IMPROV – UNDER THE INFLUENCE…
FRIDAY, AUGUST 23rd at the Odessa Hall
$40 day fee and you are welcome to come and PLAY!!
definition: IMPROVISATION... making do... Time to escape for a weekend and be with friends old and new... just making "STUFF"… and having FUN! Meeting new friends and a welcome to FALL sewing 2018!
Using what you have and committing to keeping the faith when it comes to your own work. Whether you have projects on the go, deadlines to meet or just need some time away from the house - this weekend will get you some free time with friends and see what is happening in the outside world.
This Friday workshop is the last day of our five day FIBRE FOCUS retreat week - relaxing days with NO Patterns, NO deadlines and NO stress about what is good enough or if all the points meet... and yes, it would not be fun without an "original design and play date - Friday, August 23rd!!
We will meet between 9 and 9:30 am and I will stay until 5 pm and as late as you wish on Friday… our IMPROV sewing day! So here is the breakdown for your Friday design play day!
IMPROV QUILTS – landscape style (or change it up and make the project your own)
Students will begin the day with graph paper, a ruler and pencil - just about an hour to get some ideas down on paper. There will be a large supply of circle templates in the room for you to copy onto cardboard or plastic and cut for circles if you would like to add them. Your design will use a favorite palette from perhaps a very traditional stash or go to super contemporary with just the click of the scissor blades and the fabrics YOU choose. This is intended as a STASH BUSTER workshop day.... so go searching through the closets and see what works for you!
Below is TURNING POINT ...machine pieced and quilted created for the SAQA My Corner of the World-Canada and on it’s way back to Ohio from Australia and a world tour. Just took a Third Place - Abstract Landscapes award at Quilt Canada in Ottawa this year... a fun surprise.
TURNING POINT (above) was pieced from scraps of my flat dyed fabrics and I had no idea when I began the piecing how it would proceed, but just STARTED.
It is amazing to see the work grow on a design wall, and even more satisfying to take it to the finishing stages with quilting and binding or mounting over a canvas. Turning Point followed and it is addictive – I have made numerous improv quilts and love the freedom of the piece, playful in it's own, unique "it just happened this way" results!
Really, NO PATTERNS NEEDED -bring your sewing machine (or stitch by hand) and a big box or bag of the scrap (or new, yet to be used) fabrics that have been haunting you, cluttering your closets or sitting in the pile - the pieces that you painted or dyed or bought on a whim and WANT so much to use up and turn into a new quilt, art piece or a gift for someone special.
This is a day to learn a bit more about how I start and work through my free form quilts – YOU can take yours to bed quilt size or create a small 12 x 12 to get started! SO MUCH FUN!
Simple cutting – scissors work! Simple sewing – just straight seams! Assembly – FUN!
REGISTER with me through email at bethanygarner.art@gmail.com or send along an e-transfer to secure your seat (send the transfer for $40 to garner@kingston.net) or I can do a SQUARE Invoice and you can pay by credit card!
CONTACT: Bethany Garner, 613-376-6150, bethanygarner.art@gmail.com
IMPROV – UNDER THE INFLUENCE…
Suggested Supplies List
• A selection of fabrics of your choice and anything will work – this is YOUR quilt and stash busting and using what you have is wonderful
I used my own hand-dyed fabrics in my quilts, but small-scale prints are wonderful, batiks are awesome and any fabric including velvet, flocked and silk fabrics are fun to insert for dimension.
• The biggest secret to success is VALUE – a great selection of light, medium and dark values that will be spread throughout your design.
• Love the fact that inserting a few “zingers” into your design (look carefully at Turning Point to see what the eye-catching colors and deep values add to the overall design).
• You will need rotary cutting equipment including your mat, rulers, and cutter with a good new blade!
• Scissors, pins and your other favorite sewing accessories
• A long ruler for making your design quickly on the large grid graph paper I will provide for you.
• Sewing machine and electrical cords, foot pedal, manual (just in case) new needles and a long extension cord
• Threads of your choice.
• I will provide the Muslin for your block building exercises (the strips of fabric are sewn “free form style) and have yardage available for $6 a meter (you can use any fabric to build your block components on – old sheets or yardage you have in the stash).
• Cameras welcome for inspiration from my work and your classmates’ designs
• A piece of batting or flannel backed tablecloth from the dollar store to use as a design wall – and masking tape for hanging on the wall.
• Dress comfortably and bring a cushion if you like – the chairs are plastic and HARD!
• Lunch is NOT available at the Odessa Hall though I will have coffee, tea and juice – and a few treats for you. There is a nice small café in the village of Odessa and you will have a full hour for lunch break.
• Call me with any questions… or email and I will get right back to you!
