Classes

Presentation Topics (45 minutes – 1 hour)

Contact me at johnniemckenzie@att.net for availability and price per session. Many sessions are free.

My Quilting Journey:       

    From cotton fields to art quilts, from necessity to the pure joy of quilting

My Art Quilt Process:       

    Designing, piecing techniques, quilt sandwich styles, quilting, embellishing, 
    presenting the finished piece

Telling Your Story:           

    How to unleash your creativity and tell your story in fabric, creativity techniques,
    design considerations, material options, etc.

Workshops/Classes

Contact me at johnniemckenzie@att.net for availability and price for classes. Check the calendar at Carolina Quilt Studio where I regularly teach.

Meraki Color Pops Quilt Stories     (6 hours)

Meraki is a Greek word meaning doing what you do with passion and leaving a part of you in your effort. It could be any task, but especially those that come from our passion for arts and crafts. In this class you will create a “color pop” that will illustrate something important to you, a small quilt that will contain a little bit of you. You will complete three creativity exercises to learn how to tell your quilt story. The skills taught for embellishing your color pop are couching, beading, and decorative stitching.

Materials Required for Class: A materials list will be sent to you when you register.

Original Designs with no Piecing (6 hours)

This class will definitely bring out the artist in you. Traditional and paper piecing techniques limit our creativity somewhat since sharp curves and angles present difficult challenges. So we turn to hand or machine applique or fusing. I, however, do not enjoy either of these techniques – purely personal preference – and developed a process that is more like that of Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry and Sheila Frampton Cooper, which they call appli-piecing. I have simplified the assembly process to a level that allows those of us with no computer drawing software to accomplish intricate or simple designs with a simple pencil, pen, and freezer paper.

Materials Required for Class: A materials list will be sent to you when you register.

Easy-Fast Paper Piecing (6 hours)

Paper piecing offers many benefits such as precision piecing (perfect points), the ability to sew tiny pieces accurately, the ability to sew fabric cut on the bias without stretching, make extremely complex blocks, and avoid cutting block components with templates.

After reading the over-20 pages of instructions for my first Niemeyer pattern years, and years ago, I decided there had to be a simpler, easier approach to complex paper piecing projects. I call my process “just as wide as” paper piecing, no templates, no cutting triangles. If you can cut a WOF strip of fabric, you can master any paper piecing project.

You will learn the value of the number sequence on patterns and how paper piecing and traditional piecing work together, how to prepare fabric for the most accurate sewing, and how to choose the best thread and needle are also covered. You will create at least two different blocks (palm leaf and tulip), trim seams and components, remove the paper quickly and easily, and press the block for final assembly. This class includes printed paper pattern pieces for the entire wall quilt/table topper shown in the top left graphic. A materials and tools list will be sent to you when you register.

Materials Required for Class: A materials list will be sent to you when you register.

EQ (Electric Quilt) for Every Day Use  (6 hours)

You don’t have to be a quilt or pattern designer to benefit greatly from EQ. In this class, you will learn how it can help you make routine, everyday quilting a lot easier. I will cover:

·         How to start a new project and organize your files

·         The interface and tools

·         The language of graphic software, e.g., nodes, segments, grid, etc.

·         The vast EQ resources such as blocks, fabrics, etc.

·         How to use the Sketchbook to save your blocks and quilts

·         How to create a quilt, print block patterns, and calculate yardage

·         How to create a new block, trace an image, and edit blocks

Class Materials Required:            Laptop with EQ installed, mouse, mouse pad

Make It Modern in EQ  (4 hours)

This class is for those who are comfortable with EQ and who want to create quilts in the modern style using the fundamentals of traditional blocks. You will learn the basics of what makes a quilt modern, how to modify your favorite traditional blocks to “modernize” them, and use a custom quilt design to create your own, original modern quilt, table runner, or wall hanging.

Class Materials Required:   Laptop with EQ installed, mouse, mouse pad

Fabric Slashing  (6 hours)

After enjoying an online class by Carol Ann Waugh on fabric slashing, I began incorporating that technique in my art quilts along with other embellishments like beading, decorative stitching, and couching. Fabric slashing is similar to the chenille process except more fabric is exposed so more color can be included in the project; it’s not just texture like chenille but color, color, color.

In this class, students will create an original design and make a pillow ready for an insert. Think about what a great gift this would make for someone special.

Materials Required for Class: A materials list will be sent to you when you register.

Four Ways to Bind a Quilt (3 hours)

The binding speaks loudly or softly, depending on what design element you choose for it to play. This class covers four ways to “finish” your quilt: traditional binding (WOF strips and bias), facing, yarn, and cord. You will finish a sample quilt sandwich in all four ways and learn when to you which to get the design effect you want.

Materials Required for Class: A materials list will be sent to you when you register.

Temperature Quilts – A full Year or an Annual Celebration (6 hours)

I have always loved watching the weather patterns around me. As Paul Simon sings:

I get the news I need on the weather report

Oh, I can gather all the news I need on the weather report

Hey, I’ve got nothing to do today but smile

De-doh-n-doh-de-doh

And here I am the only living boy in New York

Like the song, a temperature quilt always brings a smile to my face. However, many of us don’t want to create 365 blocks as the year moves forward, even one day at a time. So in this class you will have a choice to use current and future weather data or create a quilt using historical data. And you can choose to create a “special event” quilt using historical weather data for a particular date over multiple years, for example, a temperature quilt depicting the weather on a child’s birthday or first day of school. You will learn:

·         Where to find historical climate data or capture current data

·         What climate data to include such as high and low temperatures, precipitation, wind velocity, humidity, etc.

·         How to create a range of values based on the data

·         How to view the data to make color and fabric choices

·         How many colors to use

·         How to choose a block and quilt structure. The instructor will demonstrate 12 block choices that range from a simple one-seam goose to a bit more complex with curved piecing. Some blocks that can be easily fused will also be included. The instructor will provide patterns for each block demonstrated.

·         How to create your construction “road map”

Once you choose your block, I will provide the pattern for you in the size you choose. I will provide demos and tips on make the blocks I present.

Coloring Your World Creative Workshop (2 days)

Imagine yourself on the space station looking down at your community, your state, your country, your world. What colors define your life on Planet Earth? Do you have a favorite poem, book, painting, or photograph that illustrates how you see your environment, in the past, in the future? Whatever your inspiration, it’s worth capturing in a quilt. The three-dimensional image in this pattern is a natural for interpreting your passion for the world around you.

This is a two-session workshop. Vision, Design, and Construction is the first session. The second session is Bringing Life to Your World. I recommend the sessions be scheduled 1 week apart to allow students to complete the majority of the piecing. A materials and tools list will be emailed to you after registration.

Session 1: Vision, Design, and Construction (6 Hours)

Skill Level: Experienced Quilter to Advanced

What’s Provided: Pattern (ready to paper piece and original for your future use)

In the first session, you will explore your vision of your world and bring your inspiration to life, plan the construction and materials (fabrics and embellishments), and you will practice embellishing techniques using provided quilt sandwiches.

The quilt is a three-dimensional globe composed of easy-to-piece Darting Birds blocks. Paper piecing skills are helpful. In this first session you will make a sample component with provided fabric to make sure you are comfortable with the piecing method.

A sewing machine and basic sewing tools are required for this session. A detailed materials and tools list will be sent to you well in advance of the session.

Session 2: Bringing Your World to Life (6 Hours)

Skill Level: Walking Foot and Free Motion Quilting Experience Helpful

What’s Provided: Assorted embellishments and threads.

In this session, you will focus on finishing the piecing of the top, making the quilt sandwich and begin quilting using straight stitching with a walking foot, couching and decorative stitching. You will also learn to use different types of thread, including metallic threads. I created this workshop out of my passion to express my love, joy, fear, and sorrow for our planet as it faces the climate crisis. The three quilts above were inspired by the following poem:

We Walk

When meadow grass tickles bare toes

      and sea jewels dot crystal beaches,

When canyon rims smile with show girl lips

      and ancient hardwood arms soothe souls,

When knobby-kneed trees stand proud

      and orchids cling to their bark,

When skies fill with migration melodies

      and snow-covered peaks glisten from afar,

With hearts filled with joy and reverence,

We walk.

 When Earth’s halos break into the seas

      and salty fingers touch our sidewalks,

When geographies of hope are ravaged

      and farmlands lie barren,

When white blooms pockmark the oceans

      and whale songs go unsung,

When Earth’s last salvation slowly slips away

      and the parade of extinction gains speed,

With hearts filled with sadness and fear,

We walk.

When the sun stalls over head

      and leaves curl in retreat,

When riverbeds refuse footprints

      and winds slice to the bone,

When only tears quench thirst

      and bird songs are but memories,

When there is no spring, no summer, no winter, no fall

      and rivers have no direction,

With hearts filled with rage and regret,

We walk.