces In Fabric, C&T Publishing/Stash Books, 2018).

Introduction by Melissa:-

Hi! I simply can’t wait to hang out with you oncde again and make some cat faces! My teaching approach is lighthearted, fun and inclusive. I create a nurturing environment for people to let go of their preconceived ideas about whether they are artists or not, to create with childlike joy and release any need to do things ‘perfectly’.

You can totally do this! And it is just plain FUN. Also I will probably ask you to show your cats in our Zoom!

What You Will Learn in this Online Interactive Workshop:-

PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT a cat ‘portrait’ class, as we will be conjuring kitties from our imagination, rather than trying to capture the likeness of a particular cat (however perfect and precious they may be.)

Here’s how it will go down:

- First up, a fun and easy drawing lesson using simple shapes to create cat faces

Then we move on to play time with fabric, where I cover:

- Fabric selection

- Adhesive options

- Variations of shapes to cute to create cats with different personalities

- The benefits of working in multiples

Then I will talk about next steps for you to take with your work after class. (There is no sewing in this class because our time together is much better spent collaging the cat faces!). I will cover:-

- Benefits and drawbacks of different stabilizers

- Basic tips for how to stitch your collage, including thread colour choice

- Examples/inspiration of different ways/styles of stitching a collage and how they change the look of the piece (i use my samples of people face collages for this)

- Show and tell of examples of cat face collages to inspire you and show a range of takes on the technique

- Examples and suggestions for ways to use your collage panel after it’s stitched

Skill Level for this Online Interactive Workshop:

- Beginner to experienced quilters who are interested in exploring an art quilting technique presented in a modern way

- Beginner to experienced art quilters looking to have some cat-themed fun!

Fabric requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

- The background and collage fabrics can be in any colors you like

- They should be solids and/or very small scale prints

- If they are prints, they should be low contrast, subtle tonal prints, or ‘blender’ fabrics*

- The idea here is that we don‘t want to be distracted by large, busy or contrasting prints

- If wrinkly fabric is going to annoy you, press in advance or have your iron and pressing surface accessible during class

BACKGROUND Fabric:

- You will need at least 4 fat quarters of quilting cotton (or roughly fat quarter size, exact measurements are not necessary)

- This is the fabric we will collage the kitty faces onto (so don’t bring your Precious for this!)

- Bring 2 light color, one medium and one dark

COLLAGE Fabrics:

- Assorted scraps in a range of sizes (you might use a one-inch piece on an eye or a an 8”x2” piece on the hair)

- As above, these should be low-contrast, small scale prints or solids

- Include lights, mediums and darks

- Include white and black

- If you aren’t a scrap saver, don’t worry! just bring some fat quarters that you don't mind cutting into.

* If this is stressing you out and you don’t understand what i mean, definitely DO NOT fret over it! Just bring a good variety of solids and all will be well.

Other Supplies/Equipment requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

• Plain white printer paper - at least 20 sheets (yes: printer paper, not a notebook or a sketchbook. trust me!)
• Regular pencil
• Fabric scissors
• Small scissors (like embroidery scissors) if you have t