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Carol Taylor
Pittsford, New York
Vibrant colors, striking contrasts and machine quilting distinguish the 495 quilts Carol has created since 1993. She is a teacher by degree, outgoing by nature. Her workshops are said to be “fun, motivational and non-threatening.” Carol has won SIX “Best of Show” awards (with 6 different quilts). Visit her at www.caroltaylorquilts.com.
Free Motion Quilting Designs, Full Day
Thursday, 11/11/2010 - 11/11/2010, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
This workshop fills each time it is offered! Carol will teach 16 quilting design patterns for you to try. Supplies are simple for this hands-on class to learn and practice your free motion quilting with the feed dogs down. Learn to stitch with different decorative threads that Carol will bring for you and where each is best used. Even students who have had very little quilting experience are successful using these methods. Give your quilts a unique flavor, style, and sparkle and get all of those unfinished tops quilted quickly! All levels.
Materials List: (Email Carol at ctquilts@rochester.rr.com and ask her for the better supply list with check-off boxes and photos which will make gathering supplies easier.) Fabric sandwiches: a dozen fabric sandwiches 12” x 12”-ish in size, made with SOLID color black or dark fabric on the top and light on the bottom so you can write which thread you used on the back if you decide to keep a notebook of samples. Use cotton or wool batting, not polyester. Come with these sandwiches assembled and ready to go; spray baste to hold them together or just iron them together-do not use pins. Basic sewing supplies: scissors, pins, ripper, etc. A clean, recently tuned sewing machine with ability to lower feed dogs. Free motion or darning foot necessary. Be able to lower feed dogs (or cover them with tape). Be sure you know how to lower the feed dogs BEFORE class. Optional: zigzag capability for 2 of the 16 stitches. Couching, braiding or cording foot, optional, but you’ll love it if you have one (#21 or 12B for Bernina). Carol will have some feet available for sale. Knee lift, if you have one, bring it as it helps with couching. Platform or table top part for flat surface to work on. Extra bobbins. Package of 90/14 quilting needles - Carol will have available in class. Cushion for chair to sit higher. Drawing paper and pencil to practice drawing designs before stitching them. Threads: for your convenience and because these threads are hard to find, you may buy these in class from the instructor, $3-$12.50: 30 wt. rayons, 30 and 12 wt. cottons, metallics, neon, YLI Invisible and 90/14 quilting needles. If you have any or these threads bring them, or buy them in class. For couching: 1 yard or more of chenille or yarn or you can buy in class. Sewing machine required.
FL 009 75.00
Click here to view Photo 1
Click here to view Photo 2
Arc-i-Texture Wall Hanging, Full Day
Friday, 11/12/2010 - 11/12/2010, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Create your own unique 15” x 15” wall quilt featuring textured looking fabrics and couched circles (arcs). Use some of those fancy and unusual fabrics that you’ve been attracted to, but didn’t know how to use. Fusing will tame and we’ll mix them with cottons. You’ll learn about composition, balance of color and size, and how to do facings instead of bindings. You’ll learn about fusing and how to finish your quilts with facings as opposed to bindings. You’ll learn how to couch those “perfect” circles that have become Carol’s trademark. These small wall quilts make great gifts and you will finish them in the one day class! Check www.caroltaylorquilts.com; look at Gallery under Arc-i-Texture to see 57 of these quilts in all colors. All levels.
Materials List: (Email Carol at ctquilts@rochester.rr.com and ask her for the better supply list with check-off boxes and photos which will make gathering supplies easier.) Fabrics: bring 7-10 textured or textured-looking fabrics that coordinate color-wise in light, medium and dark values. Fuse small pieces (12 x 12ish) of each fabric at home to bring to class. Texture is the focus; choose brocades, velvets, metallics, upholstery or cotton fabrics, Try the remnant bins, wedding attire leftovers, upholstery samples or old clothes you can cut up. Bring your extra fabric to class just in case you need to fuse more. If you like prints best, be sure to add some solid textured fabrics to your mix too. Don’t bring all prints. Fusible web: use 2-4 yds regular weight WonderUnder or Transweb. No Heat and Bond. Fuse at home before class!! Bring a little extra fusible to class as you might need it if you find another fabric you want to add. Directions to fuse: cut a piece of Wonder Under approx. 9” x 9” to 12” x 12”. Turn the sticky side of the fusible down onto the wrong side of your fabric and iron on without steam until it sticks tightly - about 60 seconds. Basic sewing/quilting supplies: scissors, pins, thread, 90/14 quilting needle in machine, rotary cutter, mat, see-thru ruler, 3M Photo Spray Mount (from office or art supply stores - it adheres better, you need less and it’s less expensive), lightweight press cloth to put over delicate fabrics. Trims: you need 3-4 kinds of “yarn” to couch - one for the background and 2-3 contrasting ones for the circles. You may buy these in class. Carol will bring a selection of yarns that work well for couching that you can buy in class. Cost will be no more than in the stores ($3-$49). Cash or check only, no credit cards. So, don’t go out and buy any yarns, but if you have yarn already at home that you think will work, bring it to see if it will work. Thread: be sure to plan to buy some lightweight fancy thread to couch with in class. Carol will bring many colors of the perfect thread to couch with that is subtle and allows the couched yarn to be the “star.” Sewing machine: clean, well-oiled with all its feet, pedal and cord and several bobbins. Must be able to zigzag (bring foot that allows you to zigzag). Extension cord. Knee lift - if you have one bring it as it really helps when couching and table top. Machine feet: couching or braiding foot (#21 or 12C for Bernina), optional. You can couch with your regular #1 foot but it is so much easier with a couching foot as this foot has a hole to put the yarn through that you’re couching down and a channel under the foot so you can just drag it along. Carol will bring a few Bernina couching feet to sell but supply is limited. 16 x 16 ironing pad or larger: you’ll love having it on your own table. You are going to lay your 16 x 16 piece of muslin on this and design right on the ironing surface and then iron it down without moving it. If you don’t have a pad at least this size, folding some towels with a piece of muslin or sheet over them will work. Do not bring a flip sided cutting/ironing pad because you will need to use both at once. Backing, binding, base fabric and batting: 16” x 16” of washed (so the fusing will adhere better) muslin or solid black or white fabric for the base. 17” x 17” piece of backing fabric. 17” x 17” piece of batting spray basted and ironed to your 17 x 17 backing fabric and ready to go to complete the quilt sandwich, which we will do before we couch the circles. Four 3” x 18” wide strips of your backing fabric - if you want to try my method of facing instead of binding which will demo how to bind the quilt without having binding that shows. Practice quilt sandwich: bring a practice quilt sandwich that’s been sprayed together (about 15 x 15) to try couching the circles and test doing the binding as a facing. And, if you want to practice the facing method in class, bring 2 extra 3” x 18’ strips and you can try it on this practice 15 x 15 piece where you try your circles. “Fat” drinking straw: the straw should be “fat” enough for yarns to go through the straw. Bring 2 pieces of masking tape to rig a guide for couching the yarns. Iron (optional), we can share. Digital camera, optional: bring to document the steps in making this project or to photo any of the samples. You’ll have a record if you forget exactly what the handout means by certain phrases and you can record the various color combinations you like. Sewing machine required.
FL 010 75.00
Click here to view Photo 1
Sensuous Lines & Curves, Full Day
Saturday, 11/13/2010 - 11/13/2010, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Do you love the look of those really skinny pieced lines and curves? Learn the secrets of piecing them improvisationally and make a 41” x 36” quilt full of those “sensuous lines and curves.” The center piece of the quilt is made by couching yarns and you’ll get to try facings instead of bindings. All of this is done with just 4-6 fabric choices, no pinning and a minimal amount of measuring to free you up to think outside of the box. Check www.caroltaylorquilts.com to see 3 samples and to see these same techniques used in her Linear Series. Then come make your very own version. Intermediate / Advanced levels.
Materials List: (Email Carol at ctquilts@rochester.rr.com and ask her for the better supply list.) Fabrics: choose a color scheme with 2 dark/medium colors (blue green in one of my samples) and 2 bright/light accent colors (yellow/lime in my sample). Fabrics with subtle texture like batiks or tightly woven fabrics work best for making your first “skinny lines” because they are more stiff and stay in place when cutting. Tone-on-tone batiks offer subtle patterning and work well. No busy prints! Outside blocks: cut 18 outside blocks 10-1/2” x 9” in the dark/medium colors. They can be just 2 fabrics or 18 different but similarly colored fabrics. I chose 9 blue and 9 green batiks with subtle prints. Skinny lines: using the light/bright high contrast fabric, cut a total of 12 (selvage to selvage) strips of 1” width at home (in the sample, I had 2 colors so did 6 strips of each color selvage to selvage). Bring the remainder of uncut fabric to class. Middle background quilt sandwich: cut 27” x 22” very dark or very light fabric to couch on. Cut this at home and make it the top of a quilt sandwich (batting and muslin or any cotton fabric for the back of the sandwich-backing will not show so any old cotton fabric will do). Make a 4 layer quilt sandwich spray basted together. We will couch on this. Layer 1: very dark or very light fabric will make the yarns show up better. Layer 2: cotton or wool batting. Layer 3: medium weight stabilizer like Tear Easy to keep the fabric from gathering. Layer 4: any cotton backing. Do not worry about this 4 layered piece fitting with the inner border and outer blocks which are not 4 layers. Just trust me and make the 4 layers sprayed together and I will show you how it all goes together in class. Steam iron the 4 layers to set the spray. Middle border: cut selvage to selvage one 1” strip of 1-2 accent colors (mine was red in the blue/green sample) and twelve 1” strips of the fabric you choose for your middle border; cut these selvage to selvage. Sewing machine: clean, well oiled machine that can zigzag. Several bobbins. Extension cord. Knee lift (makes couching easier) and table top for machine foot to give you a flat place to sew. Feet: 1/4”, couching/braiding (#21 or 12C Bernina) if at all possible! You can couch with your regular #1 foot but it is so much easier with a couching foot. Also called a couching, braiding, cording and even beading foot. You want the one that best allows you to put the yarns through a hole to drag them along. Basic sewing/quilting supplies: scissors, pins, 90/14 needle, rotary cutter with sharp new blade and mat, spray bottle of water (optional, but helps). Threads & yarns: you may buy these in class from the instructor ($3-$49). Carol will bring the best piecing thread ever and a large variety of colors of yarns and ribbon floss that you can buy in class for couching onto the middle section. So far she’s been able to match any color combination students have brought with some appropriate yarns. Or, bring any possibilities from home to see if they will work. Cash or check only, no credit cards. “Fat” drinking straw: the straw should be “fat” enough for yarns to go through the straw. Bring 2 pieces of masking tape to rig a guide for couching the yarns. Sewing machine required.
FL 011 75.00
Click here to view Photo 1
Click here to view Photo 2
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