workshops, events, + Exhibitions

2022

April 12 - June 26, 2022: Midwest Modern Quilt Exhibition at the Iowa Quilt Museum
I have two quilts in this exhibition!
Midwest Modern is a collection of modern quilts from the last decade that were made by quilters who primarily live and work in the Midwest. The quilts in this exhibit are a small sample of the ways midwestern modern quilters have explored both the past and future of quilt design using the highest and lowest of technologies. They were created with inspiration from the world around them both rural and urban and from the histories and traditions of art, architecture, design, and quilting while being strongly influenced by the internet age and social media. These quilts, like modern quilting itself, were created on the boundaries of the quilting traditions that were most prominent in the last century and they pushed forward into the new century toward the future of quilt design and quilt making. Curated by Heather Kinion.

May 21-22: Machine Sewn Shibori with Indigo + Cutch
Virtual workshop with Botanical Colors
Textile artists around the world have been using shibori techniques to create patterns, marks, and imagery on cloth for thousands of years. We will expand on this tradition with the use of a sewing machine to create intricate geometric patterns and machine sewn shibori. We will experiment with the technique using small pieces of fabric dyed in indigo and then expand on our practice by going bigger and adding in cutch, iron, and optional foraged dyes to add layers of color and depth to our designs. Rather than finishing a project, participants will create a number of studies that will be suitable for use in a wide variety of sewing projects.

The workshop includes tannin dyes, iron and mordant for mordanting cellulose fibers. You may add your own foraged dyes or other dyes of your choice.  Indigo ingredients are not included in the workshop materials and we have included a link to the information on how to calculate the amount of indigo needed for your vat.

2021

October 22-23: Machine Sewn Shibori with Indigo
Virtual workshop with Botanical Colors
Textile artists around the world have been using shibori techniques to create patterns, marks, and imagery on cloth for thousands of years. We will expand on this tradition with the use of a sewing machine to create intricate geometric patterns and machine sewn shibori. We will experiment with the technique using small pieces of fabric dyed in indigo and then expand on our practice by going bigger and adding in cutch, iron, and optional foraged dyes to add layers of color and depth to our designs. Rather than finishing a project, participants will create a number of studies that will be suitable for use in a wide variety of sewing projects.

The workshop includes tannin dyes, iron and mordant for mordanting cellulose fibers. You may add your own foraged dyes or other dyes of your choice.  Indigo ingredients are not included in the workshop materials and we have included a link to the information on how to calculate the amount of indigo needed for your vat.

Take advantage of this opportunity to consider making a runner for your holiday table (or gift your favorite hostess!)

May 28: Botanical Colors Feedback Friday
The recording is now available!
click here
Join us May 28th, 9am Pacific, 12pm Eastern for a live Zoom FEEDBACK FRIDAY with Kim Eichler-Messmer, a quilt artist who has been hand-dyeing fabric for nearly 20 years. In 2015 she made the decision to switch from using synthetic dyes to natural dyes and began a journey of learning and discovery, guided by experts in the field such as Catharine Ellis and Michel Garcia. Kim will share her work, how the learning process influences her, and discuss how her work has evolved since making the switch to natural dyes.

January 21: Textile Talk: Natural Dyes & the Natural Dye Garden, presented by the Surface Design Association.
With Catharine Ellis, Rosa Chang, Kenya Miles, and myself! Watch the video recording below!

2020

August 2 - 8 : Slow Stitching 2020, Washington, ME - CANCELLED
Join Chawne, Kim, Nichole, Katherine, and I at the Medomak Retreat Center in Washington, ME where you can relax, unwind and dive into your stitching practice. You will sleep in a modern yet rustic cabin, eat three meals a day with the community, and spend as much time as you like with color, needle, and thread.  Each day will be spent with Chawne, Kim, and Nichole learning their techniques and tips, and practicing new skills or sharpening old ones.  The emphasis here is on settling into your Making practice and letting the rest of it float away....

Kim returns to share a new spin on the natural dye pot. Natural Dye 2.0 : Multiple Colors from One Dye Pot.  This summer we will expand your natural dye repertoire with mordant painting to create multi-colored fabrics from one dye pot. Kim will cover the basics of mixing, thickening, and blending mordants and mordant discharge, and you’ll flex your creative muscles by painting them directly onto your fabric. You will then watch as your designs are transformed into stunning, one of a kind textiles in the dye pot. 

2019

September 27 - 28 : Hello Stitch, Berkeley, CA
I will be having an exhibition, Systems & Networks, and teaching two workshops this fall at Hello Stitch.
Artist Reception: Saturday, September 28, 6pm - 8pm
Color Theory for Quilters, Friday, September 27, 10am - 2pm
Join Hello Stitch Gallery artist Kim Eichler-Messmer and explore a variety of ways to translate your color inspiration into modern quilts. We will start with color theory exercises using paint chips to create palettes, learn how to translate those into fabric, and finish up with small sewn color studies. You will leave class with greater confidence in how to put together colors in your quilts
Architectural Cut & Slice Quilting Workshop, Saturday, September 28,10am - 5pm
We will look to our favorite architectural forms as starting points to create unusual and dynamic quilt compositions using a planned (not improvised) slice and insert technique. Elements of perspective, shadow, and pattern will all be explored in compositions that are built from the ground up.

August 4 - 5 : Slow Stitching 2019, Washington, ME (SOLD OUT)
Join Chawne, Tara, Kim, Katherine, and I at the Medomak Retreat Center in Washington, ME where you can relax, unwind and dive into your stitching practice. You will sleep in a modern yet rustic cabin, eat three meals a day with the community, and spend as much time as you like with color, needle, and thread.
Kim is returning to teach natural dyeing! Dyes made from plants and insects have been used to decorate textiles for thousands of years, but with the invention of synthetic dyes, a lot of information on natural dyeing was lost. Much of the information available now can be confusing, intimidating, and sometimes wrong about how to use them. Focusing on cellulose fibers such as cotton and linen, she will demystify the process of creating beautiful colors including sourcing materials, setting up a dye studio, proper fiber preparation and mordanting. You’ll explore various dye techniques such as immersion dyeing, shibori, and bundle dyeing. There will be plenty of hands on time for practice and experimentation and time for discussion and questions. 

July 12 -14 : Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, TX
Indigo + Shibori + Quilts
, 3 day workshop
Indigo and shibori have been used together for centuries to create beautiful patterns on cloth. With the addition of the sewing machine, we can take the pattern potential to the next level. In this three-day intensive workshop we will cover the basics of starting and tending a natural indigo vat, a variety of machine sewn shibori techniques to create patterns with depth and complexity, and we will end by creating small hand and machine quilted studies with our one-of-a-kind fabric.

February 21 - 24 : QuiltCon, Nashville, TN
Central Pivot Workshop, Architectural Slice and Insert Workshop, Raw Edge Reverse Applique Workhshop, Lessons from an Art School Quilt Class lecture.

2018

February 22 - 25 : QuiltCon, Pasadena, California
Fine Art to Functional Quilts lecture, Dyeing Fabric for Modern Quilts lecture, Reverse Applique workshop

May 12, 9am - 4pm : Sarah's Fabrics, Lawrence, Kansas
Color Theory for Quilters
If you're unsure how to use color in your quilts or feel like you're in a color rut, this fun and informative workshop is for you!
You will start with some background information on color theory and then play with some quick and easy exercises to explore color relationships and create palettes.
Learn how to translate your palettes to fabric using both solids and prints. Then move onto the sewing machine and design wall to test out different color combinations using simple quilt blocks, and finish up with small sewn color studies.
Leave class with greater confidence in how to put together colors in your quilts and a library of color palettes for potential future projects.

July 22 - August 7 : Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North Carolina
Natural Dyes & Quilting: Expanding on Tradition
This workshop will explore the potential for combining natural dyeing and quilting. We’ll cover a wide variety of natural dye techniques on cotton fabric including immersion dyeing with indigo and mordant dyes, overdyeing, shibori, clay resist, mordant painting/printing, and discharge. After creating a colorful library of dyed and patterned cloth, students will learn the basics of quilting including traditional and improvisational piecing and hand and machine quilting. Throughout the workshop we’ll channel our inner pioneers and practice patience, perseverance, and thoughtfulness


2017

June 1 : Mighty Lucky Quilting Club, online
My tutorial on Indigo + Machine Sewn Shibori is the June Challenge. A year long subscription is $50, or you can buy just my month for $5.

July 16 - 22 : Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Week long workshop: Planned and Improvised, Quilting Inspired by Architecture

July 29 - September : The Bank Artspace, Matfield Green, Kansas
Opening July 29, 4 - 6pm

Laura Berman and I have both been experimenting with watercolor recently. We will be showing some of these experiments, inspired in part by the Flint Hills.

August 6 - 11 : Slow Stitching Retreat, Washington, Maine
Four day slow stitching retreat at Camp Medomak. I will be teaching indigo and shibori.

October 7 : Powell Gardens, Kingsville, Missouri
Day-long workshop: Introduction to Natural Dye