I just finished up another 3 session Free Motion Quilting class at the Redlands Sewing Center, we were having so much fun, and my students were bombarding me with so many questions at the end that I forgot to take any photos! I am always amazed at how each person can learn so much, each one levels up their FMQ skills, even though each one starts at a different level; and each person finds a particular FMQ pattern that resonates with them, so that they are inspired to keep quilting, which is the most important thing!!!!
Anyway, I’ve got a few more classes scheduled through next Winter. The next one is:
Free Motion Machine Sketching
Wednesday evenings in June: June 1, 8, & 15 from 6:30-9:30 pm
Free Motion Machine Sketching is an extension of free motion quilting; instead of creating an overall pattern for background texture of our quilt, the quilting line is front and center in the design. In order to emphasize the handmade nature of our work, we retrace our steps and try to miss on purpose; I love the beautiful imperfection of a strong line that is created by drawing it over and over – it’s just my pencil is an electric sewing machine.
In this class you will learn how to stitch several different motifs: lots of different plants and of course my favorite birdies! You should be familiar with Free Motion Quilting, so that we can concentrate on FMMS techniques. In the last class, I’ll have you bring in some inspirational photos and help you extract the essence of them and free motion machine sketch your own signature motif. Although you may want to just work on practice blocks, I will show you how to create a fabric sketchbook in order to keep track of all the motifs you learn.
This class starts next week, but we need 2 more students to register in order for us to run the class, so if you can make it, I’d love for you to join us!!!
After that, I’ve got a couple more FMQ classes coming up in late Summer/early Fall, and then I take a break until after the Christmas holidays and start up again in January with another FMQ class and Advanced FMQ in February:
Really Free Free Motion Quilting
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Tuesday Mornings in August: August 2, 9, & 16 from 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
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Tuesday evenings in September/October: September 20, 27 & October 18 from 6:30-9:30 pm (note gap between session 2 & 3)
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Monday evenings in January 2017: January 9, 16 & 23 from 6:30-9:30 pm
Learn how to free motion quilt and free your creativity! I will teach you many different free motion quilt motifs, discuss strategies on how to handle quilting large quilts, and we will assemble a book of these motifs for you to refer to back home in your studio. Note: If the class is full, ask to be placed on the waiting list…every class I’ve had someone not be able to come because life got in the way!
Advanced Free Motion Quilting
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Monday evenings in February 2017, February 13, 20 & 27 from 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Take your free motion quilting to the next level! This class is designed for folks who’ve already taken a free motion class with me. We’ll work on making our stitches more even, developing smoother curves and pointier points, and expanding our motif knowledge. I’ll show you new quilting motifs we didn’t cover in the first class, and more importantly, work on varying the motifs you already know to fit particular design issues and ultimately develop quilting patterns that are all your own! I’ll show you how to bind your quilt completely on your sewing machine. We’ll also make a sampler quilt that allows us to feature our favorite motifs and learn my fun and easy method of Quilt As You Go!
