Debora Konchinsky
Debora Konchinsky is the owner and designer for Critter Pattern Works. She graduated with a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in Fabric Design from the Philadelphia College of Art in 1966. In 25 years, her style and interests have changed from basic cotton appliques where the animals are one color, to working with wool and felting wool fibers into her appliques to make her critters look 3-D. Some of them even have ears and tails and wings that dangle off her quilts.
She has always specialized in realistic animal-themed patterns of machine appliqué. These patterns can be used to make finished projects ranging from a hot pad to full sized bed quilt or clothing. She wants to help you think more creatively. During the four years she spent in college, she learned that creative thinking starts with one question: “What if…?” Before you can be creative, you need to learn the basics of applique. Debora figured that videos are the easiest way to learn, and she made step by step free videos for you…seriously, Debora wore all the hats: the writer, producer, camera woman, editor and the star for the videos. As a side-note, Debora and her husband are also vending at Symposium 2017!
Class: Woolly Fish
(3 hours – Friday morning)
Students in this class will learn the basics of Debora’s wool applique technique and work on a small portion of the total design. The total design includes 22 fish and a turtle, star fish and octopus.
Supplies Participants Should Bring:
- Scissors, small, to cut out appliques.
- Felting tool…bring what you have or purchase Clover #8901 (the pink one with three needles) $14.50 available in class.
- A piece of upholstery foam 2″ thick, or a brush for felting (Clover makes them).
- Replacement needles optional (5 for $7.75) available in class.
- Pins to pin the appliques to cut them out.
- Embroidery threads, pearl cotton size #5 or 8 or floss in colors like medium gray, greens, for plants, browns for tree trunks, and colors for flowers. This is not essential, so don’t bring a lot. The focus of the class is felting the sheep.
- Needle for embroidery.
$25.00 Kit includes:
- A Woolly Fish Pattern pattern (value $18.00) There are 30 fish in the pattern, so your project will be different from everybody else’s using the same pattern.
- Two baggies of wool fibers (value $7.00) in different colors for fish and corals and seaweeds. Your choice…they are all different.
- One hand dyed piece of wool fabrics 10″ x 16″for backgrounds and scraps for appliques (value $8.00) your choice…they are all different.
- Beads for eyes
Class: New Flock of Sheep
(3 hours – Friday afternoon)
Students in this class will learn the basics of Debora’s wool applique technique and work on a small portion of the total design. Create a charming sheep quilt with this new pattern developed in 2012, with realistic details. Learn to how to felt appliques, by pushing wool fibers into wool appliques fused to wool backgrounds with a needle felting tool. Complete your sheep with 3-D ears and tails, textures and sculptural faces. Transferring details onto the appliques without drawing ability is an easy trick. You will be inspired by all the information, knowledge and encouragement Debora shares with you, so you can complete the quilt at home.
Supplies Participants Should Bring:
- Scissors, small to cut out appliques
- Felting tool…bring what you have or purchase Clover #8901 (the pink one with three needles) $14.50 available in class
- A piece of upholstery foam 2″ thick, or a brush for felting (Clover makes them)
- Replacement needles optional (5 for $7.75) available in class
- Pins to pin the appliques to cut them out
$25.00 Kit includes:
- A New Flock of Sheep pattern (value $21.95)
- Two baggies of wool rovings (value $6.00) in different colors for sheep and backgrounds and textures. Your choice…they are all different.
- Four or more pieces of wool fabrics sewn together in a 12″ x 12″ square for backgrounds and scraps for appliques (value $16.00) your choice…they are all different. (Having these fabrics sewn saves you from lugging your sewing machine to class to work on something you already know how to do.)
- Beads for eyes
Class: Dragonflies in Wool
(6 hours – Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning)
In the class, you will learn to make one felted applique dragonfly complete with Angelina (a sparkly fiber) enhanced wings with embroidery threads. The technique is called needle felting (pushing wool fibers into wool applique and a wool background with a needle felting tool). To further embellish this block, the wings will be hand stitched where the veins are and the bodies will be lightly beaded and flowers will be felted using wool yarn for stems and fibers for petals. We will be creating the beginnings of a quilt as shown in the photo, or this block could become a pocket on a bag,
The great advantage to this new felting technique is its portability, as no machine is required. It is easy to learn how to do it.
Supplies Participants Should Bring:
- Scissors, small to cut out a wool applique
- Felting tool…bring what you have or purchase Clover #8901 (the pink one with three needles) $14.50 available at Critter Pattern Works booth before class or in class
- A piece of upholstery foam (available at CPW booth for $4.00) to felting into
- Replacement needles optional (5 for $7.50) available in class
- Embroidery threads, pearl cotton size #8 or floss in neutral colors
- Needles for embroidery, size 5 is good
- A tube of small beads in assorted shapes in your favorite mixed color (shades of green or blue etc.) for the body of the dragonfly. Needle and thread for these beads. Bring a small bowl or lid to keep loose beads under control.
$25.00 Kit includes:
- One baggie of roving with several colors and different values and textures. Your choice…they are all different.
- A baggie of Angelina
- One 10” square of hand dyed wool fabric for the background. Your choice from many pieces.
- One hand dyed wool fabric for border. Each one will be different because they are hand made
- One piece of wool for the applique.
- Pattern complete with photo and instructions