Quilting by the Lake | Collage + Cloth = Quilt, Taught by: Judi Warren Blaydon

5 days - All Levels New Class offered by Judi

The "Collage+Cloth=Quilt" process reveals design possibilities you might never have envisioned! It allows you to make initial design proposals with swatches of paper, see varied options and audition solutions — by designing, experimentally, via a "work-wall on a small scale" Color Collage!

Your ‘PALETTE’ will be inspired by a collection of magazine pages chosen because you are intrigued by content, colors, patterns and textures.Your initial ‘SKETCHES’ will emerge as you play spontaneously with intuitive arrangements and overlays — full pages, parts and fragments from those images will lead to an abstract collage composition.The results may be powerful or subtle, lyrical or dramatic, symmetrical or not, suggestive of an elusive landscape or not — and the process will produce unexpected and innovative design elements.You will begin by inventing 2 or 3 experimental collage proposals that will be refined to become your ‘master collage’ which will be the ‘diagram’ — inspiration for your quilt.You will determine the most eloquent and expressive fabrics and contruct whatever 'invented yardage’ is necessary for your quilt.

Taught by: Judi Warren Blaydon

What You Need To Do Before The Class:

Read Helpful "Supply List " Information at the end of the Supply Lists. Collect [and bring] 5 or 6 gorgeous photographs: chosen from some you already have in your collection AND some taken especially for the workshop. [I will send you a list of suggestions to help you in photographing and selecting these ] Make [3] color-accurate copies on photo paper [if possible], enlarged up to 8" x II" of each of your 5 -6 photos. Gather [ and bring] all potentially useful fabrics, as described on the Information page. Bring variations that reflect ALL the color/pattern/texture areas you find in the pages. These may be used singly or in combinations and although you may not use them all, you'll want to have them all Remember, your quilt will be many times larger than our collage, so be mindful of scale and amounts when you' re gathering your palette.

What You Need To Bring To The Class:

Your photographs and enlarged copies, as described above
Your fabrics ---[see "Helpful Supply List Information"]
Money, in case you want to add to your collection
Pellon or Felt work-wall surface, pins, tape, etc.
Rubber Cement and some invisible Scotch tape
pencil, pen to make notes with
Template material [you may need some ] & marking pen
1/8th-grid see-thru ruler, 18" x 2"
1 O sheets 8 Yz " x 11" white copier paper
3- 4 sheets of 1/4" grid graph paper
2 or 3 pieces of Tracing Paper cut to 8 Yz" x 11"
Paper scissors
2 large index cards
[5 or 6] 3-hole acetate/see-thru 'sleeve' pages for the master collage and proposals
3-hole Folder with inside-the-cover pocket slots for storing hand-outs, sketches, ideas, and notes taken in class.

AND of course ---
Your sewing machine and ALL necessary tools and equipment, i.e. :
Thread, pins, ruler, rotary cutter and board, fabric scissors, high-intensity lamp, ETC. In other words, ALL the STUFF you always use when you sew.

Helpful "Supply List" Information:

FINDING COLLAGE SOURCES: A detailed list of suggested themes will be sent after enrollment. The source of your collage elements will be taken from 5 - 6 photo images selected because you love looking at them - - - and because you love seeing them together. The Content may or may not be thematically-related; look for compelling colors, DETAILS of random and formal patterning, subtle and dramatic value contrasts, graphic design, man-made and natural imagery: things that catch your eye. Trusting your instincts, gather your images in the same way as you might pile tentative bolts of cloth on the cutting counter at the Fabric Store ....... You'll make final choices by determining which photographs you love the most. In your collage, you'll be combining fragments of several varied sources, rather than working from a single image. Gather up to 24 images that intrigue you - - - then eliminate down to no more than 5 or 6-[ish]. 12 is too probably too many!

Don't base your choices on whether or not you already have similar [enough] yardage! I've found that if I respond to the visual content of a particular magazine page, it's possible that I have fabrics that reflect some of those same qualities - - because the same "instincts" are at work.

FINDING FABRICS that reflect the color/style/personality in your photographs: Since you won't know until we meet in class what the final visual content of your collage will be, you need to study all areas of each of the 5-6 photos and gather fabrics that have visual relationships to all major and minor elements in each one. You might needlwant to supplement your current stash with fabrics that relate to specific areas and elements - - - or you might already have the perfect cloth, but not enough of it. So shop if you want to, but check your stash first! Because very few fabrics exist that will be an exact color and style match or that will be large enough in scale, be aware of the elements that you know you will want in your collage and in your quilt - - - so you can gather the fabrics needed to 're-invent' the enlarged elements you'll need. For example, you might not have a mauve and blue textural fabric in the correct scale - - - but you can piece mauve and blue fabrics in a similar pattern. You might not have a pink and yellow-orange geometric or floral print that has large enough motifs - - - but you can piece or applique those motifs in a more expansive scale.

The class really could be titled "Collage+Cloth [+ YOU] = QUILT" - - - because you [and your imagination and your willingness to experiment] will be the most important elements!