Live Open Enrollment Quilt Workshops

This boo-ti-ful Halloween design is the perfect way to begin or sharpen your thread painting skills. No guesswork on how to thread paint. A drawing of each design and step-by-step instructions will guide you on your way. The house is thread painted in pieces and then “constructed” once all pieces are complete.

Haven’t tried thread painting before? This workshop is for all levels so come join the fun and discover a new technique to add to your quilting or sewing skills. 

In searching for a new thread painting workshop, I stumbled upon this exquisite painting by an American oil painter.  Knowing that many of the painters' artworks of yesteryear are no longer copyright protected allowed me the opportunity of enhancing the painting with thread.

The beauty of this workshop is the thread painting is balanced off with an equal amount of untouched background. The untouched background areas will be enhanced during the quilting process to provide a balance to the project.

The emphasis of this workshop is the how-to of thread painting but equally important will be a video showing how different stitches create interest and give an illusion of distance. This is a fun workshop and the results color-wise are striking!

Approximately 90 million households in the US have a pet. Hopefully many of you, like me, would like to honor your cherished pet in some type of quilt or artwork with thread. While the pet image in the project may not resemble your pet, you will discover the technique to honor your own pet. This workshop might be the answer you are looking for. The focus of this workshop is simple:

• How and when to use different weights of thread in your project
• How to take a photograph and transform it into a drawing using a graphics program
• Introduction to a 30 weight thread—which is a fairly heavyweight thread
• To thread sketch a printed design on fabric

So come join me for a short but fun pack-day full of instruction so you can create your own pet in thread and fabric. Some free-motion experience is helpful. 

The end game of any of my thread painting workshops is to deliver a realistic design and this workshop whether your first one or tenth one will teach in detail how blending works to create a realistic figure. And for the first time, micro-quilting will be introduced in a workshop. Micro-quilting is so much fun and you just can’t mess it up – cross any quilting line and no one is the wiser. And as a bonus, students will receive my booklet on How to Add Borders After Quilting the Quilt. The 3-day workshop will be held over 3 weeks, one designated day each week to allow finishing time for each segment of the workshop. This is a jam-packed workshop so join me for a few days of fun!!

Most of you have worked on a row by row quilt. Now for the first time, this workshops’ focus is thread painting row by row. The object of this workshop is to give the illusion that an area is far from the viewer and that another area is close to the viewer. Adjusting the rows achieves this goal and the use of dark and light areas creates the illusion of shadows and highlights thus giving form and interest to the project. So grab your thread, oil up your machine, and be ready to learn some new techniques!!

You can thread paint your way to success in this workshop simply by using an overlay drawing and custom printed background fabric to guide you to success. How simple is that!! Straight and zigzag stitches are simple to learn as you quickly begin your own thread painting adventure. Part of the workshop is to demonstrate how to reproduce realistic landscape elements. So come be Mother Nature for a day and create a small landscape vignette. Just beware – thread painting is so addictive.

Thread sketching is a bit different from thread painting in that the final result is just the “idea” of the photograph or design. Thread sketching is faster than thread painting in that the design does not have to be completely filled with thread. Only a straight or zigzag stitch is required. The comprehensive videos during the workshop will guide you through each step of the project. The video recordings will be available for 30 days from the workshop date. By the end of the workshop, you will be confident to transfer your own photographs or designs onto fabric. 

Want to give character to your characters?  Realistic designs are achieved by incorporating shadows and highlights into a design. Learn the design parameters required to shade and highlight with thread to create realism.  A preprinted design easily guides you through each step. Also, this workshop will show you how to divide a design into parts then assemble it so the design has more dimension and thus more realism. This is the first workshop I will teach to show how-to thread paint figures similar to the figures in my latest competitive quilt – the Declaration of Independence – Voices of Freedom. So come see how easy the process is and how much fun creating designs in thread can be!

Many of us have a photograph we would like to print on fabric and enhance the design with thread but just aren’t sure how to go about it. We will discuss the importance of value in thread selection so the thread augments the fabric and does not blend into the fabric. By the end of the workshop, you will be confident to transfer what you have learned to a photograph of your own. Printing on fabric will also be discussed to enable you to decide on how and where to have your fabric printed. 

The Thread Painted Landscape workshops have been my most popular workshops for 20 years. In the workshop, you will have the feeling you are looking over my shoulder as you view an up-close visual of each thread painting step. Still, pictures help augment each demonstration. The Woodlands project is easy enough for a beginner but creative enough for anyone that would like to sharpen their thread painting skills. A straight and zigzag stitch acts as the workhorses to manipulate the thread to create each design to its completion. So come join me for some great fun!! 

This workshop takes a photo and transfers it into fabric and thread. A preprinted custom color background will start you on your journey and a printed stabilizer overlay will guarantee success right from the start. Specific thread colors are paramount for a successful product so this workshop comes with a thread kit of the necessary colors. This workshop also includes both thread painting techniques I use so you will get an overall view of Nancy’s techniques. Come join me for two 4 hour days of fun, laughter and learning some thread painting techniques along the way!

Creating with Derwent Intense pencils is as easy as coloring and it is way too much fun!!. I am not kidding!! It is amazing what these pencils can do and you will want to see how simple it is. A pattern of an apple will be supplied and then the coloring begins. Watch as my fantastic fabric medium and a paintbrush transforms the “coloring” into a beautiful, dramatic and colorful work of art.  There is an artist is all of us just waiting to get out!! So come join me for a few hours of total fun.

This workshop introduces you to both thread painting and thread sketching. A preprinted design easily guides you through each step to assure your success right from the start.  The straight and zigzag stitch creates magic right before your eyes. The comprehensive workshop will guide you through each step of the project and is almost like having a private lesson with me. So come see how easy the process is and how much fun creating designs in thread can be!

Never thread painted before? Then this workshop is a great place to start. A straight and zigzag stitch are the little workhorses and a pre-printed design easily guides you through each step so no stress about how to proceed. The Zoom presentation is almost like having a private lesson with me. So why not spend a few hours and learn a new technique to add to your quilting arsenal.

A simple design, a few spools of thread, and a willingness to learn are all that is required to be successful in this workshop. This workshop is a great way to ease into thread painting and learn the basics – a good refresher if you have already taken a workshop from me. It’s fun and addictive. So come and have some fun.

Black and white fabric is prevalent in most quilt shops and is a very creative option to thread paint some amazing designs. Thread painting on commercial fabric is as easy as 1.2.3. In this workshop, you will learn how to blend thread to make the finished flower look realistic. With a printed design, it is easy to begin your thread painting adventure. The comprehensive video will guide you through each step of the project and is almost like having a private lesson with me. Once you have taken this class, you will never look at black and white fabric the same!!