Saturday 25 November: Online Workshop (Foliage Leaf Quilt!)

Nicholas Ball - Saturday 25 November 2023 - 4.00pm to 7.00pm (GMT)

Online Interactive Workshop: Foliage Leaf Quilt!

We're absolutely delighted to welcome back Nicholas Ball to the CraftyMonkies family with a BRAND NEW class: Eeeeeek, exciting!!! As it's a new class, please don't delay in booking your spot, if you're a fan of Nicholas Ball, you will know his classes sell out very quickly. Read on to find out more about this wonderful NEW CLASS!...

Introductionby Nicholas:-

I take lots of inspiration from the natural world. Regular Monkies will know all about my Vegetable Patch quilts and how I look to cabbages, leeks and many other legumes for interesting lines and patterns. Our house is home to various potted plants, with leaves of all shapes and sizes: round and flat, tall and spear-like. This quilt is my interpretation of that green world. The variegated shards of snake plants are perfect for exploring the slab technique and provide a cool and calming colour palette with which to work.

What You Will Learn in this Online Interactive Workshop:-

To begin, I will share the backstory of my Foliage quilt, as well as some behind-the-scenes photographs I took during its construction. Next, you will learn how to create ‘slabs’ of fabric from thin strings which we will use to suggest the fine surface detail of leaves, with a discussion on the colours and fabrics which will work best. From these slabs, we will be cutting organic leaf shapes and perfecting our freehand curve technique to piece them into backgrounds. Will we also use skinny strips to add detail to the edge of each leaf. Finally, we will discussing possible quilting treatments that continue the inspirational theme.

Skill Level for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

The workshop is suitable for all skill levels. The freehand curves will provide the beginner with a firm foundation to cutting without rulers, upon which they can expand the technique. The slab technique is perfect for creating larger pieces of usable fabric, from which you can cut any shape and resew in any way you like. There are no constraints and the possibilities for creative interpretation are endless!

Material requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Whilst not essential for the workshop, my book Inspiring Improv (Lucky Spool, 2019) features the Foliage quilt and the will expand upon the techniques learnt and provide many more improv tips and tricks.

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.

My Foliage quilt finishes at approximately 45” x 54”. To make a quilt of a similar size, you will need the following:

5 - 6 fat eights in 3 different green colour ways for the leaves, for a total of 15 - 18 fat eights. I used teal, leaf green and chartreuse.

3 - 4 fat quarters in each of your chosen green colour ways for the leaf edges.

2.5 meters of background fabric

Please don’t stress about these requirements. They are simply a guide and I’ve 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 my techniques, so it won’t take long at all if you want to cut your pieces along with me. Of course, if you wish to make a smaller quilt, wall hanging or cushion cover, then you will need less fabric.

Equipment requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

A sewing machine

Good quality thread in an appropriate weight for piecing (I recommend Aurifil 50wt)

Rotary cutter with a new blade (especially important for the curve technique)

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

A willingness to explore your own creativity!

Pattern Information relevant to this Online Interactive Workshop:-

N/A

Sizing Guide relevant to this Online Interactive Workshop:-

N/A

Additional Information relevant to this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Unlike many of my previous workshops, in which we explore many different variations of a techniques, the aim of this workshop is to make your own version of my Foliage quilt. Whilst we will not have enough time to baste and quilt the project, we will be trying to complete the quilt top. For this reason, there will be much more sewing along together as we work on making our blocks, with the main focus being on the slab and freehand curve techniques.

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

The Ticket Price of £35.00 is based on ONE person attending this workshop.

IMPORTANT!!!

Please note that this is a LIVE class only - IT WILL NOT BE RECORDED!!!