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Sharla R. Hicks, Artist, Quilter, Computer Quilting Expert, Quilt Teacher, Author, Editor
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Sharla R. Hicks

Quilting & Computer Quilting Lectures and Workshops

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Real World Quilting Lectures and Workshops

Computer Quilting Lectures and Workshops

Contact and Other Information

Quilting Lectures: One Hour

Recipe for a Quilt

Start with life, stir in culture, add the eye of the camera, blend in music, dabble in shapes, sift in motivation, sprinkle in some literature and cook up a feast of great quilts. This lecture adds the spice with a slide show set to music and a trunk show of Sharla's life influenced quilts.

Creativity Unleashed

Unleashing extraordinary traditional and contemporary quilts requires removing creative blocks. Discover how using composition, repetition, similarity and variation melt away mental roadblocks and fuse the left and right brain into a TNT powerhouse of explosive inventiveness. This lecture will unleash your creative juices and amazing quilts will flow.

Soft Expressions

When making a quilt do you often use a circle, square, triangle, spiral or cross configuration? Why? What is so special about these fundamental shapes? Why do they appear so frequently in blocks and quilts? Take a journey with Sharla and discover the origins of these shapes and what quilters have in common with artists down through the ages.

 

Looking for the Glow

A.K.A. Color Theory Made Easy. Are you a master of color or is color your master? Learn the two have-to-know concepts for making outstanding quilts. Simplify the color wheel down to 4 easy to remember categories. Be the master of fabric selection when using texture and scale. The beginner and even the most advanced quilter will carry away new inspirations for creating glow, depth, and opalescence as they discover the clues of why color is not color until it interacts with another color.

Kaleidoscope Quilts, The Eighth Wonder of the World

Beautiful form is the Greek definition for the kaleidoscope's changing and shifting patterns. Be inspired by kaleidoscope blocks, mandalas and even nature as you explore a unique vision for creating kaleidoscope quilts. Be energized by views through a five-foot kaleidoscope, a special camera lens, the computer and quilts, quilts, quilts to inspire new creations.

Quilting Lectures: One Hour

Quilters discover the Internet

Wondering what the Internet has to offer Quilters. Yes, find shopping, but more important find a world wide quilting bee with support on every conceivable topic that a quilter can image. Discover information rich websites for every interest from antique quilts to the quilt art. Find picture rich Quilt Galleries and Virtual Quilt Galleries from around the world. Discover how to be a lurker or actively involved in the world wide quilting community by using Quilt forums, lists, digest and more.

Creative Quilting using the "Computer"

How does the computer become another tool in the creative process of making quilts? Discover how some quilters have used the computer, scanner and printer for design exploration, block manipulation, making fabric, labels, applique and yes, templates and yardage calculation-plus more. Excitement will be generated by viewing computer inspired quilts and peeking at some software that has helped computer quilters.

Computer Quilting Programs in Review

Did you know there are over 13 plus quilting programs on the market? Do you know what is available to the MAC and the PC? Confused by the options? How do you decide which one is the best for you? Discover other types of software that can be helpful in the quilting process also. In your search for the best match for you, we will look at Bargello Designer, BlockBase, Electric Quilt, Creative Impulse, Quilt-Pro, QuiltSOFT, PCQuilt, VQuilt, Color Designer, CorelDraw, Repligator and more!

 

 

One Day Quilting Workshops, Six Hours

Magic

Wave your magic wand over Sharla's extraordinary nine block layout and throw a spell over checks, diamonds, triangles, and squares uncovering enchanted hidden gardens of flowers, hearts, frogs, fish and beyond. Find extraordinary traditional blocks, fascinating innovative designs and more wizardry using composition, repetition, similarity and variation. The magic is that no two quilts will be alike.

The Dynamite Kaleidoscope

One of Sharla's specialties is Kaleidoscope quilts. Join her in creating beautiful form using the two-shape kaleidoscope block for inspiration. The block is easy for beginners and still challenging for the more advanced quilter. The beginner will learn strip piecing, cutting and good point matching. The more adventuresome will explore the optical illusion designs that explode off the surface creating shifting patterns and forms in an innovative Kaleidoscope quilt.

Creativity With Checks, Diagonals, Triangles & Movement

Mental roadblocks melt away when using traditional blocks with checks, triangles and diagonal movement while experimenting with composition, repetition, similarity and variation. Sharla will help you fuse all your creative juices into a single synchronized explosion of inspiration and understanding. Creative thinking will emerge and ideas for extraordinary quilts will flow.

Looking for the Glow

Uncover the mysteries of how to identify a fabric's unique color and texture components that make a quilt sing. Unravel the essence of a color like red to reveal pink, rose and even maroons. Uncover the engaging qualities of warms, cools and grays. Use the enticing qualities of light, medium and dark to express a mood, feeling or experience. Walk away with new found eyes on what to look for when selecting fabrics for your next exquisite quilt.

Color Illusions

Do you feel you understand the basics of color theory and want to push beyond the color wheel into the mysteries of why color is not color until it interacts with another color. Then this is the class for you. Beginners will also benefit as the class explores Joseph Albers' theories on why red can shift to red violet or even orange at times. Hone your visual skills as you use value pairing to find exact value matches and to create glow, contrast, mud or opalescence. Explore how a single fabric appears radically different depending on the second fabric choice. Develop a series of small quilts using textures, solids, value and contrast as your tools for choice. Come away with a greater appreciation of the nuances of color and texture.

The Sewing Machine and Applique!

What a combination. Your next applique quilt won't know what hit it when the versatility and speed of machine applique are added. This workshop will cover 11 different methods of machine applique-invisible, decorative, shadow, trapunto, satin, stain glass, soft edge and more.

Successful Machine Quilting with Exotic Threads and Beads

Exotic threads are easy to use when the quilter knows which needle works best, how to adjust the tensions (top and bobbin) and which threads work better in the bobbin. Leave this workshop feeling comfortable using metallic, rayon, silk, embroidery cotton, yarn, ribbon, ribbon floss, top stitching thread, pearl cotton, crochet thread, beads, cross lock beads, and more.

Explore Embellishments and Textures On The Sewing Machine

Quilts that use embellishments and textures move from the flat 2-D into 3-D realm. Explore fabric manipulation through bobbin work, tucking, pin tucking, decorative stitching, shirring, beading, gathering, piping, hem stitching and more. Add ribbon and lace invisibly...ALL while learning which foot, sewing machine needle and thread will make each job easier.

Speedy "Hand Look" Cathedral Windows on the Sewing Machine

You will be amazed at the time savings when using the sewing machine to complete this small cathedral window quilt that has a hand-done look-all in six hours!

Successful Machine Quilting!

Sharla uses her 15 years of machine quilting experience to offer an in-depth review of machine quilting. The workshop will cover small to large projects, free motion quilting with the darning foot and straight line quilting with the walking foot. Also covered will be marking, batting, basting, binding and streamlined quilt-as-you-go methods.

Machine Embroidery and the Quilt

Dispel the rumor that machine embroidery is difficult to do. Learn monogramming, straight stitch, and shading techniques to enhance and personalize the quilt. Come away with many ideas on how to use machine embroidery to enhance previously printed fabric or create one-of-a-kind textures and embellishments in the quilt.

 

 

Computer Quilting Workshops:
(3 hour and 5 hour classes)

Computer Quilting Made Easy** (5 hour class)

Under Sharla's expert guidance-using short illustrated tours-sit down to a computer and experience hands-on one or ALL the quilting programs (13 to date). Discover the creative new computer world for quilters. All levels of computer experience are welcome from the novice to the experienced computer user. This is the opportunity for quilters to look into adding another creative gadget into their quilting lives? Included is a slide lecture and class handout to show the differences between programs.

** In Southern California, Sharla can bring a mobile computer lab: 3-7 computers for 12-21 students for an additional $75.00 per computer

**Electric Quilt Beginning Class (3 hour class)
And/Or

**Quilt-Pro Beginning Class (3 hour class)

For the complete newbie to the program, gain the confidence needed to use the quilting program competently to open a block, color a block, place that block in a quilt, alter quilt layouts and then print yardage charts, quilt layout, templates, and quilt block from a quilt or block screen and more.

For the beginner who knows the above but is still unsure of the drawing tools and how to use them competently. We will cover how to setup the best grid and patch guidelines needed to draft a block. Then we will move into drawing patches, explore creating blocks based on curves, and create stencils. Gain the confidence needed to draw your own block by exploring the cut, paste, duplicate, delete, move, and rotate options.

** In Southern California, Sharla can bring a mobile computer lab: 3-7 computers for 12-21 students for an additional $75.00 per computer

**Electric Quilt Intermediate (3 hour class)

This class will be stuffed with information on the following, pick and choose those areas that you are weak in to work on:

  • How to organize your blocks effectively using Project Files and My Block Libraries.
  • Explore Grid Setup for optimal drawing of block.
  • Learn how to use the Graphic Pad effectively in Quilt Layout.
  • Checkout overlooked shortcut keys to help you quickly step through coloring, quilt layout and more!
  • Setup a Page to make Cards, Stationery or labeling blocks for handouts or file exchanges.
  • Explore in depth how to create blocks using the Arc Tool and its corresponding Edit Node Menu.
  • Explore tricky quilt layouts to accommodate those blocks that do not fit well into a traditional layout.
  • Figure out how and when to use Quilt Layers.
  • Develop quilts using the Country Set under Quilt Layout,
  • Draw more complicated blocks like stars, curve influenced blocks, or feathers.
  • Learn how to snag/export/copy/paste (multiple techniques covered) quilts and blocks for handouts, stationery, cards and more to be used in other programs.S

** In Southern California, Sharla can bring a mobile computer lab: 3-7 computers for 12-21 students for an additional $75.00 per computer

**Quilt-Pro Intermediate (3 hour class)

This class will be stuffed with information on the following, pick and choose those areas that you are weak in to work on:

  • Discover shortcut keys to make using the program easier.
  • How to organize your blocks effectively using Project Files and Block Libraries.
  • How to develop you own color and fabric palette.
  • How to scan your own fabric effectively.
  • How to use the Options Menu to personalize your screen setup to best fit your need eyesight limitations or for creating blocks, stencils.
  • How to use the Text tool to your advantage.
  • Create foundation blocks and number them.
  • How to the use the Effects Menu to enhance the line and curve tools (join, resize, number patches, group, ungroup, send to front, send to back).
  • The best ways to draw applique blocks and discover the menu items that will make drawing and repainting easier.
  • How to use the block screen as another quilt layout tool for country settings (multisized blocks) and other unusual layout options.
  • Learn how to snag/export/copy/paste (multiple techniques covered) quilts and blocks for handouts, stationery, cards and more to be used in other programs.

** In Southern California, Sharla can bring a mobile computer lab: 3-7 computers for 12-21 students for an additional $75.00 per computer

Quilters discover the Internet (3 hour class) (computers optional**)

Wondering what the Internet has to offer Quilters. Yes, find shopping, but more important find a world wide quilting bee with support on every conceivable topic that a quilter can image. Discover information rich websites for every interest from antique quilts to the quilt art. Find picture rich Quilt Galleries and Virtual Quilt Galleries from around the world. Discover how to be a lurker or actively involved in the world wide quilting community by using Quilt forums, lists, digest and more.

** In Southern California, Sharla can bring a mobile computer lab: 3-7 computers for 12-21 students for an additional $75.00 per computer

Setup your own Web Page on the Internet (3 hour class) (computers optional**)

This class will give you the basics to get started for creating a web page for yourself, your guild or even a business.

  • Discover that the best working pages begin with a organizational plan and then how to develop your own plan.
  • Find out the program options for creating web pages using WYSYG programs.
  • Develop a better understanding of HTML language and why it is different from what we are used to.
  • Find out the tricks, hints and tips to creatively outsmart the limitations of HTML to best suit your needs and create an effective presentation.
  • Discover the tricks, hints and tips to effective, fast loading graphic files.
  • NOTE: If computers are available to the class, hands-on time creating graphic and html files will provided.

** In Southern California, Sharla can bring a mobile computer lab: 3-7 computers for 12-21 students for an additional $75.00 per computer

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2-3 Day Workshop Combinations
(5-6 hour classes each day)

Magic

One day workshop allows time for designs to be developed on paper that can be completed at home. The 2-3 day workshop takes the best design and adds fabric selection and construction for extra excitement as new life is uncovered during flannel board exploration.

The Dynamite Kaleidoscope

One day workshop include design exploration, construction and/or flannel board exploration using 4-8 fabrics. For more in depth study of design and more complex designs, a 2-3 day workshop is strongly suggested for hands-on help with the gradation of 16-32 fabrics, construction and flannel board exploration.

Embellishments

Combine the Exotic Thread and Beading workshop with Embellishment and/or Machine Embroidery workshops for an excellent 2-3 day workshop that covers the full range of sewing machine enhanced quilts.

Indepth Color Study

Looking for the Glow and Color Illusions combine for a stand-out 2-3 day workshop that hones the visual color skills of each student. The more color exercises completed the better the eye and mind become at perceiving color subtleties. Students walk away with control over color to make choices, not accidental choices on all future quilts.

Fees

Contact Sharla Hicks at the below address, telephone or e-mail for Fee information

Discounts for multiple day workshops scheduled at the same time

Workshop size limit 20

Supply lists returned with signed workshop contract

If driving, reimbursement for mileage at current IRS allocation OR other mode of transportation costs. If overnight stay required request nonsmoking home with private room or a hotel.

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