Design your own quilt block inspired by the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival!

Spend 4 days quilting in Sylvia's light and bright studio, visit the PNW Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum 2 blocks away, tour the tulip fields and explore our wonderful town of La Conner. Great accommodations and restaurants right in town, everything within walking distance.

Explore in depth how to combine sashiko with hand appliquéd flowers. Work with wool and create realistic dimensional flowers embellished with simple embroidery stitches. No edges to turn! Or, learn 3 cotton appliqué techniques to easily pre-form turned edge shapes. Explore how to translate photos and drawings into effective designs, and/or work with one of Sylvia's many floral designs.

We will cover sashiko techniques, how to easily transfer designs onto dark fabric, the best fabric and thread options for sashiko, techniques for perfect stitch length, curves and corners. I will demonstrate how to select and fussy cut fabrics to create dimensional flowers. We will work with design boards and explore design concepts such as asymmetry, repetition, movement, and balance. Bring photographs or drawings of flowers and foliage, and/or work with your own photographs from the tulip fields.

We will cover what threads and needles to use to whip stitch wool appliqué and the best threads and embroidery stitches to embellish your flowers to make them appear dimensional.

Working with cotton, learn the Postage Label , Apliquick, and Heat resistant Mylar appliqué methods. All methods create perfectly pre-formed shapes, ready to appliqué down. We will cover the invisible appliqué stitch, how to make sharp points, smooth concave and convex curves.

Schedule:

• Thursday April 12th 3-6 PM

       Travel to La Conner, check into accommodations

       3PM reception with hor d'oeuvres , trunk show, orientation/overview. Bring your supplies and set up.

• Friday April 13th 9-3 PM

        Full day of teaching; lunch served

• Saturday April 14th 9-3 PM

        Full day of teaching; lunch served.

• Sunday April 15th 9-3 PM

        Full day of teaching; lunch served

• Monday April 16th 9-12 PM

         1/2 day teaching, sharing and goodbyes.

  Healthy snacks, coffee and tea available every day.

As you will be working in my studio, just about everything you will need on hand. You can bring your own fabrics for appliqué or delve in to my stash. Plenty to share! If you decide to work with wool, small packets will be available for purchase; this will keep your suitcases light for traveling. We have a small store in the office with supplies, kits and patterns on display.

As part of your workshop fee, you will have a kit with the following supplies:

• Packet of my favorite sashiko designs
• Sashiko thread
• Sashiko needle
• White transfer paper
• Indigo or black Essex (linen/cotton) for background
• Appliqué needles
• Clover 3-9 embroidery needles
• Use of #100 polyester Invisifil applique thread by Wonderfil to try. Collections available for purchase if you like it.
• Cotton appliqué fabrics: your choice from my stash
• Supplies for all methods of appliqué: freezer paper, Apliquick stabilizer, postage label sheet, Mylar sheet.

Supplies to bring: 

• Ball point pen, mechanical pencil or stylus
• Masking or scotch tape
• Thread conditioner: Thread Heaven is my favorite
• Thimble if you use one
• Temporary starch based fabric glue pen (Sewline). Available for purchase in class.
• small pointed cloth and paper scissors
• Apliquick tools if you have them

 Appliqué supplies for cotton appliqué

• Your favorite appliqué needles and thread
• For appliquéd flowers, a wide variety of scraps or fat quarters of cotton batiks, prints and hand-dyes. Visit my website under Tutorials for photos of suggested fabrics.

 Appliqué supplies for wool appliqué

• Ellana 12 wt. 50% wool/50% acrylic blend in a variety colors that match your wool for whip stitching and outlining appliqué. I will have a collection of threads available to use in class or to purchase.
• Scraps, 12" x 12" squares, or 1/8 yd cuts of high quality wool for appliqué in a wide variety of values; solids, hand-dyed, patterned for flowers. Wool will be available to purchase.
• Micro serrated small scissors for cutting wool (available to use in class or purchase)
• #8 perle cotton in a variety of colors (available to use in class or purchase)
• 6 strand embroidery floss in a variety of colors (available to use in class or purchase)