Great News! Classes are resuming. I am currently offering classes at Montavilla Sewing Centers, Cedar Ridge in Oregon City and Sharon’s Attic in Aloha.

I also offer online instruction on a one-to-one basis or to groups interested in arranging a group class session. Most of my class offerings are adaptable to this format. I am also available for one-on-one tutoring and consultations for your projects. You can contact me at helene.m.knott@gmail.com for more information or schedule a session.

Montavilla Sewing Center – 429 1st St, Lake Oswego, OR 97034 PH# (503) 635-1353

Montavilla Sewing Center – 4955 SW Western Ave #B, Beaverton, OR 97005

Sharon’s Attic – 2950 SW Cornelius Pass Rd #100, Hillsboro, OR 97123 PH# (503) 259-3475

Cedar Ridge Quilts – 19045 S Beavercreek Rd., Oregon City, OR 97045 PH# 503-908-1398

In addition to traveling and teaching for guilds and retreats out of the area, I also teach a wide variety of classes at a few of the local shops. Below is a chronological listing of my upcoming classes; for more detailed information – hours and class fees – click on the appropriate shop link  and check their class calendar, or call them to register.

August 20, 2022: Zen Quilting – Montavilla Sewing Center

Lake Oswego Store – Zen Quilting is a meditative process of quilting in which you start with a basic motif or shape and then build upon it with improvisational stitching and texture. This approach to quilting is inspired by the Zentangles® art movement that encourages a free-flowing, stream-of-consciousness form of drawing. In this case, you will draw with your sewing machine to create a complex stitching tapestry. Why just quilt a project when you can adorn it with designs that will elevate it into artistry? Skill level: Intermediate – some free motion quilting experience recommended.

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August 25, 2022: Thread Painting – Montavilla Sewing Center

Lake Oswego Store – Thread Painting involves using thread as a coloring medium. This beginning-level thread painting class will teach you to use your sewing machine and thread like a box of crayons. The class project is simple enough to render in a basic ‘color within the lines’ approach but can be stitched in a more complex style adding details and blending colors for the more adventurous spirits. You do not need an ‘embroidery’ machine for this, just one that can be used for free motion stitching with a straight stitch. The stitching is hand guided, not computerized, and even a basic machine will work fine; stained glass style butterfly pattern (good for beginning thread painters) or a more ‘painterly’ bird pattern (intermediate to advanced skills) are included in the class. Skill Level: Confident Beginner to Advanced (familiarity with free-motion stitching is a prerequisite)

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August 26, 2022: Suitable for Framing – Montavilla Sewing Center

Beaverton Store – Is it fabric, or is it art?  In this class, you will learn how to create small scenic pictures in a painterly style using fabric as your medium. The technique is remarkably easy, requiring no drawing or artistic skills, just an eye for texture and color. The fabric ‘paintings’ can be further embellished with machine embroidery to add texture and detail, creating a truly ‘suitable for framing’ picture. Skill Level: confident beginner – a basic familiarity with a free-motion presser foot is recommended.

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August 18, 2022: Thread Sketching – Cedar Ridge Quilts

Think of Thread Sketching as Thread Painting Lite. You are still using threadwork to create the design elements, but the style is looser and more carefree, with a restricted palette. The ‘sketching’ is swift and less precise, somewhat like an artist’s pencil or pen & ink study. Despite the name, you do not need to have great sketching skills to do this; you will be working from a master photo printed on a stabilizer, so it is more like a free-spirited tracing capturing the essence of the designs rather than a meticulous replication of the original image. Skill level: Confident Beginner and up, a relaxed attitude towards free-motion stitching is helpful.

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Bella Vista Mini-Landscape – Sharon’s Attic

This class is aimed at students interested in learning to use fabrics effectively for landscape quilts but who cannot devote the time to a larger complex sewn project. The landscapes in this class are small, simple, and fused, allowing more time to play with the creative use of fabrics while making a small wall-hanging measuring approximately 10”x 12” or 14” x 20”. The small size also makes them perfect for gifts. These mini-landscapes go together fast, making it possible for a confident student to get more than one done in class and making them easy and fun to recreate in different color schemes. The class will focus on using fabrics creatively to get marvelous special effects. There are a variety of patterns available to choose from. Skill Level: Beginner.

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September 8, 2022: Art Quilt Techniques: Playing With Texture – Montavilla Sewing Center

Lake Oswego Store – There are two types of texture in quilting – physical and visual. Visual texture involves a fabric print. Though the fabrics may look different, close your eyes and run your fingers over the fabric; you cannot tell one from another. Physical texture can be felt. Run your fingers over these fabrics, and you immediately sense the textural differences. In this Art Techniques class session, you will select and draft a word and then cut and fuse the letters for a small quilt that will delight your fingertips and your eyes. Skill Level: Confident beginner and up.

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September 10 & 24, 2022: Machine Quilting 101 – Sharon’s Attic

This class covers various approaches to machine quilting, valuable information and tips on needles, thread, machine maintenance, and troubleshooting common problems. Students will bring a simple pieced top (from a pattern provided) ready to practice various techniques and styles of quilting. You will learn stitching in the ditch, using freezer paper templates, stitching through tracing paper, stippling (both classical and innovative), and a wealth of tips to make machine quilting your own quilts easier and more pleasurable. Skill Level: Beginner and up. NOTE: This is a 2-session class

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September 16, 2022: Free-Motion Magic #1 – Montavilla Sewing Center

This class is designed to take the fear out of quilting; we will cover a variety of quilting techniques and the tools needed to perform them. You will work on practice squares and simple pieced blocks with various designs and techniques. Learning and perfecting your skills on a smaller piece before tackling larger projects is best. Skill Level: Beginner and up.

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September 22, 2022: Focus on Fusing – Cedar Ridge Quilts

In the category of fused appliqué there are a range of adhesive products available; each one is somewhat unique in the ease and effectiveness of application. Some can be hand stitched through while others cannot. In this class you will get to try a variety of different products and learn how to use them properly along with the pros and cons of the various choices. In class you will make a lovely small sampler using different adhesives for comparison and to use as a reference to help you select the best products for your future projects. This is a perfect opportunity to try out various adhesive products without having to buy entire packages of each one. Skill Level – Beginner and up.

September 29, 2022: Free Motion Magic II – Texture – Cedar Ridge Quilts

Allover textures are a key component in creating interesting quilting designs. Most quilters are familiar with the ubiquitous meandering ‘stipple’ (the one that looks like interlocking puzzle piece heads) and many quilters achieve this pattern skill and look no further at other possibilities. Don’t get stuck in a quilting rut! This class will help you explore lots of allover texture possibilities and show you how texture can be used to punch up other quilting designs. Skill Level: Confident Beginner and up – some basic free motion stitching experience is helpful but not necessary.

September 30, 2022: Hawaiian Quilts by Machine – Montavilla Sewing Center

If you have admired Hawaiian Quilts but the painstaking hand applique has put you off, this is a perfect class for you. The method is raw edge applique by machine; no fusing adhesives are used and this makes the resulting applique luxuriously soft and supple and makes these complex designs a breeze to stitch. You can play with cutting your own paper templates or use a Hawaiian quilt design from a book or pattern. If using a published pattern, choose one that will fit on a block 18” square. The applique can be left raw edged or finished with machine satin/blanket stitching if you prefer. In class you will make one or two blocks that can be repeated for a larger quilt or made into pillows. Skill Level: Confident Beginner and up – some basic free motion stitching experience is helpful but not necessary.

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October 1, 2022: Landscapes Beyond Borders – Cedar Ridge Quilts

This landscape class explores a construction technique that gives a landscape a little more depth by bringing layers of it out of the center and into the border. There are two patterns to choose from, both featuring our lovely Oregon coast. The wall hanging will finish at about 14”x 20” or larger (depending on how many layers and borders you decide to use). Help will be provided in selecting your fabrics and choosing a method of appliqué suited to your individual skills. Hand and fused appliqué will be covered as well as a wonderful easy raw–edge machine technique that is superb to use on trees and foliage (pattern fee). Skill Level: Confident Beginner (fusing recommended) and up.

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Coming in October 2022. Art & Soul Retreat returns to Portland! I will be offering several classes.

October 19, 2022, 9am – 4:30pm: Ancient Icons Art & Soul Retreats

In this workshop, you will make and embellish small fabric ‘art tiles’ with paints, beading, and embroidery and then assemble them into a provocative composition. Each project will be a unique arrangement.

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October 19, 2022, 6:30pm – 9:30pm: Confetti Collage Art & Soul Retreats

This surface design technique adds a complex delicacy to an art quilt or piece of textile art. It can be used in various design applications but is particularly well suited for pictorial landscapes. The process is liberating and creates textural effects that would be difficult to render with other approaches. It also is environmentally friendly, using materials that would otherwise be discarded.

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ONGOING CLASSES

These classes are held every month on a repeating schedule

Art Quilt Techniques – Montavilla Sewing Center

Lake Oswego Montavilla: usually held the second Thursday of each month – call the shop to confirm or contact me to be put on the email notification list)

This is a recurring class though you will register for each individually. In each class, we will explore a new artistic technique or design approach to try methods beyond traditional quilting patterns and techniques. Methods can include beading, embroidery, fabric dyeing, painting and collage, fabric manipulation, and other roads less traveled. The classes are ongoing, meeting monthly to show and share work and ideas and explore various techniques. Skill Level: Confident Beginner and up.

Attic Cats – Group Sewing – Sharon’s Attic

(Usually the first Tuesday of each month – call the shop to confirm or contact me to be put on the email notification list)

This monthly class has gradually transitioned into an ‘Open Sew’ type of group, and some students bring other projects to work on, enjoying the camaraderie of other quilters and the support of having a teacher present to mentor them if they wish. Students are free to choose and make a Garden Patch Cat if they wish, and occasionally we devote a session in which we explore a specific project or technique that students are welcome to participate in or not as they choose.

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