Quilting Lectures/Trunk shows (60 Minutes)
Let’s Get Rolling On your Quilting/Creativity Goals (NEW for 2024!)
Join me for a playful approach that will stretch your creativity and help you achieve your quilting goals! Discover how rolling the dice can help you have fun while you make more art, tidy up your studio space, experiment with your newly organized supplies, tackle UFOs, stretch your quilting skills, and uncover a wealth of design inspiration. You’ll leave with lots of ideas to create your own unique game plan to incorporate creative play into each day, all year long.
FUN & Games in Quilting!
It's game on for this playful twist on quilting! Join me as I share my nine favorite ways to incorporate fun and games into my quilting including rolling the dice to explore new design possibilities, playing card inspiration, and of course everything is awesome when Lego bricks are involved! I'll share insights into the games I play and their fun results. I hope to inspire you to develop a game plan for adding some creative play into your day!
+ Young quilters welcome!!
**Pairs well with the following workshops: Modern Free Motion Fillers & FUN!, Magnificent Mandalas, Free Styling and Spiraling, Mark-Making Magic, and Design By Dice Creative Play Mini Workshop.
Free Motion CREA-TV and Reality
Tune in as I share my love of free motion quilting as it relates to my guilty pleasure of watching reality television!! I’ll share my own unscripted, real-life adventures of learning to free-motion quilt. You won’t want to change channels as I share my confessionals about my fear factors, extreme makeover story, myth busting tips and tricks for quilting on a domestic sewing machine, and “show”mance with some of my favorite tools and notions! Be sure to set your TiVo and DVR, as you won’t want to miss this humorous and inspirational presentation - complete with a trunk show finale!
** Pairs well with the following workshops: Modern Free Motion Fillers & FUN!, Crazy in Love with Free-Motion Quilting, Pebble & Play!, Mod Molas & Bright Blooms, and Magnificent Mandalas.
Challenge Yourself!
Discover the world of Quilt Challenges and the many opportunities awaiting you (and your quilts!) Join me as I recount my adventures (including a few misadventures) while participating in Quilt Challenges at both the local and national/international level. I hope to inspire you by sharing my own quilts and their stories, along with tips/tricks that I hope will inspire and encourage you to enter your own quilts, regardless of style or level of experience/skill!
** Pairs well with the following workshops: Modern, Improv Curves Ahead!, Slice of Improv, Free Styling & Spiraling, and Mod Mandalas.
MINI WORKSHOPS
DESIGN BY DICE!
Add a playful twist of inspiration to your quilt designs through the use of dice! I'll introduce how I use dice to challenge myself and explore new design combinations in terms of color schemes, elements of art, design principles, block orientation, and quilting motifs. Then it will be your turn to roll the dice and play with these concepts through several hands-on exercises!
$300 for 2-hr workshop for up to 20 participants
Block Print & Play!
Learn to hand carve your own block prints for use on paper and/or fabric. Learn more about the supplies, tools, and block printing process as you go through the steps to design, carve, and print your own original block printed patterns. Be forewarned that block printing is super fun and addicting!
$450 for 3-hour workshop for up to 20 participants
Block Print & Play! Supply List
Mark Making Magic-StampinG
Transform solid fabrics into your own original prints layered with colors, patterns, and textures! Discover all the mark-making potential of everyday household items as you create stamped circles, dots, lines, and grids. Not only are these fabrics super fun and meditative to make, but they look fabulous layered and stitched into your art quilts!
$400 for 3 hr-workshop for up to 20 participants
Workshops
My workshops include an interactive mix of live and prerecorded video demos, slide shows of quilts/samples, handouts, poll questions, feedback from instructor, and Q&A from participants. My workshops can accommodate up to 20 participants in order to allow for feedback/questions with all participants. Photos/screenshots are permitted for participant's personal use only. Audio/Video recording or written transcripts are not permitted.
Workshop Skill Levels: Unless otherwise noted, all workshops are geared towards quilters who are confident beginners and up. Participants should be comfortable operating their sewing machine and using standard rotary cutting equipment.
Workshop Scheduling options include:
Standard 1-day workshop for 5-6 hours (with a 30-60 minute break, 45 minutes seems to be an optimal lunch break).
Schedule 6 hour workshop over 2 sessions with 1 or more days in between sessions. Most workshops can be split up into two 3-hour sessions. Intriguing Interleaves works best as 4 hours for Session 1 and 2 hours for Session 2) This scheduling option is optimal as it allows time for participants to digest the content and practice the techniques in between sessions, accommodates time zone differences, and provides opportunity for evening programming.
Many of the workshops can be formatted into 2 full day workshops to allow for a more in-depth dive into the techniques, additional practice time with 1:1 feedback from teacher.
QUILTING ON A DOMESTIC MACHINE Options
**Quilters using a longarm and/or midarm are always welcome to join the quilting fun! While the demos will be done using a domestic sewing machine, the designs and techniques translate well to any machine.
Crazy in Love with Free-Motion Quilting
Let's have fun with free-motion quilting! Beginners and experienced quilters alike will fall in love with these fun-to-stitch motifs that are surprisingly easy, versatile, and check out that spectacular texture!! Add new designs and mark-free tools to your quilter's toolbox, as you map out your own, unique wholecloth crazy quilt. You'll have lots of opportunities to customize, embellish, and incorporate messages of love into your free-motion quilting!
Modern Free Motion Fillers & Fun!
Do you love the look of modern quilts but unsure how best to quilt all that negative space? In this workshop, I’ll share my favorite mark-free, modern quilting motifs involving C-curves, loop de loops, zig zags, and door beads. We’ll explore how simple changes to each of the designs will yield all new filler designs! This is a low-stress and super fun workshop that is perfect for quilters who are new to free-motion quilting, as well as those looking to add new modern designs to their quilting repertoire. You’ll leave with new design ideas, tips and tricks for free motion quilting success, and the confidence to add beautiful, modern quilted texture to your modern quilt tops!
Pebble & Play!
Pebbles are one of my go to free-motion filler designs as they are so versatile and add spectacular, modern quilted texture! We’ll explore exciting pebble design variations that will add drama to your quilt tops! This low-stress but high-fun workshop is perfect for quilters of all levels who are ready to play with pebble designs!
Walking Foot Wow!
Create beautiful, modern quilted texture with your walking foot. Let's move beyond the basic stitching in the ditch and explore decorative stitches, repeat patterns and even gentle curves to create drama and eye catching quilting designs to your unfinished quilt tops! The Mod Mola option is included for those participants who would like to experience the fun of reverse applique cutwork reveals.
Walking Foot WOW! with Mod Molas Option Supply List
Mod Molas & Bright Blooms
Cultivate your own beautiful garden scene that is layered with exciting color and texture. In this workshop, we will complete the layering of your quilt quilt sandwich, designing, and free-motion quilting an original wholecloth quilt featuring a whimsical floral design. Once the quilting is complete, you’ll learn my simple tips and tricks for using reverse applique to add a brilliant bloom that will completely transform your Art Quilt!
*** This class is fun for quilters of all experience levels. Quilters who are relatively new to free motion quilting can enjoy this stress-free class as we’ll use no-mark templates and the cutwork reveals will disguise any wobbles or bobbles in the quilting. The technique and many of the designs are adaptable for quilters who prefer to use their walking foot for completing the quilting.
Magnificent Mandalas
Are you looking to add zen to your free motion quilting? We’ll warm up designing mandalas on paper, before learning how to use minimal marking to free motion quilt a whole cloth mandala of your own design. Watch your mandala bloom as you add layers of texture and color!
**This 6-hour workshop is geared towards more experienced quilters who have previous experience/comfort with free motion quilting.
Another option is to offer as a 3-hour Doodle-Only Workshop (open to all skill levels) where we’ll go through all the mandala design exercises. We’ll conclude with a demo on how to transfer design using mark-free techniques to create a wholecloth quilt. ($400 for up to 20 participants for the 3-hr Doodle-Only Version).
MODERN DESIGNS & TECHNIQUES:
Warning: MOdern, Improv Curves Ahead!
Buckle up for a new take on modern, improv curves! We'll experiment and play with topstitch applique curves that are Finished, Freeing, Forgiving, and FUN! Once you see how quick and easy it is to create these improvisational curves, we'll add a modern, curvy twist to traditional quilt designs including borders, Pinwheels, Chinese Coins, Log Cabins, and Drunkard's Path blocks.
A Slice of Improv
Let’s explore improvisational piecing one slice at a time! We’ll warm up with the basic Slice and Insert technique and then ask "What if...?" and introduce simple variations that lead to exciting design opportunities. Bring your scraps and learn how improvisational piecing is freeing, forgiving and FUN!
Free Styling & Spiraling
These improv-pieced spiral designs are sure to mesmerize and energize!! We’ll start with square spirangles and experiment with different design options and construction techniques. Then we’ll explore new spirangle designs: rectangles, triangles, and other fun shapes…oh my!!
INTRIGUING INTERLEAVES
Unlock the fun and intrigue of Lorrie Cranor's Interleave quilts. All the secrets of creating the illusion of curves and transparency using only straight line stitching will be revealed. Best of all, Interleave quilts are assembled using a quilt-as-you-go technique, so your unique Interleave quilt will be pieced and quilted at the same time!
If scheduling online for 2 sessions, please plan on 4 hours for Session 1 and 2 hours for Session 2.
Professional Development Sessions
Professional Development Session - $600
75-90 minutes of interactive content for up to 30 participants with a multi-page handout of resources provided along with an additional 30 minutes for Q&A included.
Road Map for Teaching
Take your quilt passion on the road by joining the teaching circuit! In this webinar, get a glimpse into what it takes to turn your quilting passion into a thriving business. Mel Beach will help navigate you through thoughtful planning, preparation, and promotion that will launch you from quilt artist to successful, in-demand quilt teacher and lecturer.
ROAD Map for Teaching Online
Take your quilt teaching online through live, online lectures and workshops! Mel Beach has been teaching online since April 2020, has mentored Northern California guilds and teachers in navigating to online programming, and is an industry leader for using Zoom to present live, online lectures and workshops. In this webinar, Mel will navigate you through the benefits, technology & equipment, Zoom tools to gauge and engage your participants, contract considerations, pre-workshop communications, and marketing strategies that will launch you into the world of online teaching and lecturing.