Toronto Craft Alert

There is a long history of quilting in Maryland, from the Amish quilts of Southern Maryland to the spectacular Baltimore album quilts of the 1800s. I spotted a few quilts at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History a few weeks ago, among them was this quilt commemorating the inspiring life of the abolitionist Harriet Tubman, made in 2002. On a related note, for some unbelievably interesting reading, do a quick online [...]

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I just came across these incredible embroidered book covers by Canadian illustrator Jillian Tamaki thanks to a link on Broken Pencil’s website. Tamaki illustrated the acclaimed graphic novel Skim, written by her cousin Mariko Tamaki in 2008, and her practice as an artist spans comics, editorial illustrations and much more. She also has had collections of drawings published by Drawn and Quarterly and Conundrum Press.

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Celebrate the summer season with a crafty class at the workroom.

- Father’s Day is approaching, so learn to make a Sewn Men’s Tie. You’ll be amazed at how simple this project is. We’ve also had lots of people take this class to make custom ties for wedding parties. What a wonderful way to customize a special day.

- Learn to build a classic quilt block in our Log Cabin workshop. This versatile block can be arranged in a surprising number of [...]

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the workroom‘s spring class calendar is filled with fun projects to inspire you.

Just in time for Easter, the workroom will be offering a Pysanky or Ukrainian Easter egg decorating workshop. Learn all about this traditional craft, while being guided through the process of designing your own pysanka egg. Students will also receive a tool kit to take home to make more pysanky on their own. This special class will be offered just twice before Easter weekend, space is limited.

Our brand new quilting class [...]

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I recently learnt about the Modern Quilt Guild concept from Karyn and felt that it would be of serious interest to loads of TCA readers.  While traditional guilds can be fantastic for skill development and professional support, I have often heard complaints about high membership fees, feeling excluded by established members if your approach to the craft differs, and feelings of aesthetic alienation.  From all appearances, it seems like the MQG concept seeks to offer an alternative for those quilting outside the lines.

That said, I was really happy to see on the Modern [...]

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Due to the overwhelming response to our classes in the last couple weeks, we have updated the calendar with more sessions, now going though until March. the workroom’s newest updated calendar can be downloaded right here.

Our brand new class is the Button Down Vest. This class focuses on getting a nice tailored fit from a commercial pattern, clean lining a garment (no exposed seams!) and buttonholes.

Animal Softies returns for a weekend session that will have you designing your own pattern to create a creature from [...]

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