Colour + Cloth Improv Play

This workshop is taking place as part of our COLOUR + CLOTH weekend. There will be a display of Sheena Chapman’s quilts in the church hall and outside our shop. In the display will be many of Sheena’s own designed and made quilts hung alongside quilts made by her students in class. Sheena is a bower bird and loves to mix vintage and contemporary fabrics in projects. Also on display will be some vintage quilts from Sheena’s collections that have informed or influenced Sheena’s designs or colour schemes. It promises to be a great celebration of Colour + Cloth.

In addition to the display and workshops with Sheena, Jennifer Corkish and Shiji and Alison Yamazaki form Wabi Sabi designs over the weekend, Shiji and Alison will be bringing their Wabi Sabi designs Pop-Up Shop which will be set up in the Uniting Church Hall across from our Berry Shop. They sell an wonderful array of Vintage and new Japanese textiles, indigo dyeing materials and Japanese textile focused books as well as some vintage Japanese wearables. 

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP 

Sheena’s quilts are a fantastic blend of old and new, traditional and improv. We call it ‘Inspired Improv’. Sheena’s quilts are refreshingly colourful, fun and fast to make. Some quilts are Sheena’s contemporary take on a vintage quilt from her collection, some quilts are designed in response to the fabric she’s working with and many begin with a vintage piece of fabric.  Once you see them you will be dying to make them all!!

Sheena has a number of improvisational techniques that she characteristically employs in her quilts and you will learn these in class as you work through a quilt. Once you’ve mastered these you can go on to create your own ‘Inspired Improv’ heirlooms at home. Another feature of Sheena’s quilts is the exciting use of big pieces, large borders and panels that help a quilt grow quickly in size. Sheena also employs special, sometimes unorthodox, time saving techniques that all total fabric addicts will appreciate. 

Sheena specialises in helping you choose fabric combinations that really emphasise your ‘hero’ or favourite prints or special vintage yardage. You will learn how to mix your vintage scraps and treasures with your modern stash and make your own unique quilts with a vintage twist! In this class, the classroom is festooned with design walls so everyone can see their creation taking place, life-sized in front of them.

How class is structured:

The class is suitable for confident beginners who have probably made a few quilts before, know their equipment pretty well and are exuberant with fabric and happy to ‘throw caution to the wind’ in pursuit of a lively, one-of-a-kind, scrappy quilt. There will be lots of emphasis on colour choices and what combinations make an energetic happy quilt. The quilts are machine pieced so bring along your machine, cutting equipment and plenty of scraps. You’ll be inspired not just by Sheena but by what everyone else is making in class.

This weekend’s class will focus on string piecing exercises which could grow to become Sheena’s Florabunda (quilt pictured below) or an improvised riff on the theme. You’ll see other quilts that Sheena has made incorporating string piecing such as Emerald City or Birdhouse and she will guide you to begin to think about an improvised project like some of the quilts pictured in progress below.

String piecing and the various ways to cut and reassemble string pieced slabs are a recurring element of Sheena’s quilts and are the perfect introduction to Sheena’s working style and crop up again and again in Sheena’s quilts. Ticket price includes scrap bag of fabrics in Sheena’s signature bright colours. The scrap bag will be enough to make several blocks which could be added to from your stash (or the shop) to continue on to make quilt top or finish the blocks made in class and turn them into a cushion. 

Note: if you’ve been to class with Sheena before and are part way through a project please get in touch. It could be possible to continue work on that project alongside the projects offered here but get in touch about this first before booking. 

COVID 19 DETAILS:  

At the time of making this listing, it is not a requirement to wear masks during the workshop or be physically distanced in class OR to check vaccination status of participants. We will have sanitising equipment but it is up to you to assess your personal comfort zone and in this situation. You will be very welcome to wear a mask if you would prefer. We will encourage anyone experiencing cold or flu symptoms not to come and will offer a store credit if they can not attend at the last minute or a full refund if we are prevented from running the event due to covid 19 regulations changing.

Images of Projects: 

Sheena Chapman helping Dianne with her quilt.

Sheena Chapman Rainbow Chevron Quilt 

Sheena’s Florabunda Quilt. A great quilt ot learn about colour, fabric string piecing and improv quilting.

Jayne’s version of Florabunda in progress

Jenny’s version of Florabunda

Jenny’s Florabunda in Progress

Roddy’s version of Florabunda

A vintage string pieced quilt which inspired Sheenas string pieced quilt.

Sheena’s Pastel version of the vintage string pieced quilt.

The Emerald City quilt featuring various string piecing exercises.

Birdhouse; a great example of improv using string pieced blocks.

Goodnight Moon is a great intro to Sheena’s Improv techniques

Sally with her amazing Frida Inspired Goodnight Moon!

Sheena and Mary discuss colour.

Sheena with her Trigonometry Quilt

Sheena with her quilt Quality Street

Sunday best by Sheena Chapman

Sunday Best by Mary Lawler

Serendipity is an unusually neutral quilt for Sheena but features many improvised elements.

 

The woven quilt in progress

 

An improv medallion quilt.

Charlotte working hard on her tumbler quilt.

An improv log cabin featuring found vintage fabric in progesss