Saturday 13 April 2024: Online Workshop (Sketching With Scraps!)

Victoria van der Laan - Saturday 13 April 2024 - 4.00pm to 7.00pm (BST)

Online Interactive Workshop: Sketching With Scraps!

We're absolutely delighted to welcome back Victoria van der Laan from her home Stateside, as she prepares to teach aother great workshop for all you CraftyMonkies fans! We all know how much fabric we collate and how loathe we are to throw away even the smallest of scraps - this fabulous 'scrap-buster' workshop - Sketching With Scraps - by Victoria is bound to be a huge hit: be sure to book early...

Introduction by Victoria:-

Hi folks! I'm Victoria van der Laan, a generationally-taught artist and quilter living and working in Albany, NY. I'm thrilled to be back with Rachel and CraftyMonkies to teach another class.

I'm a textile artist through and through and have never felt inspired to keep a traditional pen-and-paper sketchbook, though I do believe that every artist can benefit from a sketching practice. A couple of years ago I began sketching with patchwork and it has transformed my work in so many unexpected ways. I'd love to encourage you to give it a try, too!

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What You Will Learn in this Online Interactive Workshop:-

In this class we will put the rules and expectations aside and allow the materials we have at hand to guide our work as we play with scraps and watch our work unfold. I'll show you how I work within the framework of traditional patchwork block construction to make small compositions that can be auditions of ideas for larger quilts, low-stakes practice in working with color, scale, and form, or simply playful experiments to stretch your creative muscles.

During the class I will share a bit about my own textile sketching practice and my general approach to experimenting with patchwork design. We'll dig into our scrap bins, talk about different ways to sort our scraps to facilitate this work, and start sewing! As much as possible we will work with unaltered existing scraps, allowing the pieces to challenge us and guide the design. We will avoid planning ahead and instead build each composition as we go with quick, intuitive decision-making. The end goal with this practice is not necessarily a finished quilt or art piece but rather a deeper understanding of piecing techniques, color interaction, and design ideas for future quilts. It's about the process not the product, though we'll also discuss what you can do with your sketches. This is a great way to use up your scraps from past projects while developing your voice as an artist and quilter.

As always I am happy to answer questions as they arise and there are always little opportunities to show you extra techniques and tips during class. I love the exchange of knowledge that happens in class and I often learn new little tricks from students as well--there's always something new to learn and my goal is to create a rich learning environment in my classes!

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Skill Level for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

This workshop is appropriate for quilters at any skill level. Everyone is welcome!

The beauty of this process is that it will be different for each artist and can be as rigid or improvisational as you'd like. Everyone will approach it differently with very different outcomes but I believe it can be very rewarding for anyone. I especially encourage those who are reluctant to try an improvisational approach to patchwork - that was me not too long ago!

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Fabric requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

I'll ask you to bring an assortment of scraps and small pieces of fabric of any sort. I personally work mainly with solid quilting weight cottons but that doesn't mean you have to! You can stick with quilting cottons or throw in different substrates and weights of fabric to see what happens - we're experimenting!

If you've got a scrap bin with a variety of shapes and colours of fabrics, that's all you'll need! If not it is perfectly fine to create your own from an array of fabrics. Either way, please have an assortment of colours and shapes (strips, squares, triangles, curved pieces, odd bits, cut-offs) of fabrics on hand.

Equipment requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

• Sewing Machine
• Rotary Cutter (with a Sharp Blade!)
• Cutting Mat
• Neutral Thread
• Iron + Pressing Mat/Ironing Board

Optional:-

• Acrylic Ruler
• Straight Pins​

Pattern Information relevant to this Online Interactive Workshop:-

There is NO PATTERN associated with this class!

​Tickets for this Online Interactive Workshop (via the Zoom platform) will be limited & allocated on a first-come/first-served basis! 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 £35.00 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.

Enjoy This Class/Workshop Again on YouTube

A link to 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.

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!

This class will be available to view via Pay-On-Demand via our Online Shop for 60 days following the video release date (approximately 5 working days after broadcast on Zoom).