About

This class is postponed. No registrants. Waiting to hear new dates.-tt

Our world moves very fast. This retreat-like workshop focuses on slowing down and relishing in process rather than product. Supplies needed are minimal and no machine is necessary. Small compositions will be created with an emphasis on how to use the hand stitch as a major design element. So grab a bag of fabric scraps and your favorite hand sewing tools, and jump on board.  This is not a technique workshop where you learn how to hand stitch. The focus is on using the stitch line as mark-making on cloth. The stitch marks are the brush strokes that make the composition complete. Each day opens with a design presentation. Students will explore personal mark-making preferences, with the power of parallel play in groups.

Goals: 

• To learn about the power of the hand stitch as mark making
• To make a stitch sampler
• To create 10-20 small compositions using hand stitching
• To apply newly learned materials to the final project

• 1-2 compositions that relate
• Banner
• Journal
• Scroll
• Accordion book
  
  

Supplies students should bring:

Think about what you would like for a final project and bring supplies accordingly. Brainstorm your project—here are some things that might be useful:

• • Bag of scraps—limit your color palette
• • We only need small pieces—any scraps go 
  • One idea: Look online or at a fabric store for buy a packet of like fabric pieces (charms)
  • We do not need yardage
  • Think small samples of upholstery fabric, paper coffee huggers, unusual fabric
• • 4 fat quarters that read as a solid; include light, dark & medium
  • Pair of old blue jeans to cut up—optional
  • 1-2 yd. natural color duck cloth (unprimed/7 oz.)—available at dickblick.com
  • 1 yd. of black duck cloth—optional, but good to have around
  • 1-gallon bag of scraps to go in the share pile
  • Optional: Clothing you would like to add some stitching to or cut up to use for scraps—linen, cotton, and silk all work
  • Art paper that can be stitched through but won’t fall apart, available at art stores. Better to bring 2-3 smaller pieces; whole sheets are not necessary. Think outside the box—coffee huggers, gift wrap…..
  • A variety of small amounts of sheer fabric—3 or 4 small pieces
  • Sewing tools: Scissors, Needles that fit your thread—chenille needles, needle threader, needle grabber
  • Pearl cotton: one each of size 5, 8 & 12 pearl cotton. Valdani pearl cotton works great, and variegated color is even better! Note: I don’t recommend embroidery floss
  • Straight pins
  • Any other tools you enjoy using for hand stitching
  • Glue stick
  • Paint
  • Interfacing/fusible such as WonderUnder
  • Any art supply you love to work with & can adapt for the project
  • Mark making tools/stamps/markers/ephemera/stencils
  • Fabric/paper to complete the project

• Please note that this class has a 30 day cancellation policy. Registration for this class will close on Sunday, July 18th at 9:00 AM. Requests for refunds or credits will not be issued after this date.
• This class will be held in BARN's Great Room located to the left as you enter through the main doors.
• BARN will be practicing safety measures for the health and well-being of all participants, in accordance with state and CDC guidelines. Everyone using the studio will be required to wear masks, wash or sanitize hands frequently, maintain a distance of six feet between individuals, and stay home if they are sick. Please review our safety protocols before registering. BARN wide safety protocols can be found here. Fiber Studio specific safety protocols can be found here.
• There will be lunch menus each day for optional ordering. Plan for $15.00 per day
• Your registration confirmation email will also have the same list of the supplies needed for this class shown above.
• Skill Level: All levels; no experience necessary
• Ages 14+ Welcome.
• Tuition assistance is available. Click here to apply. 

Instructor Bio:

Deborah Fell is a full-time studio artist committed to the quilt medium. Deborah’s art focuses on abstract, organic shapes while using surface treatments such as dyeing and painting fabric, photography, and reclaimed materials. Deborah has been a professional educator for over 30 years. Besides teaching at-risk high school students in a public high school setting, Deborah has taught various art workshops at national symposiums such as Quilt Surface Design Symposium, Quilting by the Lake and Art Quilt Tahoe. Deborah obtained a Master’s degree from Northern Illinois University as well as graduate work at University of Illinois, University of New Hampshire, and a fellowship at Northwestern University. In 2003 Deborah was in Quilt National and in Visions in 2018.

In 2010 Deborah was asked to assist the host of CBS’s television show, Extreme Home Makeover, in creating the art piece for the master bedroom project for the new house build in the east central Illinois area.

During fall of 2011 Deborah was an Artist-in-Residence at the Mendocino Arts Center in Mendocino, California. In 2012 Deborah started teaching art-quilt-related courses at the University of Illinois through the OLLI program. The winter 2012 issue of Art Quilting Studio featured Deborah’s work on the front cover.

In 2013 Deborah completed an Artist-in-Residence at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois. Deborah was an Artist-in-Residence at the Nantucket School of Design and the Arts in the summer of 2016, along with the Vermont Studio Center in the fall of 2017. Deborah was the featured artist for the January 2017 Patchwork Professional in Germany, which featured an architectural series focusing on German architectural elements. Art exhibit openings in South Africa in 2014, Holland in 2015, and France and Cape Town in 2017, continue to strengthen Deborah’s art visibility at the international level. Deborah’s art quilt in Visions 2018 won the Quilts Japan Prize, along with teaching in Tokyo in 2019.