Maria Shell Tales of a Stitcher SFMQG Event

We are very excited to welcome artist Maria Shell, who is traveling to South Florida from Anchorage, Alaska to tell us her Tales of a Stitcher and teach us her method of Making Prints out of Solids.

Maria's Statement:  My artwork is firmly grounded in the craft of quilt making. It has taken me many years to acquire the cutting, piecing, and quilting skills I now use daily.  Vintage and contemporary commercial solid and print cotton fabrics, as well as hand dyed cotton fabrics I have created are the materials I use in my work. These textiles are cut primarily without rulers and stitched into a two dimensional surface. Once I create this pieced canvas, I spend hours on my long arm quilting machine stitching the top to cotton or wool batting and a fabric backing. The final step is to bind or face each individual piece. 

Take a look at Maria's many exhibits and awards.

We will start this Special Event on Thursday evening April 7th with Maria’s lecture and trunk show:

Patchwork to Artwork--Journey of an Alaskan Quiltmaker : Quilt artist Maria Shell will share her work from her first stitches to her most recent makes along with some fun stories about trying to quilt while raising three boys in the wild lands of Alaska. Maria's work is grounded in the tradition of American patchwork. She uses that foundation to create colorful celebrations of the classic pieced quilt block. Lecture is free to SFMQG members and $5 for guests. Please register at the website store or at our meetings.

The Special Event concludes on Saturday April 9th 10am-4pm with a workshop: Making Prints out of Solids 

Maria's description: "Through years of exploring pattern and repetition, I have created an assortment of “prints” made out of solid fabrics. Students will learn how to make improvisation-ally cut and pieced stripes, curves, polka dots, tartans, zigzags and more in this fun sampler class."

Student Level of Experience -- Adventurous Beginner.  This includes students of all skill levels. The most important thing being that you are willing to work out of their comfort zone.There is no pattern or book to be purchased. There is a complete supply list on the event listing.

Check out these blog posts Maria has written about Making Prints of out Solids:

The workshop is $75 ($60 for SFMQG members). Space is limited to 25 students. Early bird registration is open to SFMQG members from Jan 30th to Feb 6th 2016. After that we will open the workshop to the public (from which we have already had enquiries) – don’t wait if you wish to attend! Register now in our store!

Location(s) TBA – Boca Raton or Fort Lauderdale FL.

Event Schedule:

  • Lecture                Thursday April 7th.   7pm - Doors open at 6:30pm.
  • Workshop           Saturday April 9th.   10am-4pm - Doors open at 9:30am.

See complete information for both on our Events page.

To register and pay, visit our Store.

Maria Shell can be found in these places on the internets

~ Charlotte Noll, VP of Programs