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Joen's Workshops and Lectures



Traditional Theme

A Marriage of Blocks---Blending Blocks into Beautiful Designs
Create beautiful, original, traditional designs by learning how to use blending-block and exploding-block design techniques. You will be surprised at how easy it is to create exciting new designs with many of our much-loved traditional patterns. By the end of class, you should have at least one new design to use in a future quilt. Handout fee: $4.00 Class length: 1 or 2 days


Design Extraveganza---Sensational Patterns and How to Draw Them
Learn how to create some of the most beautiful patterns in the quilt world by using easy drafting methods. You will have the opportunity to draw a selection of patch-pattern blocks, eight-pointed star designs, mariners? compass, starburst, and sunburst patterns, and six-pointed star designs will be featured, as time permits. All skill levels.


Fantasia---A Ricly-Colored, Log-Cabin Quilt
FANTASIA! Create this beautiful, richly-colored, off-set log cabin coverlet that is reminiscent of a stained-glass window. We begin class by discussing fabric selection, color placement, and appropriate illusions that may be incorporated, such as depth, luster, and luminosity. Then we'll discuss important cutting and construction tips. The remaining time will be spent sewing with tips and hints sprinkled throughout the class.


Line Dance Extraordinaire
Using a blend of light, medium, and dark fabrics, create this wonderfully dynamic quilt showing depth and movement. It's a perfect quilt for a teenager or college student. It can be created in gray, red, and black, or any other combination of your choice.


Make Any Block Any Size---Sensational Patterns & How to Draw Them
Have you ever wanted to make a quilt with a favorite block, but you didn?t have the pattern? Have you finally found the pattern for a much-loved block, but now realize it comes in a different size than you need? Would you like to design your own block? With simple steps, you will learn how to draw any patchwork pattern---or even create your own. This centuries? old drawing method uses no complicated math, no calculator, no graph paper, and no fuss! In addition, in a one-day class you will learn how to create many designs from the eight-pointed star drafting family, as well as beautiful circular designs, such as mariners' compasses and starburst designs, and five- and six-pointed star designs. By day's end, you will be able to design or draft scores of fascinating patterns. Class length: one-half day or 1 day


Northern Lights
Create this beautifully dynamic quilt with ease. The pattern is easy and the color illusions of luminosity and luster are ever so easy to create.


Six-pointed Star Designs
Have fun creating beautiful six-pointed star designs for your next quilt project. You will find wonderful designs appearing before your eyes as you play with the six-pointed star options. Design and fabric selection will be included.


Sizzling Sunburst & Starbursts
Set your heart on designing a spectacular quilt, using patterns of radiating sunbursts or starbursts. After learning the simple basics of circular drafting, you will create sizzling sun and starburst patterns. You will select one of these to feature in your quilt. Designing, border treatment, color, and fabric selection will be covered in class. (Class length: 1 day)


Storm at Sea Gone Astray
Create an original design, using Storm at Sea blocks as your foundation. By playing with this block?s interesting shapes, you can create flower gardens, kites floating in the sky, landscapes, seascapes, close-up flower or animal pictures, cityscapes, or whatever else your heart desires. See what secrets you find for your next quilt project in the amazing Storm at Sea block! Student handout fee: $1.00 (Class length: one-half day or one day)


Stretching & Squeezing----Exercising Your Blocks with Magic
Traditional-block quilts are captivating when they are stretched and squeezed in different directions. Learn how to create fascinating quilts by changing a block?s design grid. You?ll enjoy the exciting new designs that evolve when blocks are changed from squares to rectangles----or magically evolve into another captivating shape. Learn how to play with design to create quilts with fascinating shapes and exciting movement. All levels.


Sunflower Garden---Weed Free!
Get a head start on your gardening by creating your own sunflower garden in fabric. You may select one of several flower-garden options for your pieced quilt. Joen has created this whimsical sunflower garden pattern in hopes that you will have fun creating a happy, weed-free flower garden that makes you smile. Use happy, bright colors or make a more subdued garden---it's your choice.


Sunshine & Circles
Design your own beautiful sunshine quilt by using one or more fascinating circular sunburst designs as your quilt?s focus. In the morning, you will learn how to draw these beautiful circular designs. In the afternoon you will use your favorite design elements to begin drawing your quilt?s design, incorporating sunburst designs and other shapes. You have the option of designing a quilt using a traditional setting, or you may play with your design in a very creative manner. All levels.


Unlocking the Clues to Eight-Pointed Star Designs
Would you love to create stunning quilts, using your own designs? If so, consider using this almost-forgotten historic pattern family as your starting point. This family's unusual non-grid design structure gives you a surprising variation of designs. After discovering the design clues to this seldom-explored family, you will have the opportunity to draw a selection of your own designs or play with some of the historic ones. Much-loved historic patterns include Star of the East, Dove in the Window, Blazing Star, Star of Bethlehem, Virginia Reel, Interlocked Square, Baskets of Lilies, and Carpenter's Wheel.




Curved Piecing

Summer Blooms---In Curves
Create a happy, blooming flower quilt, using this curved-piecing, freezer paper technique. Draw your own flower design or learn how to transpose a small flower image to one in the size you desire. Besides helpful curved-piecing hints, you will be presented with many ideas for creating beautifully realistic flower designs. Class length: 1 day




Color and Illusions

A Celebration of Color
Have you ever been apprehensive about selecting fabrics for your quilt projects? If so, join Joen to see how easy it is to pick the winning colors and fabrics for your future quilt projects. Find out what companion colors work best with your favorite color, how you can create your own dynamically-colored quilts, and how you can use your favorite colors to their fullest potential. You'll be amazed at how much you will learn by playing with color! Class length: 1 day


Color Magic for Your Quilts
Enjoy two days of discovering the wondrous magic of color. This specially-designed class for Quiltworks Northwest offers you the opportunity to become more attune to your intuitive color personality, to learn how to work best with the colors you love, and to discover how to add exciting color magic to each quilt that you make. After learning the most important color basics, you'll be offered a smorgasbord of color ideas, including depth, luminosity, luster, shadows, highlights, and transparency. You'll be surprised at how easy it is to create your own magical quilts. These two days will change your quilts for life!


Color Play
Have you always wanted to experiment with color, but were afraid to try? Would you like to know what colors work best with your favorite colors? Would you like to create your own dynamic quilts using your favorite colors to their fullest potential? If so, come join this class. We will play with all sorts of colors in paint and fabric. Color scales, values, temperature, after-images, color schemes, and several illusionary effects will be included in this most colorful class. This class is a fantastic color experience for all skill levels. You will learn so much by playing with color! (Class length: 3-5 days) Please note: There is a $25 U.S. paint fee and $1.00 U.S. handout fee per student (total $26).


Lighting Up Your Quilts
You will be surprised at how easy it is to light up your quilts with such illusions as luminosity, luster, shadows, and highlights. In class, you will create your own fabric light illusions. You will leave class with a wide array of lighting ideas to use in your future quilts. (Class length: 2 days)


Magical Colors & Sensational Quilts
Color is magical and allows you to create unbelievable quilts. This 5-day workshop offers you the opportunity to explore color and its many nuances. By week's end, you will have a strong color foundation from which to create sensational, colorful quilts. You will discover the mysteries of the most exciting color illusions--depth, luminosity, luster, shadows, highlights, and transparency. You will transpose the color ideas that most interest you into fabric, as you work on your own quilt project. You choose your project's design, the technique you want to work in, the colors to be used, and the illusions to be featured. At the end of the workshop, your brain should be swimming with new ideas for future projects, and your individual quilt project will be an exciting step in your personal color journey.


Shadow Play
If you have always wanted to incorporate shadows in your quilts, but haven?t had a clue as to how to begin, now?s your time to explore the amazing possibilities of shadow play. Take a day to play with a variety of shadows, learning the secrets to enhancing and broadening the design possibilities in your future quilt projects. This class is designed for quilters of all skill levels and techniques.


The Magical World of Color (A Color Extravaganza)
The keys to color surround us in nature every day. If color choices have been difficult for you, or if you want to learn more about how to unlock the mysteries of color, come spend time taking a breathtaking journey into this magical world. After you discover the clues to nature's color basics, you will find yourself energized by the fabulous illusionary possibilities of color. One by one, you will be introduced to the most fabled color illusions and how they can be created in your own quilts. As you invite yourself to explore the beauty and excitement of such illusions as depth, luster, and luminosity, you will be eager to begin your own color journey through quilts---and you should be wonderfully pleased by your results. This class is a minimum of 4 days.


Visual Coloring
Learn how to select the colors and fabrics for your quilts in a simple, fast, almost foolproof manner called visual coloring. By using visual coloring, your quilts will be beautiful, stunning, and speak from your heart. You will find selecting colors and fabrics both fun and easy. (Class length: ? day or 1 day) All skill levels It is really best if this class is held at a quilt or fabric shop where there are many bolts of fabrics and/or fat quarters.




Landscapes and Nature

Creating A Scene---with Pizzazz
Have fun creating ?cut & paste? fabric scenes while learning landscape-design basics. You will learn how to use fabrics to create a myriad of illusionary landscape features. Also in class you will take a delightful nature quilt trip (via slide show), enjoying breathtaking, inspirational, and whimsical quilts from all over the world. (Class length: 1 day)




Miscellaneous

The Visual Dance---Creating Spectacular Quilts
Have you ever been disappointed in the visual results of one of your quilt's? Would you like to know the secrets to creating a beautiful design? Have you had design surprises in past quilts? Are you unsure of your design abilities? If you can answer yes to any of these questions, feel free to join this workshop to learn valuable insights and important strategies with regard to successful designs for quilts. You will not only learn about your own design style, but you will learn how to focus on your favorite features, create dynamic designs, and make certain your quilt's design lives up to its potential. Also, design choices, innovative ideas, border concerns, and quilt design pit-falls will be presented in class. Student handout fee: $1.00 Class length: 3-5 days




Lectures

Creating Fascinating Quilts from Traditional Roots
You will be tickled to see how easy it is to create dynamic new quilt designs from traditional roots by making changes, either simple or complex. Amazing changes may take place in a quilt design with simple color, fabric, and value changes. Blocks can be given new roles, as they are stretched, squeezed, dropped, rotated, staggered, floated, and blended. Your mind should swim with new ideas after this presentation.


Glorious Landscapes---Our Beautiful World in Quilts Lecture
Landscape quilts are one of the most popular quilting genres. Enjoy a visual show of glorious landscape and nature quilts created by quiltmakers throughout the world, using a variety of styles and techniques.


It's Color That Makes the Quilts Go Wow!
Take a journey into the world of color, finding clues to basic color ideas and such wonderful illusions as luminosity, luster, depth, shadows, and highlights. Enjoy a slide show parade of eye-catching, show-stopping quilts that go WOW with color as you learn more about the magic of color. (This is a thinking, conceptual idea-based lecture.)


The Visual Dance---Creating Spectacular Quilts
Would you like to seek new ways to create your own spectacular quilts? This presentation gives you a multitude of ways to design spectacular quilts. Thoughtful design choices, innovative ideas, border concerns, and quilt design pitfalls will be presented. (This is a thought-provoking, thinking, idea-based lecture.)


Who Says We're Not Creative?
Would you like to create quilts with your own unique blend of individual color and design style? This slide lecture will accentuate the possibilities that each of us is uniquely blessed with creative abilities---even when we think we are not. You will see the dramatic creative growth of several quiltmakers, allowing us to see how the creative process works. (This is an inspirational lecture.)