I first met Joshua when I interviewed him for my podcast, Breaking the Blocks, and his story has stayed with me ever since. If you haven’t heard it, do go and listen here. Joshua’s mum was an avid quilter. After she sadly died of cancer, he set out to finish one of the quilts she’d left behind. That one act of love became the start of his own creative journey, and today Joshua is truly blossoming as an artist in his own right, designing his own patterns and making the most beautiful quilts. I’m so proud to introduce him to you. Joshua is one of life’s genuinely beautiful, generous souls, and a wonderful teacher who shares everything he knows with warmth and patience. I have no doubt this class will both teach and inspire you. It’s fittingly called Your Universe of Inspiration, because inspiration was exactly what his mum gave him, and now Joshua is passing that on to all of us.

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Important: please note this is a four hour class and our usual start time of 4 o'clock has been changed to 3 PM. The class will run from 3 until 7 PM but at only £5 more, this represents excellent value! (3pm is 10am EST and 7am Pacific - £45 is approx $60

 

Introduction by Joshua Dunn

Hi, I’m Joshua Dunn, the quilter behind Lifting and Stitching. I started quilting in 2020 and I have been blending science and art ever since. My designs are bold and full of movement, and most start with an image of space. Music, story and memory find their way in too.

 

Curved piecing has a reputation for being hard. I want to make it feel doable. I believe that if you can sew a sleeve on a garment, then you can certainly sew curves. This is not just a technique class. It is a personal cosmos built one curve at a time. You will pick fabrics based on how they represent you or how they make you feel. Then we will turn them into a sun, a planet and a distant star.

 

You will leave with a finished piece, ready to become a pillow or a wall hanging.

 

What You Will Learn in this Online Interactive Workshop:-

• Curved piecing on your home sewing machine, from one easy curve to a tiny four-point star

• Registration marks, pinning or clipping, and how to coax curved edges together without pulling or stretching

• Two methods for sewing curves, including a reversed method for tiny curves

• How to square up curved blocks accurately

• How to use a large-scale print, an improv block or an orphan block as your planet

• How to add sashing and bring three blocks together into one piece, about 18½" square

 

Skill Level for this Online Interactive Workshop:

eg Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced- Intermediate

Confident Beginner. The Distant Star block stretches you toward Intermediate, and the class will get you there

 

Material requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

• Sewing machine thread

• Pins or clips (your choice)

• Glue stick (optional, in place of pins or clips)

• Stiletto

• Seam ripper

• Two fabric marking tools, one light and one dark (chalk and pencil, for example)

• Post-its or scraps of paper for labeling cut pieces (optional)

 

Fabric requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

• Background and sashing: 1 fat quarter (18" x 20" / 46 x 51 cm)

• Block 1, Color 1: 1 square, 7" (18 cm)

• Block 2, Color 2, choose one:

  • A) 12½" (32 cm) square of large-scale or hero print (easiest)

  • B) pre-made scrappy or improv block, at least 12½" square

  • C) pre-made orphan block, at least 12½" square

• Block 3, Color 3: 1 rectangle, 4¼" x 6½" (11 x 16.5 cm)

 

Quilting cotton is highly recommended. These are minimums and there will be some fabric waste. Bring extra if your Block 2 is more complex. Do you have a block from a previous Crafty Monkies workshop? That could be a nice adventure for Block 2 as long as it meats the measurement requirements (assuming it’s composition is non-directional).

 

Equipment requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

• Sewing machine

• Quarter inch presser foot

• Self-healing cutting mat

• Ruler, at least 12" (30 cm) long (6½" x 24" / 16.5 x 61 cm is ideal)

• Iron and ironing mat

• Fabric scissors

• 45 or 28mm rotary cutter

 

Pattern Information relevant to this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Templates are needed. They will be provided to registered participants in your ticket. Print the templates before class at 100% or Actual Size. Print page 1 first and check that the 1" square measures 1". One of the templates spans two pages, so trim the margin and tape together using the registration marks. Cut out and prepare the templates before class. We will cut into fabric during the workshop at the start of the class.

 

Sizing Guide relevant to this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Not needed for this workshop.
 

Additional Information relevant to this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Registered students will receive a workbook with step-by-step instructions for all three blocks and the final assembly after the workshop.

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Tickets for this Online Interactive Talk (via the Zoom platform) will be limited and allocated on a first-come/first-served basis! The ticket price of £45.00 (approx $60.00) is based on ONE person attending this crafting chat.

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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 Meantimee (GMT). We advise you check via Google Search (or similar) to see corresponding start-time in YOUR location!

Here's a great world time zone reference:-

https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/

 

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 is being recorded and a link will be sent to all classmates a few days after the class, so you can watch in your own time!

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You can either attend live or wait for the RECORDING to be sent a few days after the event for you to watch for 60 days. As long as you buy a ticket you can attend or just be sent the recording!

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