Today’s Throwback Thursday revisits a class from April 2017, my second visit to Woodland Ridge Retreat in Downsville, Wisconsin. Since then I’ve returned many times to teach week-long classes.
The owner Chris Daly, is a quilter herself and loves and supports all things fiber art. During Covid, Chris had to re-invent her business for awhile and added an on-line fabric shop that has flourished since then, becoming a go-to site that I send my students to on a regular basis. Dye Candy Fabrics has the sorts of fabrics—designs and colors—that I use for my own work and purchase for fabric packs to send to my online students. So now, Woodland Ridge is a one-stop quilting retreat venue: rooms, meals, and since 2020, an in-house fabric shop! Oh the good trouble we can get into when surrounded by bolts of luscious fabric 24/7. 😉
In April 2026, I’ll be teaching one class for two weeks at Woodland Ridge Retreat. Two weeks (two five day sessions with two days off between) because one week of concentrated fabric collage is never enough!
The first week for any of my new immersion classes will get a collage started (or continued) as usual with time to make good progress in the collage quilts. After a two day break in-between to relax and enjoy the location (or to continue with collage “homework”), week two will pick up where each person left off, with the ability to stay immersed in their projects. So often, folks need that extra time to just keep at it before returning to real life. The second week will definitely be the time to address and experiment with backgrounds, to add more details to their main subjects, and to play with the possibilities of additions such as sheer fabrics for added value adjustments.
One class for two-weeks is something new that was added into this year’s teaching schedule. Previously, all my classes have been five days (or shorter) in length. This September I’ll be holding my first ten-day class in Bar Harbor, Maine, (this class hosted by Madeline Island School of the Arts has one space left).
The success in how well this class filled inspired me to add a yearly two-week “immersion” class to my teaching schedule—the 2026 location being Woodland Ridge in April. There are still spots open, maybe you can join us.
Enjoy this Throwback Thursday visit back to the halcyon days of 2017. There are plenty of On the Road posts that cover my years teaching at Woodland Ridge, but I chose this one for today (linked below) as it gave a nice description of the retreat center in early springtime, a time I like to visit—inviting temperatures for walks on the trails but still cozy in the evenings, a stand-out “watercress stream” to forage from, and a Peeper (tree frog) Serenade every night.
Spring Peepers—April 2017: recorded at Woodland Ridge Retreat, Downsville, WI
Be sure to check out my next two Saturday posts covering this year’s April Woodland Ridge Retreat class—it was another good one.
Fly on the Wall: Susan Carlson Studio Watch—Bella Luna
Join me this summer, via Zoom, for four Thursdays in July and August as I work on a new project in my studio—a beautiful full moon. Look over my shoulder as my Bella Luna progresses from drawing to fabric selection to cutting and gluing to background.
Fly on the Wall: Susan Carlson Studio Watch—Bella Luna
July 17 & 24, August 7 & 14, 2025—7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (no class on July 31)
Each session will last roughly 1-1/2 hours.
All sessions will be recorded for viewing later, if you cannot attend live.
Price: $78
USE THIS LINK TO REGISTER
The moon examples you see above, are edited and color-adjusted using the image of my existing sun portrait collage. These are ideas as to what a moon portrait could look like. A full moon example for this Fly On The Wall does not, well, exist yet—however on Thursday, July 17, 2025, it will get started.
Though this isn’t officially a “class,” feel free to join me in collaging your own celestial portrait—sun or moon—if you feel so inspired. A link for a free Sun Portrait pattern (collaged example above), which will also be used as the full moon portrait design, will be emailed upon registration for the series.
USE THIS LINK TO REGISTER for Fly on the Wall: Susan Carlson Studio Watch—Bella Luna
Fabric Collage Online Master Class—Updated
The Susan Carlson Fabric Collage Online Master Class Manual is a multi-media resource guide to the process of fabric collage. Using video, photos, text, and links to my blog posts for further relevant reading and information, I take you from beginning to end in creating your own fabric collage masterpiece, following my guidelines in a step-by-step format. Lifetime Access. Suitable for all levels, including beginners.
Read all about the process of creating the Master Class—explanation of its genesis—the whys and hows Tom and I made some of the decisions we did in this post: Online Master Class Now Available: Some Reflections.
Click here for more information about the Fabric Collage Master Class.
Price: $199
Lifetime Access
Suitable for all levels, including beginners
Interested in attending a 2025 Fabric Collage class with Susan? Both in-person and online classes are scheduled and open for registration. Click the link below for more information, including dates, fees, and descriptions.
2025 Live Online and In-Person Fabric Collage Classes
* * * * *
Further Susan Carlson Learning Resources include: Facial Features eWorkshop, website, Serendipity Quilts, patterns, blog (in general), YouTube videos, Sea Turtle eWorkshop, Fabric Collage Online Master Class, Patreon. , and our February Fantastical Fish and Summertime’s Fascinating Bugs and Butterfly Work-Alongs
NOW AVAILABLE!
Susan Carlson Fabric Collage: Fantastical Fish eWorkshop I
INCLUDES:
• All four recordings from the four-week class.
• Extended 10-minute edition of piecing time lapse (see below).
• Over six hours of video instruction.
• Annotated videos with “jump points” to help find the information you need.
• Materials list
• Links to helpful blog posts.
• Free fish pattern of your choice.
Susan Carlson Fabric Collage: Sea Turtle eWorkshop
Learn fabric collage through a start-to-finish project—from pattern and fabric selection through quilting and binding. Each step is clearly written, illustrated with photos, and further demonstrated with videos. Learn the technique with a Sea Turtle then launch into any fabric collage project you wish. Lifetime access and suitable for all levels, including beginners. Sea Turtle Pattern included
Read all about the Sea Turtle eWorkshop in this blog post: Fabric Collage Sea Turtle eWorkshop Launch.
Facial Features eWorkshop
Designed as a supplement to the Fabric Collage Online Master Class, or for those who have a good understanding of the basics of Fabric Collage. Lifetime Access. Intermediate or advanced levels suggested.
The Facial Features eWorkshop contains 8 videos and over 8 hours of in-depth instruction for creating each feature of a portrait in fabric. The videos are annotated with “Jump Points” allowing you to scan forward and backward to the information you need. Facial features PDF templates are included as reference and basic designs to work along with. Like the Fabric Collage Online Master Class, membership in this eWorkshop is for life.
Book: Serendipity Quilts—Cutting Loose Fabric Collage
Full color throughout. Five projects of increasing complexity, four patterns to enlarge are included.
These books will be signed by Susan and can be inscribed to a particular person.