Great News! I am finalizing plans to introduce fabric art  into the programs I have already launched at Jacki Kellum Studios in the old historic district of Water Valley, Mississippi.

Beginning in April, I’ll begin offering a quilting and embroidery class. Ultimately, the class will begin making Crazy Quilt blocks. Embroidery is a major part of Crazy Quilting. To  create Crazy Quilt Blocks, you must first learn how to embroider. To learn how to embroider, you must first learn how to sew by hand. My Textile Art Classes are designed to teach all 3 sills in an integrated way.

Crazy Quilt Block
Jacki Kellum

Every time I create anything with fabric, my interests quickly return to my decades- long interest in creating crazy quilts or parts thereof. Making a crazy quilt is like creating a collage or a montage. Almost anything goes, and that appeals to my will-of-the wisp spirit.

In addition to teaching the fundamentals of quilting in the quilt class, I also teach the basics of correct hand sewing. We’ll begin by learning the very basic straight stitch and how to sew buttons. In my opinion, EVERYONE needs to know those essential skills. We’ll also learn some other basic embroidery stitches. Ultimately, we’ll create some Crazy Quilt blocks, and in order to create Crazy Quilt blocks, you must also  know how to both sew by hand and how to do embroidery.

In April, we will make a nine-patch block. The nine- patch block is an excellent and easyvway to practice the basic straight stitch or running stitch, which is the pillar of sewing by hand, In the following image, you see 5 nine-patch blocks, mixed with large patches between them:

Image Credit: Seasoned Homemaker

“The Nine-Patch quilt block is one of the best blocks to start with if you’re a beginning quilter. It has officially been around since the 1800s and it is one of the most recognized quilt blocks in the quilting world. In spite of its simplicity, it has the ability to be changed dozens of different ways when paired with different blocks.” Seasoned Homemaker

GREAT NEWS! The Patches Are Already Cut for the Nine-Patch Blocks. All you’ll need to do is to sew them together — CORRECTLY! That is enough for any person to do for this first project.

We’ll spend one class creating a nine-patch block, and during the other April classes, I’ll teach several embroidery stitches. The pre-cut  squares for one nine-nine patch block sewn in class are free. If the student wishes to purchase other pre-cut fabrics for use at home, they will be inexpensive.

In the same manner, the embroidery floss for class use is free. If the student wishes to purchase other floss for use at home, I will sell professional-grade DMC floss per pre-packaged skeins at the same price that WalMart sells quality DMC floss. I only use DMC professional embroidery fhe embroidery projects. To teach the stitches, we’ll begin with the following project, which will cost $3 for students:

We’ll work on one basic embroidery project and one quilt block per month.

During May, in honor of my grandmother and Mother’s Day, we’ll begin working on a Grandmother’s Flower Garden Quilt Block.

We’ll also begin working on the second embroidery project, which teaches the most elementary flower stitches:

After we learn all the basic embroidery stitches, we’ll learn how to sew some very fancy flowers:

The 3-D Embroidery Flowers Kit. For my students, the cost of this project is $15.00, but we will walk on this project for several months. For non students, the cost of this project is $25. The embroidering of these 3-D flowers is the cornerstone of Crazy Quilting. After we complete this project, I’ll show you how to cut the individual flowers apart and applique them to Crazy Quilt Blocks.

Fragment of a Jacki Kellum Crazy Quilt Block

Most Crazy Quilt Blocks combine parts of a traditional quilt project teamed with embroidery + some magical embellishments. I use a lot of velvet, some silk, and some satin in my crazy quilt blocks.

The creating of crazy quilts was the rage among Victorian ladies. As with the taking of high tea and tea parties in general, creating crazy quilts was the high society thing for Victori

I will be selling fabrics, buttons, beads, and trims for creating crazy quilt blocks, and I’ll also sell other projects to practice the stitches at home. Purchase of additional projects & supplies for home is optional.

In May we’ll betin creating a Grandmother’s Flower Garden Quilt Block.

We’ll create that block in honor of my own grandmother, who cultivated many of my interests–including that of embroidery and gardening.

When I was a tiny child, my grandmother taught me how to embroider. The highlight of my week was when she and I would walk to the dimestore and pick up my design to embroider for the week. Because it is an essential part of creating Crazy Quilt Blocks, Embroidery is still the core of my textile art.

 

Image Credit: Red Pepper Quilts

Again, the fabric is already cut into hexagons for this project.

In June, we’ll explore some variations on quilt blocks made with triangles:

.The Birds in the Air
Image Credit: Thread Bare Creations

Good News about the Cost of My Fabric Arts & Quilting Classes

The Fabric Classes Only Meet 1 Hour Each Week and Only Cost $25 per lesson. My Already Existing Painting Students can add the second textile art class for only $5 more per lesson.

Although the Fabric Students Must Purchase Their Own Embroidery Projects, that expense is nominal compared to the cost of buying paints and brushes.

My Textile and Quilting Students Will be Encouraged to Exhibit their Hand-Sewn Fabric Art in the Student Gallery–just like my painting students do.

Other of Jacki Kellum’s Textile Arts

I also draw on fabric with satin cords that I hand-stitch down.

Autumn Rose
Jacki Kellum Textile Art

I believe that I invented the technique of drawing on fabric with cords. This process grew out of my contour drawings in ink on paper. It is in the unending line or set of lines through whick I seek to capture my subject’s essence. I do this in all my art mediums.

I also inventented my own process of weaving fabric baskets.

Gallery of Textile Art