Design a Modern Quilt with Tara Glastonbury
When: Friday 13 March 2026, 9:45am – 12:45pm (3 hours)
Cost: $65
Tickets: Book here
You don’t have to go improv to break away from using other people’s patterns. With a background in running creative studios and a solid grounding in graphic design, Tara’s class offers a structured, design-led approach to creating a quilt that’s uniquely yours.
Through guided prompts, you’ll explore your style preferences, learn to build a cohesive colour palette, and apply key modern quilting design principles to develop original quilt ideas.
Along the way, Tara will share tools and approaches for designing, testing layouts, and refining your concepts, so you leave with the skills and confidence to design quilts that truly reflect your voice as a maker.
Requirements List
- Notepad
- Pencil and eraser
- Ruler
Optional, but good to have
- Coloured pencils or markers (I will have these, but some people like having their own)
- Phone or tablet (for quick layouts and research)
Designing Modern with Bias Binding with Wendy Nutt
When: Friday 13 March 2026, 1:45pm – 4:45pm (3 hours)
Cost: $65
Tickets: Book here
Bias appliqué lends itself well to modern quilting concepts of minimalism, negative space and asymmetrical design. Discover how, using a simple sewing notion, striking modern designs can be created. Learn how to prepare, make and attach bias tape. You will prepare your own unique composition (or one of Wendy’s designs) for a small project or as part of a larger project to finish at home.
Requirements List
- Small fabric scissors
- Tape measure
- Fabric marker – not heat sensitive
Mandatory Workshop Kit
Kit contains fabric and bias tape. Glue will also be supplied.
Please, place $20 cash in an envelope. Write your name on the front. Bring to class.
Quilter’s Workout! with Tania Tanti
When: Friday 13 March 2026, 1:45pm – 4:45pm (3 hours)
Repeated: Saturday 14 March 2026, 1:45pm – 4:45pm (3 hours)
Cost: $65
Tickets: Book here
Delight in creating an abstract composition of colours and shapes with Tania’s expert guidance. Discover her approach to building and embellishing imagery to make an artwork that goes beyond pattern, to express your own ideas. ‘Workout’ with the design concepts of shape, balance, movement, contrast and harmony. Beginning with paper exercises, you’ll quickly progress to assembling a small fused composition ready to be stitched at home.
Mandatory Workshop Kit
Kit contains prepared fused fabric, base fabric and batting, plus thread to play with.
Please, place $35 cash in an envelope. Write your name on the front. Bring to class.
Tania will also have – available for purchase – her own hand-painted fabric which you may choose to incorporate.
TEXTplosion! with Brenda Gael Smith
When: Saturday 14 March 2026, 9:45am – 12:45pm
Cost: $65
Tickets: Book here
Harnessing the power of paper collage to design one-of-a-kind abstract quilts. This workshop explores: fragmenting text; tools to isolate and highlight areas of interest; playing with enlargement, exaggeration and distortion; converting 2-tone designs into colour; converting paper collage designs into fabric compositions; and digital palette generation tools.
Students are welcome to contact Brenda directly if they have any questions.
Crash Course Colour with Sharon Nicholls-Thomson
When: Saturday 14 March 2026, 9:45am – 12:45pm (3 hours)
Cost: $65
Tickets: Book here
Have you heard other quilters discussing colour confidently? They might talk about hue, saturation, tints, tones, shades, value, warm & cool and other terms you wonder about and keep getting mixed up? Would you like to learn what all those buzzwords refer to and be able to combine them confidently in your work? This is a crash course in Colour Theory for quilters.
Useful for modern makers and traditional quilters alike and not as dry as it sounds; we will have fun playing with game-style resources specially prepared to help decode and define the many commonly used colour theory mystery terms. Whether you are staring from no colour knowledge at all or need a refresher, after class, you’ll be able to apply this new understanding to your own work and when looking at quilts by others. Understanding these ‘colour theory basics’ will help you to confidently develop colour schemes for your next project and you’ll leave with resources to repeat this process at home.
Requirements List
- Choose a quilt by someone else which has a use of colour that you have admired, save a photo to your phone or other device
- Pencil or pen for notes
- A packet of pins or a small stapler
Mandatory Workshop Kit
Kit contains notes, fabric colour chips for class exercises and paper resources – all suitable to be used again to refresh your memory after class.
Please, place $25 cash in an envelope. Write your name on the front. Bring to class.
Modern Masterclass: Needle-Turn Text with Barbie Mitchell
When: Saturday 14 March 2026, 1:45pm-4:45pm (3 hours)
Cost: $65
Tickets: Book here
Ready to add a personal, modern edge to your quilting projects? In this workshop, you’ll master needle-turn appliqué to create flawless letters that pop. You can choose to stitch your initials or a wordplay block, leaving with a finished piece and the skills to tackle larger text-based projects with confidence.
We’ll use modern design principles to explore typography, negative space, and bold fabric choices to make your quilts fresh and eye-catching. You’ll learn pro tips for achieving smooth curves and sharp corners, and we’ll delve into selecting contrasting colours and patterns to add dimension. Leave with a finished block and the skills to stitch your story in thread.
The skills students can expect to learn in this workshop include:
- Needle-turn appliqué techniques: This covers the core method of creating smooth curves, sharp points, and clean lines.
- Typography in quilting: How to design and lay out text on a quilt, including different fonts and styles.
- Fabric selection: Choosing fabrics that create contrast, dimension, and visual interest, including working with solids, prints, and textures.
- Negative space design: Using the space around the letters to enhance the overall design and make the text stand out.
- Layout and composition: Arranging letters and words to create a balanced and impactful final piece.
Requirements List
Note: Fabric requirements are given for a needle-turn appliqué piece – wordplay block or initial etc. (You can use for a quilt, or on your tool bag / pouch).
- 1 x FQ – background fabric
- Assorted fabrics for the appliqués – contrasting to your background. Barbie will have templates for different fonts, she will also have additional designs to choose from to incorporate into your wordplay block. Approx 30cm scrap fabrics (this is an estimate – you may not need that much, we can also share amongst us in class).
- Threads: colours to match your appliqué fabrics. Barbie uses Aurifil 80wt (and will have some you can try in the workshop)
- Small / medium size sharp scissors
- Silver gel pen
Mandatory Workshop Kit
Kit includes patterns for Barbie’s tool bag & tool pouch, Barbie’s Needle-Turn Appliqué booklet & mylar template set.
Please, place $40 cash in an envelope. Write your name on the front. Bring to class.
Design your Own EPP Adventure with Lorena Uriarte
When: Sunday 15 March 2026, 9:45am – 12:45pm (3 hours)
Cost: $65
Tickets: Book here
If you’ve ever wanted to move beyond precut papers and ready made patterns, this workshop will give you the tools and confidence to design your own English Paper Piecing (EPP) blocks from scratch. In this hands on class, I’ll guide you through several approachable methods for creating and preparing custom shapes, opening up endless creative possibilities.
We’ll skip the usual hexagons and diamonds and dive straight into three adventurous design exercises. First, explore diamonds with a twist – stretching, skewing and reimagining this classic shape in fresh ways. Next, experiment with curved designs, learning how to draft and prepare flowing organic pieces that bring movement and softness to your blocks. Finally, we’ll tackle improvised tessellations, creating puzzle like interlocking shapes that repeat into one-of-a-kind patterns.
Along the way, you’ll discover how to turn sketches, motifs or even spontaneous doodles into EPP blocks with just a few simple materials. Each exercise will give you new tools and approaches to carry into your own projects.
By the end of the session, you’ll have designed your own original blocks and gained the confidence to keep experimenting at home with fresh inspiration to see the potential in every shape.
Requirements List
- Fabric scraps in a variety of colours and prints (small pieces are fine)
- Fabric scissors (small)
- A small cutting mat and rotary cutter (optional but helpful)
Optional, but good to have
- A notebook or sketchbook for ideas
- Coloured pencils or markers for design play
- Your own thimble
- Any favourite fabrics you’d like to see featured in your block
Mandatory Workshop Kit
- Printed handouts with exercises and examples
- Template paper / card stock for drafting shapes
- Pencil, eraser and glue stick
- Hand sewing kit (needles, thread, threader, thimble)
- Access to shared rulers, curves, paper scissors and design tools
Please, place $25 cash in an envelope. Write your name on the front. Bring to class.
