Nicholas Ball - Friday 10 July 2026 and Saturday 11 July 2026 - 4.00pm to 6.00pm (BST)

Sunday 12 July 2026 - 2.00pm to 6.00pm (BST)

3-Day Online Interactive Workshop: Improv Shoal Summer School!

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Get ready for a fin-tastic weekend of creativity! Join Nicholas Ball and CraftyMonkies CEO, Rachel (your host for the event), for our BRAND-NEW Shoal Summer School - an immersive 'Online Retreat' where we’ll take this much-loved class to a whole new level. Nicholas will dive deeper than ever into creating his iconic fish, while also guiding you through transforming them 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!! Trust me, you won’t want to miss this - and if you need any more encouragement to secure your place, we're offering an Early Bird Ticket priced at just £75.00, a £10.00 saving on the normal price of £85.00 once the Early Bird ends on 13 April 2026!…

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Important:- Although you’ll see three ticket dates listed in the ticket area, you only need to book one—the 10th of July. That single ticket gives you access to the full Summer School on the 11th and 12th. The other dates appear because of attached Zoom links, but you can ignore them—just book the 10th!

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Introduction by Nicholas:-

After the huge success of my previous online Shoal classes and sew-alongs, I’m delighted to share the latest iteration – Shoal Summer School! We're going deeper than EVER before! In collaboration with CraftyMonkies, we'll be hosting a weekend-long event (think of it as an online retreat) focused on creativity, connection, and community. Across three inspiring days, you’ll take part in live improv workshops, behind-the-scenes talks, a relaxed sewing circle, and a group show-and-tell. Each day is thoughtfully designed to guide you from inspiration through to expansion and reflection, all while helping you grow into a more confident and bold improv quilter - whatever your experience level! There’ll also be Prize Draws, plus brand-new techniques I’ve not taught in previous Shoal workshops!

 

It’s set to be a truly fin-tastic weekend! Oh, and did someone say 'Early Bird Tickets are available' - go and check them out! Any questions, just ask away and Rachel will respond!...

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What You Will Learn in this Online Interactive Workshop:-

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Friday 10 July 2026 – 4.00pm to 6.00pm (TWO hours duration)

We will kick off our summer school with a two-hour class and a behind-the-scenes trunk show and talk. I’ll be sharing some of the Shoal 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 shoal piece. You'll be able to ask any questions too! Next we will take to our sewing machines to learn the fundamental techniques to make what I call a “basic improv fish” – this is the simplest version and will allow both new and experienced improvisers to start confidently and boldly. I will expand upon the instructions given in my book Inspiring Improv and show you the basics of my triangle and freehand curve techniques, combining these individual units to complete our fish. We’ll be focusing 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 and ready to push ourselves further!...

 

Saturday 11 July 2026 – 4.00pm to 6.00pm (TWO hours duration)

This is where the MAGIC really happens! This is the second two-hour day where we aim to create breakthroughs, with an emphasis on individuality. In our second workshop you’ll further your skills and make your fish unique by adding gills, fins and elaborate tails. We will focus on inserts and strips sets – core piecing techniques which will take you beyond fish and add real interest to your improv patchwork. What unexpected results will you create?

 

Sunday 12 July 2026 – 2.00pm to 6.00pm (FOUR hours duration)

For the first half of our final four-hour day, you are invited to participate in a sewing circle, working on your pieces and sharing your own discovered tips and tricks. Both myself 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. There wont be a doorbell, you can just let yourself in and out of the sewing room as you please! After you’ve had some time to make further fish units (and maybe some new friends!) you’ll learn my all about my jigsaw method, giving you a firm understanding of how to join irregularly shaped units together into a completed composition. 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 me 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 Prize Raffle and a few lucky people will win some fabulous prizes!

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Skill Level for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

The workshop is suitable for ALL skill levels. The triangle technique is a great introduction to sewing in a more liberated way and is sure to fuel your creativity The freehand curves will provide the beginner with a firm foundation to cutting without rulers, upon which they can expand the technique. More experienced sewers can challenge themselves with more daring curves and different shaped fish, as well as more detailed additions using the insert technique.

 

Material requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Whilst not essential for the Shoal Summer School, my books Inspiring Improv (published by Lucky Spool - 2019) and Use & Ornament (also published by Lucky Spool – 2024) will expand upon the techniques learnt and provide many more improv tips and tricks. My original Shoal quilt is one of the 12 projects in Inspiring Improv and Just Keep Swimming is a quilt from my second book Use & Ornament.

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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.

• For the fish - an assortment of large scraps in your chosen colours. This fabric will be used for the fish bodies and tails, so a healthy assortment of different sized rectangles and squares will work best.

• For the background - an assortment of large scraps in your chosen sea/water colours. This can either be one fabric, for a more cohesive look, or a variety for a scrappy version.

• Additional scraps from your stash in coordinating colours for gills, fins and seaweed.

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The more fish you make, the bigger the piece will be. There is no right or wrong size. 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. This is a technique-based workshop. We will be making fish units and joining some together. However, depending on the size of the piece you want to make, you may need to continue to work on it in your own time. Feel free to make as many or as few of the fish units as you like. Don’t feel any pressure to cut up all your precious fabric.

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Equipment requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

• Sewing-Machine

• Good quality Thread in an appropriate weight for piecing (Nicholas recommends 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

• Fabric Marker or Chalk

• Paper and Pen for note-taking

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Lastly, 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! 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 £85.00 is based on ONE person attending this crafting class; our Early Bird Ticket (valid on all purchases up to midnight on 13 April 2026) is £75.00, saving customers £10.00 off the normal ticket price! Be sure to BOOK EARLY to take advantage of this great saving!...

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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!

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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!