Workshop
Colorful textile art with embroidered purple flowers, green leaf, and orange and blue stitched stars and accents.

Small Stories in Fabric

Create a series of five small art quilt collages with layers of fabric, paint and stitch, ready to frame. Suitable for all levels, with confident enthusiasm.

Book this workshop for your group 
About this workshop

Creating original art is a powerful way to honor, cherish, and celebrate meaningful moments.

In this workshop, we’ll look for inspiration in unexpected places, learning to recognize compelling colors, shapes, lines, patterns, and compositions. We’ll also explore how inspiration carries deeper layers of meaning and how to translate those into metaphor, narrative, and personal expression as part of the creative process and in the finished works. We’ll incorporate printmaking, hand embroidery and machine stitching.

Workshop at a Glance

  • Focus: fused appliqué, composition, print making, personal narrative, stitch as a design element, hand embroidery, finishing

  • Duration — 2 to 5 days 

  • Skill Level — All levels with confident enthusiasm

  • Project — five (or more) 5x7” art quilt collage ready for framing

  • Format — In person or virtual

  • Fees — $750 per day virtual · $850 per day in person

  • Room Requirements — Access to water

In the workshop

What the Workshop Looks Like

From finished samples to works in progress, here's a look at the creative process we explore together.

What to bring

Supply List

Required

  • Five 6x8” pieces of felt or batting

  • 15 - 20 pieces of fabric approximately 10x10” or similar scraps
    I recommend mostly fabrics that read solid plus a few medium scale prints that you love. Apply fusible web to the back of the fabrics before the workshop. I like Wonder Under and Misty Fuse.

  • Five interesting photos from your personal collection, printed on regular copy paper
    (Landscape, botanical, architecture, objects and travel photos work best. Pets and people are not ideal for this process.) The photos don’t have to be great — just photos that you like or have a special memory attached to them. You may or may not use them during the workshop, but they’ll generate possibilities

  • 1.5 yards solid fabric for print making (I suggest six FQs in different colors)

  • 6-10 skeins of perle cotton or embroidery floss for hand stitching, choose colors that coordinate with your fabrics

  • 6-8 spools of thread for machine stitching

  • Micron Pigma pen or your favorite fabric pen for embellishing and writing fabric

  • 5-8 small bottles of acrylic craft paint,
    Darks and lights that coordinate with your fabrics, I like Folk Art Brand from Michaels.

  • 3 or 4 spouncers or any sponge stencil brush

  • 4 squares of corrugated cardboard, foam core, or recycled styrofoam approximately

  • 4x4”sticky-backed fun foam (1 sheet)
    For in person workshops, I’ll have some for sale if you can’t find any. You can order single sheets here.

  • 2 or 3 paper plates or similar to use as a paint palette and for mixing paint and a small container for water

  • Plastic trash bag to cover your work area

  • Scissors

  • Small cutting mat, ruler and rotary cutter

  • Sketchbook, pens and pencils

  • Irons and ironing boards (if not provided by the venue)

Optional

  • Sewing machine and thread If you’d like to embellish your collages with machine stitching (along with thread, bobbins, and your usual sewing tools). However, if bringing a machine isn’t convenient (or you prefer to machine quilt at home), you can focus on design, composition, printmaking techniques, and hand embroidery during our time together.

  • 3 yards parchment paper

  • 1 yard freezer paper

  • Additional fabric — especially if you have a stashed a pre-fused fabric. This is a great workshop to use pre-fused scraps. It’s a balance between bringing enough to feel creative but not so much that you’re paralyzed by too many options.

  • Extra batting or felt if you want to make additional or larger collages

  • Extra solid fabric for printmaking

  • Additional hand embroidery threads you love to use

  • Extra fusible webbing especially if you have not pre-fused your fabric

  • Art Quilt Collage: A Creative Journey in Fabric, Paint and Stitching by Deborah Boschert

Tip: Mounting Your Collages

For in person workshops, you can purchase 8x10 boards and plastic sleeves for mounting your finished collages directly from Deborah. Or order them online:

Backer boards

Plastic sleeves

A woman with shoulder-length gray hair, glasses, and earrings is smiling and taking a selfie while sitting on a dark blue couch. She is wearing a green, short-sleeved, buttoned blouse and dark jeans. Behind her, there are shelves filled with colorful yarn and yarn balls.

About Deborah

Deborah is an artist, author, and teacher whose art quilt collages are known for their bold use of color, layered texture, and personal storytelling. She has taught workshops for guilds and groups across the country for over two decades.

LEARN MORE 
Bring this workshop to your group

Ready to Book?

Connect with Deborah to arrange times, formats, and fee structures that work for your guild or group.

Get in touch
View all workshops