Beginners welcome! We will start with a large piece of fabric, and then add to that with visible hand piecing, appliqué style. (Also known as ‘free form appliqué.’) We will learn to add small and very large pieces of appliqué with a variety of stitches including running, ladder, and whip. We will also cover embroidery for our quilts with the running stitch and backstitch to add elements of drawing and text with your own handwriting on the quilt. This approach to quiltmaking is appealing because starting with a base fabric, our work is not about reaching a specific size. Instead, our work is about composition! Heidi will show students how to avoid common pitfalls like bunching & puckering, working with and without an embroidery hoop, and will suggest ways to maximize negative space.

Wholecloth Hand Appliqué with Heidi Parkes