​​​​Get ready for another fantastic weekend of creativity! Join Nicholas Ball and CraftyMonkies CEO, Rachel (your host for the event), for our ALL-NEW, 3-Day Warholian Cabbage Weekend - an immersive 'Online Retreat'. Our Previous 3-day school in July 2026, featuring the Shoal class was a huge success. Our students absolutely loved it and asked if we could please have another one with a different theme, and so, in true CraftyMonkies style we have delivered!

 

Nicholas will dive deeper than ever into creating his iconic Warholian Cabbage, while also guiding you through transforming the techniques into a striking finished quilt. Designed for all skill levels, this inspiring weekend will build your confidence, spark bold improv ideas, and introduce fresh techniques you won’t have seen before - plus a few fun surprises along the way. The first is to let you know that we will be recording the entire event! Nicholas doesn't normally record his classes with us, but on this occasion he's agreed to do so! So don't worry if you cant make all of the event, just buy a ticket, come along when you can and watch the rest on catch up for a full 30 days after it's all finished!! We create a members page, especially for you that you can access for 30 days, it has all the information you need and the recordings are uploaded a couple of hours after each live class. Trust me, you won’t want to miss this!

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Introduction by Nicholas:-

After the success of the Shoal Summer School in July 2026, I’m delighted to share with you the details of my next school session – the Warholian Cabbage Weekend. In collaboration with CraftyMonkies, I’ll once again be delivering a weekend-long event (think of it as an online retreat!) focussed on creativity and community. Across three days, attendees will participate in live improv workshops, behind-the-scenes talks, a sewing circle and a group show and tell. Each day’s content is designed to take you from inspiration, through to expansion and reflection, all the while focusing on making you a confident and bold improv quilter, regardless of your experience or skill level. There will also be prize draws, plus new techniques I’ve not taught in previous Warholian Cabbage workshops. From fabric selection to piecing the jigsaw together, making a cabbage quilt is sure to fuel your creativity and expand your improv skills!

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What You Will Learn in this 3-Day Warholian Cabbage Weekend Online Interactive Workshop:-

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Friday 19 February 2027 – 4.00pm to 6.00pm GMT (Duration of class: TWO hours)

We will kick off our Warholian Cabbage Weekend with a behind-the-scenes trunk show and talk. I’ll be sharing some of the cabbage quilts I’ve made, as well as discussing colour and fabric choice. I’ll focus on inspiration, colour theory and risk-taking – moments where things shouldn’t work but do! I’ll demystify my approach to starting a new cabbage piece.

Next, we will take to our sewing machines to learn the fundamental techniques to make our cabbage core, focusing first on triangles to create the cabbage core. I will expand upon the instructions given in my book Inspiring Improv, with an emphasis on process, not just outcomes, embracing no measuring and a spontaneity.

By the end of our first day, we’ll be well-immersed in a more organic and liberated way of sewing. We should have the core of our cabbage completed, and maybe some of the main body, and will be ready to push ourselves further.

 

Saturday 20 February 2027 – 4.00pm to 6.00pm GMT (Duration of class: TWO hours)

This is the day where we aim to create breakthroughs, with an emphasis on individuality. In our second workshop, you’ll further your skills and make your cabbage unique by creating slabs, which will form the main shape of the vegetable. We will focus on inserts and strips sets – core piecing techniques which will take you beyond cabbages and add real interest to your improv patchwork. What unexpected results will you create?

 

Sunday 21 February 2027 – 2.00pm to 6.00pm GMT (Duration of class: FOUR hours)

For the first half of our final day, you are invited to participate in a sewing circle, working on your pieces and sharing your own discovered tips and tricks. Both Nicholas and Rachel will be popping in to see how you’re all getting on, but this really is an opportunity for you to let loose and be inspired by each other. After you’ve had some time to construct your cabbage body, you’ll learn how to create the final shape and float the cabbage in a background fabric by exploring the ring technique - a very versatile piecing method that creates curved lines with straight seams. 

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We will end our wonderful weekend of sewing with a show and tell, remembering that this isn’t about perfection, but more about seeing and understanding. This is a space to show your work and give Nicholas an opportunity to celebrate what is working in your piece and where the energy is. You’ll be encouraged (but not forced) to talk about your weekend experiences and what you take away with you and use in further creative exploration. Then, it’s fingers crossed as we draw our raffle.

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Skill Level for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Making a cabbage quilt provides a natural progression from some of my simpler workshops. The cabbage features three main techniques; triangles, slabs and rings. If you’ve already taken a class with me, then this workshop will help you put into practice what you have previously learnt, as well as being suitable for the confident beginner.

 

Material requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Whilst not essential for the Warholian Cabbage School, my book Inspiring Improv (published by Lucky Spool - 2019) will expand upon the techniques learnt and provide many more improv tips and tricks. Warholian Cabbage is one of the twelve quilts projects in the book.

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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:-  

• An assortment of fat eighths in your chosen cabbage colour, approximately 1 - 1.5m total. Look for tone-on-tone prints or anything with texture. 

• An assortment of cream/white fat eighths, approximately 1m total. Use several shades to add variation to the quilt.

• Larger scraps in your chosen cabbage colour

• Larger cream/white scraps

• Background fabric - approximately 1 - 1.5m. This should be simple and not distracting - solids work well.

 

The bigger you want to make the cabbage, the bigger fabric pieces you will need. If you are aiming for a large finished piece, then substitute fat quarters for fat eights. There is no right or wrong size of cabbage. We will be discussing ho easily they can be scaled up or down in class.

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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 workshops. 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. Also, they don’t need to be perfectly square, so feel free to use scissors.

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Equipment requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

• Sewing Machine

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

• 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

• Fabric Marker or Chalk

• Iron and Pressing Mat/Board

• Flatter Spray or Spray Starch (optional but very useful)

• Pen and Paper (for note-taking)

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Last, but by no means least of all, please bring... a willingness to explore your own creativity!!!

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Pattern requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Not applicable for this improv class!

 

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 £85.00 is based on ONE person attending this 3-day Winter school; Be sure to BOOK EARLY to take advantage of this opportunity...

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

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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.

 

IMPORTANT!

Fantastic news just in! We will be recording the live and interactive workshops over the 3-days for all those who purchase a ticket to watch for 30 days after the event has finished. So you can book your ticket and rest assured that even if you can't attend all or part of the event, you will not miss a thing as you'll be able to watch everything on video catch-up!