Design Nature Info

Design Your Own Nature Quilt

This class will help take the fear out of design. Using your own nature photo, you’ll learn how to interpret it in fabric.

Part One focuses on design only, and is appropriate for artists working in any medium. It includes multiple exercises which will give you the skills and confidence you need to design your own quilt. Some of the things you'll be learning include:

Identifying and placing a focal point.
How cropping can help a composition.
Interpreting a photo loosely

At the end of Part One, you'll have at least one quilt sketched.

If you desire, you may continue into Part Two, in which you'll receive highly personalized advice from Ellen about the actual composition and construciton of your quilt. You will learn a raw edge collage technique which will ensure maximum flexibility and speedy results. Some of the things you'll be learning include:

Working with raw edge fabric collage.
Getting fabric to do the work.

Notes:
- No artistic skills are needed, but artistic courage is required.

Additional Resources:
- See some of Ellen's nature quilts, along with the photos that inspired them
- Supply List
- Wondering if this class is a good fit for you and your sewing machine? Read Class Requirements, below.
- Find out about the e-Learning experience: technical issues, privacy, and much more at How It Works.

Part One: 3 lessons, $35

Next class (Part One) August 15, 2008! ~~Sign Up~~ ~~for Part One~~ Class Full

Part Two (Optional:) 4 weeks of personalized online assistance from Ellen, $35
(Part Two is only available to students enrolled in Part One. It starts September 12th.)

Receive advance class notification

Go to Part One Classroom (enrollment required)

Go to Part Two Classroom (enrollment required)

Image - Cosmos photo
Ellen's starting photo

Image - Cosmo Cotillion
Cosmo Cotillion, the resulting quilt.
Your quilt will be entirely different, since you'll start
with your own photo.

Class Requirements, Part One:

No sewing or artistic skills are required, but artistic courage is!
Computer software- In order to access class lessons, students need the free downloadable software Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click here to download it.
Digital photo skills - Students are expected to post images of their inspiration photos and sketches online. This process is very easy, but students must be able to take digital photos, store them, and locate them. No manipulation of images is needed.

Class Requirements, Part Two:

Part One requirements
Sewing skills - Students must be able to machine quilt their projects. Experience with either free motion quilting, or using a walking foot is required. (Note: Although Ellen will give pointers about your quilting design, the mechanics of machine quilting will not be covered in this class.)

Class Schedule:

All classes start on a Friday. The first lesson will be posted by noon on that day, Eastern time. Each subsequent lesson will be posted on the following Fridays. Once posted, all lessons remain accessible until the end of class, two weeks afer the last lesson has been posted.

Sign Up Information:
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Sign up for Part One