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 one, full-day class and one 1-1/2 day class section. 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).
Sunday, September 24, 2023
9:00am to 3:30pm, Lunch Break from 11:30am to 1:00pm
Monday, September 25, 2023
9:00am to Noon
Arctic Flower
| Instructor | Jeanette Walton |
| Learn to paper piece the Judy Niemeyer way! Inspiration is all around us! While Alaska is known for its glaciers, wildlife, and beautiful scenery, you can’t help but notice the delightful and abundant wildflowers everywhere when we are in port! To make this elegant design, choose a lovely symphony of colors to remind you of the floral beauty of Alaska, or choose more muted sea hues to remind you of the grandeur of the endless ocean. This beautiful paper pieced pattern goes together quickly and easily. Don’t be afraid of the curves that are as easy as an ocean breeze! |  |
| Skill Level: Skill Builder for the Experienced Quilter Sewing machines will be provided for this class. |
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Mendenhall Glacier Impressionistic Collage
| Instructor | Christina Fairley Erickson |
| Using an impressionistic technique of pointillism, you’ll choose from 12 different color schemes and collage fabric pieces to create a landscape view of Mendenhall Glacier. After your collage is complete, you can add stitching to embellish, giving your piece dimensionality and texture. |  |
| Skill Level: Fun for all (perfect for all levels of experience) | |
Northern Sparkling Lights
| Instructor | Scott Hansen |
| Sparkle is a slightly wonky “neotraditional-modern” block that uses the background of the block to create a secondary pattern in the overall project with lots of options. Slightly maverick piecing is forgiving, and the quilt is full of movement. There is also a foundation paper piecing pattern if you prefer more precise and less wonky! This is a great stash-buster quilt – you can make it very scrappy (leftover charm squares and jelly roll strips can be used for some of the pieces) or use a more limited palette, depending upon your personal taste. |  |
| Skill Level: Fun for all (perfect for all levels of experience) Sewing machines will be provided for this class. |
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Alaska Forget-Me-Not Hand Applique
| Instructor | Chardel Blaine |
| Create an Alaska memory by capturing the State Flower in appliqué! We’ll learn an easy way to create perfect appliqué shapes using a leave-in stabilizer, as well as an overlay technique for perfect placement. An almost-invisible hand appliqué stitch is easier than you think! As you create your Forget-Me-Not work of art, consider the possibilities – a small quilt, a throw pillow, or the beginning of a textile field of a beautiful field of flowers! |  |
| Skill Level: Fun for all | |
Friday, September 29, 2023
9:00am to 3:30pm, Lunch Break from 11:30am to 1:00pm
Alaskan Starbaby
| Instructor | Jeanette Walton |
| Learn to paper piece the Judy Niemeyer way and create this sensational souvenir of our visit to Alaska. This pattern creates a quick gift, is a great stash buster, and will make you fall in love with paper piecing. Each pattern comes with enough papers to make (2) samples! Jeanette will walk you through the paper piecing technique step-by-step to make this fast, fun and easy quilt. Contact Jeanette for options to make it bigger. Yes, you can do that! |  |
| Skill level: Skill Builder for the Experienced Quilter. Sewing machines will be provided for this class. | |
Alaskan Wildlife Portrait
| Instructor | Christina Fairley Erickson |
| Bring home these two darling otters as a memory from your trip! Learn to transfer to the pattern to fabric and then color in yourself using Artists’ Fabric Pastels and InkTense pencils. After lunch we’ll add hand-stitching to enhance your animals and bring them to life! You do not need to know how to draw to be successful in this class- you’ll learn a simple technique to get a fabulous result that you can use in your quilting in the future. |  |
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Skill level: Fun for all (perfect for all levels of experience). |
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Bounce
| Instructor | Scott Hansen |
| Though this quilt may seem to need precise piecing, Scott designed this in his typical im-prov style. Measurements are given for construction in the pattern, but each block has room for quirky little imperfections. Each of the two blocks have the same pieces, but the orientation of these pieces creates a never-ending source of movement. How you place colors and value in this quilt allows you to highlight certain areas or not, and no matter how you lay things out, the effect is mesmerizing. Traditional, or modern fabrics, scrappy or a controlled palette in your favorite designer’s fabric – anything goes in this quilt. |  |
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Skill level: Fun for all (perfect for all levels of experience). |
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Matryoshka Mayhem Embroidery
| Instructor | Chardel Blaine |
| While in Sitka, you will see shops full of Matryoshka – the folk art of wooden Russian nesting dolls. We won’t have woodworking tools on board our cruise, but we will have fabric, needles and thread to embroider nesting dolls you can hang on the wall, add to a quilt or make a pillow. You will have a pattern to follow, but feel free to make a little mayhem with your interpretation and make your Matryoshka design yours. If a Sitka shop can have a Ukrainian flag on the door (spotted on a recent visit), you can make some Matryoshka mayhem! |  |
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Skill level: Fun for all (perfect for all levels of experience). |
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Class notes: Holding a quilt seminar on a cruise ship is a unique experience. Sometimes there are space and time challenges that prevent our being able to be “project oriented” and we must concentrate more on process. It is very unlikely that you will have an absolutely finished project at the end of a class. It is helpful if your expectations match these realities. But regardless of how far you are able to progress, our instructors are professionals—some of the best in the quilting world—and we know you will learn many new techniques and have a wonderful experience