Alaska Cruisetour
Quilt Seminar at Sea
June 6 – 17, 2012
Explore Alaska by land and sea with a warm group of fun-loving quilters and renowned, award-winning instructors Sue Nickels, Karen Combs, Kathy McNeil and Stevii Graves.
Quilting Classes

Before filling out your registration form, please read the class descriptions and the daily itinerary so you can best determine how you would like to spend your cruise time. You will be assured of being placed in three full day class sections. Class assignments and supply lists will be mailed to you along with your notice for final payment 90 days prior to departure. Classes are open to all levels of ability (unless otherwise stated in the class description).

Monday, June 11, 2012

8:30 am - 4:00 pm, Lunch Break from 11:30 am -1:00 pm

Class Title Quilt Instructor
Machine Quilting Basics – Whale of a Good Time! Sue Nickels
Patchwork Illusions Karen Combs
Northwest Passage With Orcas Kathy McNeil
Hand Piecing on the Straight and on the Curve Stevii Graves

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

8:30 am - 11:30 am

Friday, June 15, 2012 (Continued)

8:30 am - 11:30 am

Class Title Quilt Instructor
Mystery Machine Appliqué – Here Whaley Whaley! Sue Nickels
Transparency/Color and Texture for Quilters Karen Combs
Lovable Sea Otters Kathy McNeil
You Don't Have to be Crazy to Crazy Quilt Stevii Graves

Saturday, June 16, 2012

8:30 am - 4:00 pm, Lunch Break from 11:30 am -1:00 pm

Class Title Quilt Instructor
Beautiful Feather Designs – Waves and Whales Too! Sue Nickels
Christmas Cube Karen Combs
Alaska Puffin Possibilities Kathy McNeil
Forget-Me – Not This Cruise! Stevii Graves



Sue Nickels – Ann Arbor, MI
www.Sue-Nickels.com

Machine Quilting Basics – Whale of a Good Time!

Monday, June 11, 2012  • 8:30 am - 4:00 pm, Lunch Break from 11:30 am -1:00 pm

In this all day workshop, learn to successfully machine quilt on your home sewing machine. Sue has been teaching machine quilting workshops for over 20 years and has written the very popular book Machine Quilting: A Primer of Techniques. Sue will discuss all things relating to machine quilting. Start with a supplies discussion that will include the latest in feet, threads, batting and notions. Students will practice the basic techniques on practice samples. Next, you will begin working on an Alaska themed project. Learn machine quilting concepts from straight lines to free motion skills. Have a Whale of a Good Time and go home with a small memory quilt of your Alaska cruise as well as more confidence to quilt your future projects!

Skill Level: All levels
Sewing machines will be provided for this class.



Mystery Machine Appliqué – Here Whaley Whaley!

TWO DAY CLASS
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
8:30 pm - 11:30 am

Friday, June 15, 2012 (Continued)
8:30 am - 11:30 am

Students will stitch a beautiful floral appliqué block that Sue has designed just for the 2012 Alaska cruise! Sue will bring the block ready to stitch, so students can get the most out of the sewing machines provided on the ship! In demo format, learn the preparation technique for this method and then move on to stitching your block. Learn the fine points of machine appliqué including perfect points, neat curves and creative surface embellishments. This technique is the focus of the AQS book "Stitched Raw Edge Appliqué" co-authored by Sue and her sister, Pat Holly. Quality workmanship is the priority in the workshop. Block design will remain a surprise until you are on the ship! (and discover where the whale is?)

Skill level: All levels
Sewing machines will be provided for this class.



Beautiful Feather Designs – Waves and Whales Too!

Saturday, June 16, 2012  • 8:30 am - 4:00 pm, Lunch Break from 11:30 am -1:00 pm

It is easier than you think to create your own unique feather designs for your quilts. Start with Sue’s basic feather drawing concept to easily create the basic feather unit. Next, learn to create feathers to fit specific quilt blocks and borders. Students will then design their own unique feather project (this design will be used to create your small wholecloth feather quilt). Have a stress free day with Sue learning to create your own masterpieces! Sue will provide many feather patterns to work from in a detailed handout. She will also show many quilts that incorporate beautiful feathers. The feather is the ideal design for free motion machine quilting and as a bonus Sue will demo how to successfully free motion quilt beautiful feathers! Fall in love with feathers!

Skill level: All levels




Karen Combs – Columbia, TN
www.karencombs.com

Patchwork Illusions

Monday, June 11, 2012  • 8:30 am - 4:00 pm, Lunch Break from 11:30 am -1:00 pm

Visual depth has fascinated artists for centuries. Karen has developed a quick and easy rotary technique that allows you to make quilts with a 3-D look. Frankly, this is Karen's favorite class because it is so easy to create truly amazing quilts of illusion. Let Karen share her secrets, so you may also become a master of illusion!

Skill level: Intermediate
Sewing machines will be provided for this class.



Transparency/Color and Texture for Quilters

TWO DAY CLASS
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
8:30 pm - 11:30 am

Friday, June 15, 2012 (Continued)
8:30 am - 11:30 am

In the first half of this class, learn the secrets to creating the look of transparency in your quilts. Transparency is the use of color to make your quilts look like one color is laying over another. It's very simple if you know how. After this class, you can amaze your friends and family with your use of color! Several small design samples will be made in class. The second half of this class, Karen will teach you how to add color and texture to your quilts to create interest. Do these colors go together? This is one of the hardest questions that quilters ask themselves. This class will help quilters pick colors and fabrics with confidence. In the first part of the class, we learn how to work with different prints that will lend visual texture to quilts. We will work with large, medium and small prints and learn how to combine them successfully. Later, we will learn how to combine colors together and learn how to add more color to your quilts.

Skill level: All levels



Christmas Cube

Saturday, June 16, 2012  • 8:30 am - 4:00 pm, Lunch Break from 11:30 am -1:00 pm

Join Karen for this festive class! Add a little holiday cheer to your summer as you create a beautiful Christmas wall hanging that is a striking star block with the illusion of depth. Anticipation builds as we eagerly wait to see what is in the mysterious box beneath the Christmas tree. It’s only June but this project is so beautiful, you may have a hard time waiting for the holidays to arrive!

Skill level: Intermediate
Sewing machines will be furnished for this class.




Kathy McNeil – Tulalip, WA
www.kathymcneilquilts.com

Northwest Passage With Orcas

Monday, June 11, 2012  • 8:30 am - 4:00 pm, Lunch Break from 11:30 am -1:00 pm

Spotting a pod of Orcas or watching a Humpback Whale breaching would be the highlight our cruise! Make that memory a lasting one by creating this truly unique Alaskan scene! In this workshop, Kathy will demonstrate both fused and hand appliqué. Feel free to choose either technique as you learn to create highlights and shadows with simple value changes in your fabrics. Creating distance and perspective is easy once you learn the secrets!

Skill level: All levels



Lovable Sea Otters

TWO DAY CLASS
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
8:30 pm - 11:30 am

Friday, June 15, 2012 (Continued)
8:30 am - 11:30 am

In this class, Kathy will demonstrate Machine, Raw Edge and Hand Applique. You will use your choice of technique to create this landscape while learning the steps of layered appliqué. Learn to add depth and dimension by simple tricks and fabric selection. Play with fabric paints, discharge and over dying to create highlights and shadows. Make objects appear to be under water with sheer overlays. Playful and full of mischief, Sea Otters win the hearts of all who see them! Let Kathy get you started on the exciting and never ending possibilities of pictorial quilting while creating some of the most lovable creatures on earth!

Skill level: All levels
Sewing machines will be provided for this class.



Alaska Puffin Possibilities

Saturday, June 16, 2012  • 8:30 am - 4:00 pm, Lunch Break from 11:30 am -1:00 pm

While most Puffins are black and white, they can be psychedelic with green galoshes too! Join Kathy to explore the possibilities of "Free Object Applique" as you create your very own Alaskan Puffin. Each Puffin has it’s own unique personality and they’ve never met a vest, block or landscape top that they wouldn’t want to be placed on! Feel free to make them in a rainbow of colors. Add embellishments to commemorate each of our stops along the way. You will have so much fun as you fuse these charming characters into your memories of beautiful Alaskan wildlife and your wonderful cruise!

Skill level: All levels




Stevii Graves – Leesburg, VA
www.steviigraves.com

Hand Piecing on the Straight and on the Curve

Monday, June 11, 2012  • 8:30 am - 4:00 pm, Lunch Break from 11:30 am -1:00 pm

Walking on a cruise ship may occasionally feel like walking on a Drunkards Path. However, in this class we will be hand piecing the Drunkard’s Path block, which can be a scary block to sew by machine because of the tricky curved piecing. Sewing curves by hand provides more control which will result in a perfectly accurate pieced block. And it IS fun and faster than you think. Our cutting method will not use scissors or rotary cutter. It will be magic!

Skill level: All levels



You Don't Have to be Crazy to Crazy Quilt

TWO DAY CLASS
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
8:30 pm - 11:30 am

Friday, June 15, 2012 (Continued)
8:30 am - 11:30 am

Grab your inner Victorian Lady along with your needle and thread to learn a variety of embroidery stitches for use on crazy quilt blocks. These same stitches can be used as an embellishment on appliqué blocks. The first half of the class will be devoted to making a stitch sampler. The second half of the class will be used to embellish a cotton crazy quilt block provided by the instructor.

Skill level: All levels



Forget-Me – Not This Cruise

Saturday, June 16, 2012  • 8:30 am - 4:00 pm, Lunch Break from 11:30 am -1:00 pm

The Forget-me-not is the Alaskan state flower. This flower appears on everything from t-shirts to trivets in the stores in port. Now the Forget-me-not can appear on your appliqué block. We will use the "complete unit" method of appliqué. Learning this appliqué method might just change your appliqué life forever!

Skill level: All levels



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The programs listed on this website must be booked directly with Quilt Seminars at Sea in order to participate in quilt classes and seminar activities. We cannot sell seminar activities separately from the cruise. Cruise bookings arranged directly with the cruise line or through other travel entities cannot be accepted for seminar participation.
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