ONLINE: Liberated Medallion Quilt with Fern Royce

ONLINE: Liberated Medallion Quilt with Fern Royce

Thursday, April 14th 6:00 - 7:30pm (PST), and 

Thursday, April 21st 6:00 - 7:30pm (PST)

(2 sessions)

Have a block (or a piece of fabric) that you want to show off? A medallion quilt is the perfect way to make it sing. Using a liberated approach, Fern Royce makes creating a medallion quilt fun and beautiful!

Bring or create a centerpiece. That may be a Liberated Star or other block, or a favorite piece of fabric you would like to feature for your medallion quilt. 

We will briefly discuss examples of medallion quilts and the variety of styles for borders and settings beginning with your centerpiece – whether it is square, rectangle, on point or not. 

The centerpiece of your medallion sets the tone for the borders to follow. We will discuss your options: tiny, intricately pieced borders; appliqued borders; whole cloth borders or all of the above. Your choices should enhance and support the center of your medallion whether it is scrappy, elegant, bold or sedate. Keep in mind the following design elements: balance, repetition, contrast, movement and unity. It is a process. Work border by border. If you begin with a rough sketch, know that it may not look like that in the end. If you haven’t worked in a liberated style before you may feel uncomfortable designing as you go. Trust your quilt – it will let you know what comes next. It may feel challenging but it’s never boring. 

The choices that Fern will discuss and demonstrate include but are not limited to: 

1. Framing, borders and corner posts, including the width or size. 
2. The following types of borders and techniques: half-square sawtooth, equilateral triangle sawtooth, spikes, zig-zag diamonds, and flying geese. 
3. How to use basic blocks such as 4-patch, broken dishes, squares, pinwheels, or shoo-fly – straight or on point. 

Fern will also discuss the following tips for successful medallions: 

1. Make “parts.” Sew pieces together in chunks of two or three at a time. This allows you to make adjustments to your borders. Your borders can be mathematically correct or liberated. Your choice. 
2. Too short? Add on. Too long? Cut off. 
3. Use coping strips to make parts fit. Consider making the coping strip in a contrasting or visibly different fabric which makes the addition a design element. 
4. Make it scrappy by pushing your color choices. 
5. Squaring your quilt up between each border will help it stay flat. 

Fern recommends you familiarize yourself with medallion quilts before the first class. You can find lovely examples of medallion quilts online or in historical quilt books especially Welsh, Dutch, and Amish quilt books. Check out books at the library including Gwen Marston’s Liberated Medallion Quilts.

Skill level: ✂️✂️

You have a few projects under your belt. You aready know how to thread and use a sewing machine and you're ready to learn more advanced basics.

Supplies: 

The supply list will be mailed upon registration. 

About the instructor: 

Fern Royce grew up surrounded by textiles and what we now call “makers.” She learned to sew when she was very young, but did not begin quilting until the mid 1990’s. She took quilting classes at her local quilting store, learning the basics including the “all cotton” rule. That rule seemed odd when she considered the quilts she grew up with, including the corduroy quilt her grandmother made for her from the scraps of the all the clothes she had made for her grandchildren. In Fern’s experience, quilts meant using what was on hand, using or reusing any type of fabric, including clothing. When you look at her quilts you will see that she often includes repurposed and unconventional textiles in her own quilts, following her own rule: if she likes it, she uses it - from wool to silk, linen, or the unknown.

Cancellation Policy:

Please select your class carefully, we will not be able to issue refunds for online classes. You can, however transfer the class to a friend. No refunds will be given for late arrivals or no-shows.