Want to learn a new way of reusing or re-purposing materials? The Scrap Exchange offers creative reuse classes every spring and fall covering a wide variety of topics and techniques. We are currently accepting registration for the following classes in our Fall 2011 session.
T-shirt Quilts: Tips and Techniques
INSTRUCTOR: Ruth Warren
DATE: Sunday, October 9th
TIME: 1pm-4 PM
COST: $35
Want to take your t-shirt collection and turn it into a quilt? Ruth Warren will show you how to transform t-shirts into quilt blocks that can be incorporated within quilts and wall-hangings. During the class, students will learn strategies for cutting t-shirts apart, stabilizing the stretchy knit fabric, working through design challenges, and creating quilt blocks that can be used in traditional quilting applications. Ruth will also give suggestions on what to do with all the scraps that are left over! Students should bring a variety of their own t-shirts to experiment with.
(Note: No sewing is required in this class. This class focuses on preparing the quilt blocks, not on sewing them together.)
Now accepting online registration for this class! (New at the Scrap! We are testing an online registration and payment procedure for a limited number of classes this fall. You can register for this class, T-shirt Quilts: Tips and Techniques, online at
http://scrapclass01.eventbrite.com/.
String Quilting Techniques
INSTRUCTOR: Ruth Warren
DATE: Sunday, November 13th
TIME:1-4pm
COST: $35, Ages 14 and up
REGISTRATION: online at http://scrapclass02.eventbrite.com/ or call Rowan Martell at 919-682-2751
String piecing (also referred to as strip piecing) is a time-tested quilting method that allows quilters to successfully incorporate a wide variety of fabric scraps into a project, regardless of the size, shape, stretch or even fiber content of the fabric. During this class, students will learn the “sew and flip” method of piecing irregular fabric scraps onto a foundation fabric. Students should bring their own sewing machine, and will practice string piecing techniques to create a quilt block that can be finished into a pillow or candle mat. The instructor, Ruth Warren, will also provide a trunk show of vintage and antique quilt pieces that feature string pieced quilt blocks.
Now accepting online registration for this class! (New at the Scrap! We are testing an online registration and payment procedure for a limited number of classes this fall. You can register for this class, String Quilting Techniques, online at http://scrapclass02.eventbrite.com/.
New Creations from Old Quilts
INSTRUCTOR: Ruth Warren
DATE: Sunday, December 4th
TIME: 1-4:30 pm
COST: $35, Ages 14 and up
This is your chance to experiment with various techniques that will transform old quilt pieces into new creations. Students will be able to select vintage cutter quilt pieces from the instructor’s own collection to work with. Learn how to turn a tattered or unfinished quilt into pillows, table runners, wall quilts and even works of modern wall art on canvas. We will use iron-on fusible interfacings to stabilize old fabrics and delicate seams, and to fuse quilt pieces onto new surfaces like fabric, paper and canvas. You will create a set of iron-on appliqués, a greeting card, a pillow top and a piece of quilt art on canvas board all from old quilt pieces!
A limited number of rotary cutters and cutting mats will be provided, but if students have their own, please bring them!
Now accepting online registration for this class! (New at the Scrap! We are testing an online registration and payment procedure for a limited number of classes this fall. You can register for this class, String Quilting Techniques, online at http://scrapclass03.eventbrite.com/.
Ruth Warren is the owner/operator of ReWorked Creations, a small arts and crafts business that specializes in making quilted creations from vintage and recycled textiles. Ruth began her first quilt project in high school, and with it began a life-long love of scrap quilting, a time-honored method of recycling scrap fabrics that is as old as quilting itself. Her creations range from functional items including pillows, table covers and bed quilts to more decorative creations of wall art and even holiday creations like greeting cards and ornaments.
Make and Take Wormbin Workshop
INSTRUCTOR: Muriel Williman
DATE: Wednesday, October 19th
TIME: 7-9:00 PM
COST: $40 per person (includes all supplies)
REGISTRATION: contact Rowan Martell at 919-682-2751 or via email at events@scrapexchange.org
Anyone ... anywhere ... can compost with a worm bin!
In this hands-on workshop, you will make your own tidy and efficient indoor composting bin specifically designed for composting in apartments or tight spaces. The workshop includes supplies to construct your own bin, instruction from seasoned composting expert, Muriel Williman (Orange County Solid Waste Management), and of course, worms! Composting creates rich humus, the organic component of healthy soil and a natural fertilizer from your kitchen vegetable and fruit scraps. Learn all you need to know to recycle your food waste, care for your worms, harvest the compost, and feed your plants. Want pets but can’t afford a puppy? Worms don't bite, bark, or need to be walked, and you can have thousands at a time! And they eat your garbage! What could be better? Worm bins also make great gifts, so each attendee can make and take two worm bins for only $20 more!
Muriel Williman is Education and Outreach specialist for Orange County Solid Waste Management and a long-time indoor composting enthusiast, and a member of the Scrap Exchange Board of Directors.
Funky Mosaic Stepping Stones
INSTRUCTOR: Julia Gartrell
DATE: Saturday, November 12th
TIME: 2-4:30pm
COST: $20 per person, ages 14 and up
REGISTRATION: contact Rowan Martell at 919-682-2751 or via email at events@scrapexchange.org
In this class, you will make a beautiful mosaic stepping stone for your garden. We will cover the basics of mixing and pouring concrete. You will also learn how to use found-objects (such as bottle caps and tile pieces) to make a fun mosaic pattern on the surface of your stepping stone. Come join the messy fun!
Julia Gartrell is a sculpture and installation artist based in Durham, NC. She likes to use string, rusty things, wax and plaster to make weird beautiful art. You may have met her in The Scrap Exchange--- she's the Store Manager!
Basic Book Structures
INSTRUCTOR: Emily Dings
DATE: Sunday, November 6th
TIME: 2-4pm
COST: $15, Ages 15 and up
REGISTRATION: contact Rowan Martell at 919-682-2751 or via email at events@scrapexchange.org
In this class, you will learn basic bookmaking skills that can be applied to both simple and complex book structures. Using minimal supplies, you will see how easy it is to make books using everyday items around your house (or from the Scrap Exchange!) Participants will make four books using adhesive and thread bindings and will come away with a better understanding of gluing, folding, and assembly techniques that lend a polished appearance to any book project.
Make a Calendar (Birthday or 2012)
INSTRUCTOR: Emily Dings
DATE: Wednesday, November16th
TIME: 6:30PM-8:30PM
COST: $15, Ages 15 and up
REGISTRATION: contact Rowan Martell at 919-682-2751 or via email at events@scrapexchange.org
Using a simple thread binding technique, make your choice of a birthday calendar or an annual 2012 calendar using recycled materials. We will leave time for embellishing the individual pages. Feel free to bring photos or ephemera of your own, but we’ll have plenty on hand too. No previous bookmaking experience required. Please indicate your choice of calendar when you register.
Emily Dings is an editor, writer, and paper artist who has lived in Durham for five years. After teaching herself some basics of bookbinding and collage, she took a series of books courses at The Printed Page in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and apprenticed with a book artist in Providence. She is passionate about bookmaking because it merges language and visual arts, invites innovative reuse of materials, and is interactive in nature.
Making Your Own Book: Coptic Stitch Out of Unusual Materials!
INSTRUCTOR: Bryant Holsenbeck
DATE: Class meets on both Tuesday 11/8/11 and Thursday 11/10/11
TIME: 6:30-9pm
COST: $70, Ages 12 and up
REGISTRATION: contact Rowan Martell at 919-682-2751 or via email at events@scrapexchange.org
Using paper and materials from the Scrap Exchange, students will make their own “Journal” out of reclaimed “stuff”. Experimentation and the use of unorthodox materials will be encouraged. If you have never made a book but want to learn a classic technique, or you make books all the time and want your ideas stirred up a bit—this is the class for you!
Bryant Holsenbeck began her arts career as a basket maker. Since that time she has evolved into an environmental artist who makes large-scale installations that document the waste stream of our society. She has shown her work and taught throughout the United States. She has been the recipient of 2 North Carolina Arts Council Fellowships, a Project Grant and an NEA Arts and Learning Grant that she worked on in collaboration with the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission. She is currently attempting to live one year with out disposable plastic and writing a blog about it entitled “THE LAST STRAW: A RELUCTANT YEAR WITHOUT DISPOSABLE PLASTIC.” Most recent past projects are AGAIN AND NEVER AGAIN: Can We Co-Exist with Ourselves? At Guilford College, Greensboro, NC and a 28 foot recycled mandala for blueshere: earth art expo, sponsored by the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art in Charleston, SC. She is a community artist who likes to work with groups of people to make large-scale installations using the “stuff” of our society. She is also an independent studio artist who makes books, birds, and sculptures out of recycled materials
October is a traditional month around the world to celebrate the art and craft of beer making. The Scrap Exchange in Durham is joining that celebration by hosting Brew Durham on Saturday, October 15!
