Scrap Cities Workshop
with
Cathy Perlmutter
Saturday, November 14, 2026
10:00 am to 4:30 pm (Arizona Time)
$45 for members
Create the city of your dreams!
Whether you want to honor a real place; or a fantasyland – or, like Cathy, do both in the same quilt -- this class will give you the techniques you need to have a blast doing it, with lots of improvisation. (Improvisation actually makes city scenes MORE realistic!). During the six-hour class, students finish up to six different buildings.
The class segments include:
- How to turn edges as you piece.
- How to incorporate perspective using geometric prints, like stripes, to create a 3-D "wow" factor.
- Quilting techniques that create architectural effects, and architecture that looks like quilts. We'll build the "Hotel Bargello", a "stitch-and-flip" condo tower, and brickwork that lends itself to Seminole techniques.
- A half-dozen ways to make windows, rectangular and arched.
- Build first, arrange later.
With Cathy's improv approach, you make a bunch of freestanding buildings, and not worry too much about background or arrangement. And only AFTER you’ve made them, you audition backgrounds and try different layouts. So you don’t have to know in advance what your quilt will look like—and you’ll enjoy the surprises as your city evolves!
My lecture takes you on my journey, which started accidentally (I never thought I had the drawing ability to make a cityscape), when I was put up in a hotel room high over midtown Manhattan. For the first time, I looked at the city like a quilter and an artist, instead of just a tourist or a resident! And what I saw launched an obsession!
You’ll learn about how I look at buildings, and brainstorm the most fun way to represent them, to make a compelling scene. People tell me that after this lecture or class, they never look at buildings the same way again!
I've been quilting for 35 years, but have never had more fun than with the cityscapes I've has been making for the last eight. I've made city quilts, small and large, inspired by buildings in New York City (where I was born), Los Angeles (where I live now), Chicago, plus individual buildings around the world, and a half dozen fantasy-land quilts. I have also written two books about making quilted cityscapes.
Cathy is generously offering a 20% discount on everything in her Etsy shop! Use the link below or the coupon code: GUILDS20
Link to Cathy's Etsy Shop
Registration
- Log into your account on AQG's website to register for this event!
- Eligibility to register for this event is part of your membership.
- Non-members may attend for an additional $10.
Registration is required for admission.
Registration ends November 9, 2026
Registration is limited to 20.
Cancellation Policy:
- Cancellations must be made online (no emails).
- Cancellations 5 days (120 hours) or more before the scheduled event will receive an account credit. The credit can be used for future AQG events.
- Cancellations less than 5 days before the event are not eligible for a credit.
- Refunds are not offered.
Zoom Details
- The reminder emails will contain the ZOOM link to the event.
Be sure that you have the link. We cannot guarantee monitoring of our email on the day of the meeting.
- The lecture will begin promptly at the listed start time.
Please join 15-30 minutes early and ensure that your full name appears in the bottom left corner of your photo in the Zoom meeting. If you don't know how to change that, click on the three dots next to your name or ask for help in the waiting room chat.
If you are unfamiliar with ZOOM:
