Our instructor for this workshop is Tonya Ricucci, aka The UnRuly Quilter. Tonya has been quilting since 1987 and considers her style to be liberated and "non-traditional traditional" (think Gwen Marston, Gee's Bend, and string quilts). Tonya's popular website, Lazy Gal Quilting (http://lazygalquilting.blogspot.com/), full of tutorials and inspiration led to her equally popular first book, Word Play Quilts (http://www.amazon.com/Word-Play-Quilts-Techniques-Quilter/dp/1604680172), which focuses on creating improvised words and numbers.
In our workshop, participants will learn how to start a quilt using improvisational methods. They will then pass their beginning, and their fabric, to others to work on, one at a time. Each person will add a little piece of a "signature" fabric to their contribution, as a way of "signing" their work. Each person will build on each patchwork as it passed around, seeing the patterns that are emerging and building on it in their own unique way. The goal is to be responsive to whatever the patchwork is saying and to add to it in a cohesive way.
The beauty of group improv is that it opens you up to ideas and “conversations” with other quilters as you work together and let the fabric flow. Participants will take their original starter block home, along with any additions to the quilt made by others. This will be the basis of a quilt which can be completed at home. This workshop is an excellent introduction to working with “improv with intent” and to understanding how to let your wonky side run wild.
Participants will need to have good basic sewing skills and be familiar with how to operate their machine. Beginning quilters are welcome! Full details are below.
