The NSQG welcomed Giuseppe Ribaudo this past Thursday through Saturday for a lecture and two workshops.
During Giuseppe’s trunk show and lecture we were brought along on his journey from a budding stage actor to creating quilts. Posting his creations to Instagram and developing patterns turned out to be his segue to his current career designing fabric for Andover Fabrics.
His current fabric collections with Andover are Deco Glo, Skygazing, Nona, Pietra and soon to be released Fabrics from the Basement (a follow-up to his Fabrics from the Attic). Hearing how his brand Giucy Giuce came to be and getting the inside story to the names behind his collections was a real treat.
Giuseppe’s first pattern was “Moonstone” and many of us took advantage of this opportunity to learn his method of English Paper Piecing the ‘Moonstone’ block during his class on Friday. Due to supply chain issues some notions weren’t easily obtained but we had plenty of time to learn alternatives. Favorite notions include the Sewline brand glue pen (or Elmer’s brand purple washable glue stick), Richard Hemming & Sons Milliners Straw Needles – Size 11 and Invisafil Thread by Wonderfil (a 100wt very very fine thread).
Lastly, let’s not forget the ‘knicker knot’ , or sometimes called the ‘lingerie knot’, for starting and stopping our work. This was a wonderful class and most of us nearly completed our blocks!
On Saturday we switched gears and moved into a Mini-Series collection of blocks. Even though the mini-series patterns, co-created with Alison Glass, are kicking off season 3 right now, like any good binge watcher our guild chose to start at the very beginning with season 1.
In the morning hours of the class Giuseppe taught us the fine points of learning to sew in small scale with mastering the first pattern ‘Courthouse Steps’. There were many stops and starts, but the biggest tip?
“…there are no mini pieces in mini piecing.”
Giuseppe Ribaudo
In the afternoon hours of the class we moved on to trying our hand at the ‘Pineapple’ and ‘Elongated Geese’ blocks. Giuseppe showed us his very clever trick for getting those points perfect on the geese blocks and before we knew it the day was over, fabric shavings were everywhere and it was time to go home. One thing is for sure though, these little gems of creation are addicting.
If you’d like to learn more about the ‘Mini-Series’, ‘Moonstone’ or any of his other patterns, fabrics and kits you can find Giuseppe on Instagram under Giucy Giuce.