Preview of February’s Glorious Gecko Follow Along 2026

I don’t know about you, but at this time of year I’m in need of a creative jumpstart. The end-of-year holidays require their own sort of creative energy, but when they’re through, I crave quiet time to contemplate “what’s next?” in my fabric collage art. The list can get a little overwhelming after some brain-storming, and sometimes a smaller warm-up project is the perfect place to start off the year.

Two years ago I was in dire need of such a project and 2024’s first four week “Follow Along” is now becoming an annual February event for me. I figured I wasn’t the only one who desired to get back on track, so Tom and I came up with a way I could share my project and process live with others—to give them a little push as well—and the Follow Along was born.

In 2024 it was a fish subject using bold colored large patterned prints to shake off the doldrums. In 2025 it was a flowing goldfish design using a full range of cool blue values to float through the winter season. See both, below.

As I work on my chosen subject, I document it in photos, share the progress though a slide show, then work live on the next step in the fabric collage process. The Follow Along is presented on Zoom, recorded and emailed to registrants to view or review anytime, especially if the live event doesn’t work for their schedule. Folks can kick back once a week with a warm cuppa of choice and follow along, asking questions as they think of them.

However, for the weeks between presentations, I recommend working on your own gecko if you can—enlarging the pattern included with registration, gathering some fabric, and working along with me. I give goals and homework for each of the four weeks—taking you along with me in the fabric collage process.

This year I’ve been warming up for February with finishing a sample for 2026’s Follow Along subject—a gecko. This in-progress example currently named “Wild Woods Gecko,” is below left—below right, is a previously finished collage piece titled “Gobi Gecko.”

On Thursday, February 5th, I will be beginning a brand new gecko for the Follow Along project—I’ve already named her “Glorious”—I’m aiming high to lift my spirits. I’ll be taking myself and you beginning-to-end, step-by-step, through the fabric collage process. I haven’t yet fully decided on her colors, I’m still thinking about her “story”—like what does the word “glorious” mean to me? Luckily, I have almost two weeks to figure that out before I meet with you, live.

Susan Carlson Glorious Gecko Follow Along
February 5, 12, 19, and 26—7:00 p.m. EASTERN TIME
Cost: $95
REGISTER HERE

More information at the end of this post.

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A Preview of February’s Fabric Collage Project with “Wild Woods Gecko” as an Example

Fabric Selection

In my book “Serendipity Quilts,” I present a “cutting loose” way of choosing fabrics for a fabric collage by using scraps of fabric left over from other quilts and collages. I describe how a collage of my son Sam, at 3 years old, inspired the exclusive use of scraps for that portrait made in 2000. I’ve been a scrap saver ever since.

In the photos below, are just a few of the plastic salad greens containers I now save to store such scraps. Previous to those containers, I used (and still d0 as well) vintage hard-cover suitcases as storage.

I mention using scraps since this is how I first approached the gecko collage example I’m finishing up now, and these are the containers I dumped onto my table and pawed through for my fabric palette selection for the gecko.

I’m going to bring up this way of choosing fabrics for a collage in the Follow Along. It’s quite fun and takes away some of the “what-fabrics-do-I-use?” overwhelm that can happen before you even get started on the collage itself.

The Collage Process

The photo below left, is at the point where I stopped adding fabrics so this could be a perennial in-progress “how to get started” class sample. This little guy traveled with me for at least 20 years and has since been retired. His time has come to be a completed sample.

The photo below right, is where I resumed this past New Year’s Day. This is where getting into my scrap containers was necessary—this gecko began as a scrap oriented collage and needed to be finished as one. When I sorted through the piles on my table, I selected scraps that I thought would work with the colors and patterns I had begun with.

One scrap, a long orange strip, I had pinned onto the foundation fabric (above) alongside the in-progress sample, showing how you could reserve a fabric for later if you weren’t yet sure where it might go. Getting back to the collage now, I cut out a couple of its round patterns and they fit great as gecko knees (below). A batik scrap with orange and cream bubbles worked as a blender between the orange knees and the golden back—and I was off and running.

I happily got lost in the process of moving scraps around and pining them in place when I liked what I saw. Three hours later I remembered to take another photo (below right).

The next day I finished pinning the first draft of the gecko, meaning (most of) his blank spots were covered. Another advantage I’ve found with working with scraps, is that it forces me to fill in larger areas with pieces of fabric smaller than I may otherwise choose. In that way, more “details” get added as I go, cutting back on the time I may have spent on a second—adding details—draft.

Before considering a background I needed to glue. In photo above, a prickly gecko and nearly empty pin cushion. Below, a glued gecko and a full pile of pins that came off of the board—ready to be used again.

The Background

As an idea for a background, I had already separated out some darker valued fabrics in my first round of scrap sorting. Now I took that small pile and using it as a guide, dove farther into my scrap containers, including one of the suitcases. Djinni Cat found this somewhat interesting.

It didn’t take long to more than double my variety of darks. By dumping them onto my table, I could better compare them as a group and eliminate those that stood out in color or value for what I had in mind.

After playing with the fabrics against the gecko, I further eliminated some of the options, mainly scraps with reds or oranges.

I did however like the bits of green showing up here and there. Next I spread them out (below) and spritzed them with some water to smooth out the wrinkles: no iron needed. Getting them flat allowed me to better see what sort of patterns I had in this serendipitous selection.

Even though I enjoy finding all those little fabric treasures in the first place, it is so very fun to start placing them around as a background. More pinning happened as I let my intuition lead me as I fit the scraps around the gecko. I began to see how they could interact with and complement each other.

A “flow” started to develop and a story came to mind: the mossy greens, leaves, and “twigs” in the fabric patterns are the detritus of a forest floor, and this brightly colored little guy—a Wild Woods Gecko—is venturing out from some hidden spot.

Just that little bit of a story helped me make fabric choices as I finished covering up the foundation fabric base.

Between now and the start of the Follow Along, I’d like to get as far as I can in finishing “Wild Woods,” to clear the decks for “Glorious.” I’ll let you know how it goes.

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Susan Carlson Glorious Gecko Follow Along
February 5, 12, 19, and 26—7:00 p.m. EASTERN TIME
Cost: $95
REGISTER HERE

For the past couple years, I’ve come up with a “Follow Along” project for the month of February, to warm up both your and my creative juices. I chose “Fantastical Fish” both times—2024 had a focus on how to use big and bold print fabrics in a fabric collage—which has since been turned into the “Fantastical Fish eWorkshop“—and in 2025, a “Blue Goldfish” dealt with light-to-dark values of one color.

This year I reached into my past to a subject and pattern I haven’t worked with for awhile, though quite fun when I did—a gecko—below is one titled, “Gobi Gecko.”

My 2026 Follow along is titled “Glorious Gecko” (I do like alliteration). A major question I’ll be thinking about as I prepare for this workshop is, “what will make my gecko glorious,” at least to me. I figure that everyone following along will have their own definition, and that every gecko begun in February will have its own unique qualities. It’s gonna be fun to see.

I’ll take you from one Thursday to the next for 4 weeks—from pattern to fabric t0 pinning and gluing, from background to (gloriously) sparkly details. All the while I chat away describing my thought process at each step. The idea is that you hang out on your end, ask questions and take in what I’m doing, then if you can and so desire, you work on your own gecko. I give you homework every week, then we pick up with the next step in the fabric collage process, through the month of February.

There’s no requirement that you do anything—life is busy—the weekly presentations are recorded and sent to your email box and will be available to follow another week, month, or year from now. The idea is that for a couple hours every Thursday in February, you get to sit back with your feet up, relax, listen, and watch while I’m working live on a new collage. We’ll see what happens. Gonna join me?

See more info below. But first a comment from my amazingly accomplished student, Grace Crocker:

Susan’s “Follow Alongs” are so much fun. They are a perfect way to learn the process if you are a newbie and a great way to improve your skills, if you’ve been around for a while. Looking forward to this one!

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Susan Carlson Glorious Gecko Follow Along
February 5, 12, 19, and 26—7:00 p.m. EASTERN TIME
Cost: $95
REGISTER HERE

If you’re looking for a fresh and creative start to the New Year, here’s a step-by-step low-stress way to learn the fabric collage technique. Each Thursday for the 4 weeks in February, I’ll be playing with fabric using a playful subject—a gecko. Geckos come in all sizes, colors, and patterns, which means anything goes. If you’ve been wanting to “cut loose and let go,” here’s your chance.

Typically each evening presentation (7 pm Eastern Time) runs about an hour and half. As with all our Thursday Night sessions, a recording link will be emailed the next evening to all registrants to review or watch later if you cannot join us live.

Each week via Zoom, I’ll be giving a live demo with Q&A as I gradually take you from beginning to end of a Glorious Gecko collage. You are invited to “follow along” if you wish, or you may simply want to watch as my piece progresses. I start off with a slide show to get you caught up on the progress I’ve made the previous week, I then work live as I progress to the next step, talking through my thought process and creative decisions while demonstrating the technique.

As a registrant you will receive a code for a free gecko pattern from my online shop to follow along as you play with your own fabric stash—but you are welcome of course to use your own gecko design, or just “go with the flow” of your fabric. In between the Thursday sessions, you can apply the steps covered to your own gecko collage.