Last week I wrote about Craftsy - the on-line provider of instructional craft courses. While I am part of the free block-of-the-month class, I also signed up for my first paid course: Machine Quilting, and thought I'd share my thoughts with you. The class is taught by Wendy Butler Berns, an award-winning quilt artist. She offers 10 lessons taking you through all the steps to make a quilt. I wish I had taken this class right at the beginning of my interest in this hobby - it would have saved me a lot of trial and error! Wendy is very thorough and explains the process of quilt-making - from preparing the quilt to binding it at the end.
I will admit that much of the material was review for me since I have made quilts from start to finish but I was interested to learn more about the walking foot techniques and knew I was bound to pick up many other pointers. The walking foot chapter was helpful and reinforced what I was already doing on my own and gave me suggestions to make things easier.
I also wanted to learn more about marking on a quilt and following a pre-drawn design. Wendy gives a good overview of these topics, as well as free-motion quilting. Wendy likes to machine-bind her quilts and I got some great ideas from that chapter.
I think this is an excellent course for a beginner quilter. The steps are explained several times and Wendy doesn't cut corners with her lessons. Some students complain that she makes a 'short story long' and while it can be repetitive in places, everyone learns differently and it's better to over-explain than under-explain. You can always skip ahead to more relevant topics for yourself and your skill level or ask questions of Wendy if you don't understand a certain part.
Even though I knew most of the material presented, I am happy I took the class and can review it forever. It's nice to have confirmation of what I'm doing, ask questions if I need help, and have access to particular information and points if I need to refresh or review. There is also the aspect of inspiration and encouragement, feedback and affirmation. I really enjoy that!
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