I am a completely self-taught quilter. Because there is no quilting tradition here in Ecuador, and because my trips back to the U.S. tend to be short and far between, I have not had the opportunity to attend a fair or take a quilting class.
Let me rephrase… Until last week I had not (past tense) had the opportunity to take a quilting class. Then someone gave me a gift certificate over Christmas, and I discovered Craftsy. Still, it has taken me this long to actually sign up and take a class, this one on Stupendous Stitching.
Now, being a self-taught quilter, I probably could have figured this out on my own. But the truth is I had never even thought about it. That is, I now realize I have never fully taken advantage of my sewing machine and all the stitches it comes with. So one of the most valuable lessons from this class came from stitching out all the decorative stitches on my sewing machine, including playing around with both the width and length of each one to explore possible alternatives to the default stitches.
I then followed along with the whole class, and actually finished my project within a couple of days. I decided to work with a light background to be able to clearly view all the stitches. Since this went so quickly, I think I will make another piece, this time with a darker (probably batik) fabric.
So I must say I am really happy to have found this resource, and will certainly consider taking another class as new ones are added, particularly if new techniques are offered. Online classes are certainly an option! 🙂
I am a self-learner. I taught myself to sew and to quilt. And I taught myself how to draw. I am learning how to dye my own fabrics and am dabbling with mixed media. I am a quilt designer and teacher, and design and publish my own line of quilt patterns. With this blog I would like to share the bits and pieces of my life.