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Quiltcon 2017: Classes

Amber and I were able to take some classes at Quiltcon. There are tons of classes offered in all types of quilting, printing, handwork, and even business.

Natural Dyeing with Maura Ambrose of Folk Fibers

Maura Ambrose makes beautiful quilts with fabric that she naturally dyes herself for her company, Folk Fibers. She dyes cotton, linen and silk fabrics using natural dyes from both plant and plant extracts and gets beautiful results. 

I have a confession: this is the third time I've taken natural dyeing with Maura. It's just so fun and she has so much information to share! Each class has been different in what dyes we work with and I've learned new things every time.

In this class we were able to dye using Osage Orange (vibrant yellow), Tannin (deep tan), Walnut (light tan), Indigo (blue), and Brazilwood (pink). 

Maura provided swatches of different fabrics so we could test all the dyes on different bases. We were also able to experiment with over-dyeing in multiple dye baths to get purple, coral or green tones. Amber and I each dyed some yardage which we are excited to use for garments - stay tuned!

 One of Maura's quilt tops that shows the variety of colors she is able to dye

 A very graphic quilt top of Maura's

A sample of Maura's patchwork using Shibori dyed Indigo

 

Fabric and Shape Diversity in Applique with Hesperides with Carolyn Friedlander

I was very excited to finally take a class from Carolyn Friedlander! I've been a big fan of Carolyn's for a while and it was such a treat to learn from her. 

Carolyn Friedlander is known for her Slow Stitching patterns and her unique fabric designs. Her quilt patterns often involve applique and I took a class for her Hesperides pillow sham pattern that involves curved hand-applique.  

This was my first time doing hand applique and I learned so much! Also, I'm hooked. I used my fabric that I dyed in Maura's class the day before mixed with a Maker Maker linen canvas for the background.

The most fun part of the class was using design walls to play with our placement of pieces - everyone's work was so unique. 

Carolyn's Hesperides Quilt

 

Nancy Purvis Mesa Quilt

Amber and I both took Nancy Purvis's Mesa Quilt Class. In this class, we learned the techniques to make the Mesa block using half-square triangles and half-rectangle triangles. 

Nancy made a dance for us to practice to remember how to align our fabrics for proper cutting and piecing which was so fun! This class was great to learn techniques for cutting and piecing accurately. 

It's such an amazing experience to be able to learn from so many talented people in one weekend. I'd highly recommend Quiltcon classes if you can. Next year it will be held in Pasadena and enrollment will happen in June of this year. 

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