We're delighted to be hosting this Tiny Quilts, Big Colour workshop with the wonderful & hugely talented NEW Guest Tutor, Ben Millett! Quilting is Ben's creative outlet outside his work at an agriculture company in Des Moines, Iowa. Ben absolutely loves to explore colour and shape by applying contemporary colour palettes to traditional quilt blocks, turning digital concepts into a physical reality with fabric & thread. Now he wants to teach all this to... YOU!

 

Introduction by Ben:-

Quilting is my creative outlet outside my work at an agriculture company in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. I explore colour and shape by applying contemporary color palettes to traditional quilt blocks, turning digital concepts into a physical reality with fabric and thread. And I create to play, to communicate ideas, to further the gay agenda, to make what I want to see.

 

As their name might imply, 'Tiny Quilts' don't take much effort to create! With just a little bit of time, you can find colour combinations that bring a real impact in the small area. I like to use the scraps from previous quilts in tiny quilts as a way to test out different colour palettes while keeping the scraps out of the trash bin. I know 'Colour Theory' can scare some people: as such, I try to take a high-level approach with the theory and bring a practical aspect to exploring the colours in your stash, to help you work with your scraps to find colour combinations that resonate with you! We're very much going to focus NOT on 'the rules say this will look good', rather 'I like how these colours work together'!

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What You Will Learn in this Online Interactive Workshop:-

We will mix up our scraps to come up with interesting colour stories. There are exercises to try different techniques to make trouble colours work with others while also building upon your current favorite colours. We'll join our patches by hand with a quilt-as-you-go approach, add some quilting by hand, and use the backing as binding.

 

Please Note:

Fabric requirements and exercises during the workshop will enable you to make three tiny quilts. The goal for the workshop is more to learn the skills to create three quilts, so if you have one finished at the end, that'll be great! If you have three done, you're amazing!...

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Skill Level for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

This workshop is suitable for all skill levels of both hand-sewing and working with colour.

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Fabric requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

• (15) ~2" × ~6" scraps of various hues and values (light, medium, dark)

• At least one 5" charm pack with a variety of colors is strongly suggested, especially if your scraps are limited to a few favorite colors.

• Choose charm packs outside of your usual set of hues and values.

• I suggest any of these of Robert Kaufman's Kona Cotton: Neutral (CHS-695-85), Dark (CHS-694-85), Bright (CHS-693-85), and/or Pastel (CHS-692-85)

• Solids are preferred, prints that read as solid are okay

• (3) ~6" square of backing

• The backing will wrap to the front to be used as binding

• (3) ~5" square of batting

 

As soon as I have a listing from Sewtopia, I'll provide it to you.

 

Equipment requirements relevant to this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Favourite thread and needles Ben recommends:-

• John James Milliners needles, size 7*

• Aurifil 28wt #2021 for piecing and quilting*

• Optionally: Aurifil 12wt in a variety of colours for quilting

• Thimble

• Small pins*

• Scissors*

• Clover Wonder Clips*, Binder Clips, or similar

• Safety Pins*

Optional:-

• Iron

• Cutting Mat

• Rotary Cutter

 

A notions kit is available on my website. It includes the items indicated above with an asterisk. I recognise that shipping outside the US may be undesirable due to the cost:-

https://benmillett.us/shop/p/tiny-quilt-notions-kit

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Pattern requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

No pattern is required. A workshop handout will be provided to all who sign up for the class!

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Tickets for this Online Demonstration (via the Zoom platform) will be limited and allocated on a first-come/first-served basis! 

The ticket price of £35.00 (approx $40.00) is based on ONE person attending this crafting class.

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This CraftyMonkies online interactive workshop is being broadcast from the United Kingdom and the class time given is based on Greenwich Meantimee (GMT). We advise you check via Google Search (or similar) to see corresponding start-time in YOUR location!

Here's a great world time zone reference:-

https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/

 

Are you not able to attend this class due to living in a different time-zone? Are you otherwise engaged on the date of this workshop? Well, we have excellent news! This class is being recorded and a link will be sent to all classmates a few days after the class, so you can watch in your own time!

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