Quilted Comforts by Dot Collins

Home Workshops Lectures Calendar Patterns Quilts for Sale News

Workshops

 

 

 

 

I have numerous workshops and classes that provide instructional material for traditional and innovative quilt designs.  I design, write, and illustrate the instructional material for the quilts I teach.  Most designs include a variety of size choices so that the quilter can make the quilt size that they prefer or have time for.

Workshops are generally 6 - 7 hours long but may be shortened or lengthened to meet the need of your group.  Workshop prices are based on minimum of 12 attendees.  For most of the workshops, additional students may be added for an additional fee.  Contact me for supply lists or for more information.

Click (Ctrl+click) on the individual class listed below for more detailed information on the class and a picture of a class sample.

The workshop fee for the classes below is $300 for up to 12 students and $25 per student for each person over 12.

Plaid and Stripes Salad or Modified "One of a Kind" quilt / Tossed Salad Quilts - with no plaids

Plaid and Stripes Salad quilts combine plaid and striped fabrics with your own “focus” personalize blocks (i.e. Orphan blocks from other classes, antique blocks, pieced blocks, preprinted squares, painted fabrics, embroidered squares, needlework,  theme prints/fabrics, appliqué designs, pictures printed on fabrics, etc.) to make a unique quilt. You may also choose to use fabrics other than plaids and stripes.  This Quilt makes a wonderful school or holiday theme quilt.

 

New Workshop!    Machine Quilted Feathers (a process workshop!)

Machine Quilted Feathers is a process class.  The handout will include instructions on how to do a quilt with lots of feathers but the focus of the class is to teach technique of how to accomplish the stitches needed to make that quilt - or to use on any other machine quilted quilt.

This is a tell-show-do class.  There will be description, practice, demo, and execution of a lot of shapes and feather designs that you can use on your quilts.  You will not take home a finished project but you will have lots of samples, drawn designs, and a handout. 

 
New Workshop! Spinning Stars

Spinning Stars quilts are paper pieced – two different size wall quilts are available options for this paper pieced class which utilizes 60-degree triangles arranged with star strips and/or background strips to create the appearance of spinning stars. 

 
New Workshop! Memories Squared

Memories Squared – the use of  memory blocks – T-shirts or photographs – sashed with squares to make them fit together.  T-shirts or photographs do not have to be all the same size to work in this quilt – in fact, it will be more interesting if they are not.  How to make them fit together is part of the class.  The size of your quilt will depend on the sizes and the numbers of memory blocks you use.

 
Painless Kaleidoscopes

Kaleidoscope quilt blocks with no “fussy cutting” and you get a surprise with every block you lay out.  This workshop will help you understand and execute the quilts taught in Bethany Reynolds’ Magic Stack and Whack Quilts.  You can do a quilt with either six or eight piece kaleidoscope in the class.  A supplemental handout will be given with the workshop but most students will love having the book as a reference during and after the class.

 
Chinese Coins Quilt

This is a somewhat traditional quilt that I have heard called both Chinese Coin or Roman Coin quilt.  It reminds me of the Chinese coins you see that have a square hole in the center of a round coin.  Students can choose to make their “coin” blocks using twelve repeats of a printed fabric – or using a more traditional approach with three or more fabrics to make the “coin”. 

 
Dresden Plate Quilt

The Dresden plate design for this quilt is made up of nine segments - 40-degree wedges sewn together to make the plate. The plate that is formed is machine appliquéd to the background and a center circle or hexagon is appliquéd on top in each block.  The blocks are 12” square and are divided by 2” sashings.  The blocks may be set straight or on-point to create varying looks. The blocks may be done by piecing three or nine different fabrics for the wedges or by using 9 repeats of a print fabric stacked and cut to create the plate.

 
Spectacular Stars Quilt
Spectacular Stars quilt is made up using a simple Ohio Star block is used but “jazzed” up by dividing the block diagonally and using strong contrast (two colors or dark/light) to create the block. The blocks are set together with sashing and cornerstones that maintain the contrast and the whole quilt results in secondary geometric lines that make the quilt spectacular.  One of the border choices uses on-point “curved-pieced” blocks to yield a cable or rope effect around your quilt.
 
New Workshop! Wool Work
Design your own small wall hanging made entirely of wool and hand appliqué with buttonhole stitch.  Process may be adapted to flannel and/or cotton by using a fusible product with the appliqué.  Suggested shapes will be provided and you can combine them with ones you create and arrange to your liking.  No sewing machine required.
 
 Sixty-Degree Diamond Attic Windows Quilt

This quilt is made up of blocks that are 60-degree diamonds sashed to give the appearance of “attic windows.  The diamonds are created using 60-degree triangles cut from a stack of 8 repeats of a print fabric.  Sashings are added to create the attic windows. You will be surprised to learn that the sewing is very easy for this complex-looking quilt and there are no inset seams required for assembly

 
New Workshop! Feathered Star Wall Quilt

Create a 36” Feathered star that can be used as a wall quilt or as a medallion with other blocks around it. Star points may be “fussy-cut” to give a kaleidoscopic effect to the star.

 
Log Cabin Quilt

Traditional setting or modified to feature a “picture or design center” (up to 8” square center design allowed).  The logs are 1-1/4” finished width and the block sizes vary from 12” - 18”.  Yardage provided for any size quilt from wall hanging, couch throw, all the way to king size.

 
 
Lone Star Quilt

This workshop utilizes the “cut no diamond” technique.  The fabrics and instructions provided allow you to make a star large enough to fit any size bed rather than just adding borders as suggested in the original book instructions.  I have done all the math for you to use five, six, or seven fabrics in your star and repeat them in a border row.  If the students do pre-class sewing as provided in the pre-class instructions, many will have their quilt top sewn together in 7 - 8 hours of class

 
Rings Around the Roses (or whatever you have in your fabric)
To make this quilt you may use one or several fabrics to create “rings” around the printed fabric you choose.  This quilt combines two blocks which alternate to create the ring-effect – which you cannot see until you sew the blocks together.  The blocks are easy to create but the combination of the blocks teaches the skill of matching angles that are not the same as they touch.  This design can easily substitute for a much more difficult to piece traditional double wedding ring quilt if you need one as a wedding or anniversary gift.
 
Hugs and Hearts Quilt
 
This quilt combines machine appliqué and simple pieced blocks to create a stunning quilt in any size you choose.  The class handout includes “Eighteen ways to appliqué” – a guide to machine (or hand) appliqué preparation and stitching.  The heart appliqués provide an opportunity to use more than one of the techniques so that you can try your hand at several and make a great quilt at the same time.  The optional double-curve border is designed to frame the simple quilt and can be used over and over on other quilts you create.
 
Stained Glass Wall Hanging Quilt
Three small Stained Glass Wall Hanging Quilt - a choice of designs - sailboat, wild roses, or a cross on a hill are included in this class.  Students will get all three patterns but choose one to do in the class.   The designs are done with fusible web and bias bar tubes.  Wall hanging size is either 16” x 20” or 24” x 28” - both of which may be framed instead of quilted if desired.  This workshop requires about one iron per every two students but irons and sewing machines will not be plugged in at the same time. Often, students prefer not to sew in class.
 
Paper-pieced Mariner's Compass Quilt
 
This quilt design includes four optional sizes which vary by the number of compasses you will complete to make your quilt.  The smallest size requires only two.  Instructions provided for paper-piecing, setting the compasses into a background square, sashing, and optional appliqué border.
 
Modified Paper-pieced New York Beauty Quilt

The Modified Paper-pieced New York Beauty Quilt has the points of the crown elongated.  The blocks are 8” quarter circles set into a square of fabric.  Depending on choices and number of fabrics used, you can achieve a secondary design when arranging your blocks.  Quilt size options vary from wall size to king size.

 
Paper-pieced Storm at Sea Quilt
The paper-pieced Storm at Sea Quilt is a simple paper piecing project which makes this quilt so easy and so perfect.  Yardage chart provides for small to large quilts, depending on the block size chosen and also for changing of color or shade five times across the quilt top.  You could take one color from light to dark or choose five colors adjacent to each other on the color wheel.  The supply list will tell you how to do it.
 
Steps and Stars

The Steps and Stars quilt combines two favorite traditional blocks, “Courthouse Steps” and “54-50 or Fight” stars, to make a wonderful new look with bright fabrics or a great homespun look with old looking fabrics and plaids The star points are paper pieced to avoid using templates for the odd shapes.

Strippy Stars Quilts

Strippy Stars Quilt is an adapted design inspired by strip quilts done on a foundation fabric.  To form the stars, part of the foundation is left uncovered.  When four blocks are combined, a four pointed star emerges.  A great way to use up scraps and leftover strips from other projects.  It includes a unique border combination that is asymmetrical - or either border may be used for the entire quilt.  Size options vary from 42” square to 102” square or any in-between. 

 
Plaid Patch Reproduction Quilt
The Plaid Patch Reproduction Quilt is made from a simple block “Puss in the Corner” used on point to make the inner quilt and a self-border by changing colors.  This is a reproduction of a quilt that is in the Smithsonian, going back to the original “look” to achieve a quilt that looks like our grandmothers might have made it. Variety of size options is given.
 
Big Bold Baskets Quilt

The Bold Baskets Quilt combines an original basket design that uses striped fabric for the basket to look like a real woven basket.  The baskets can be “filled” with a floral fabric or you can use a background fabric and do “broderie perse” appliqué flowers.  Then the basket blocks are placed on point and surrounded by fabric strips before setting them together.  The border combines triangles – plain, fabric strips, or paper-pieced flowers (or combinations of any two of these) for a unique, original design quilt.  The blocks are large so it doesn’t take many to make a large quilt.

Nine Patches and Wildflowers

This quilt replicates a picture of a quilt I saw in an Australian quilting magazine that had no instructions or patterns. The quilt consists of simple nine-patch blocks on point, with alternating appliquéd wildflowers.  Instructions are provided for fused machine appliqué of the wildflower designs.   I also have a variation of it with the wildflower appliqué blocks replaced with floral prints. 

 
Double Blossom Machine Applique Quilt with Optional Swag Border
 

Double Blossom Machine Appliqué Quilt with Optional Swag Border is another antique quilt reproduction - this time in the form of machine appliqué.  Two different techniques will be demonstrated (one can be adapted to hand appliqué of preferred).  This quilt also features an unusual use of print-striped fabric for a special border effect.  The second border is optional and creates a swag border and curved edge with no bias binding required. 

 

 

 

Send mail to info@dotcollinsquilter.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2004 Quilts by Dot Collins
Last modified: January 31, 2008