Friends, there have been so many things happening lately, nearly all of which I am not allowed to share publicly. That makes writing an interesting blog with things to show a bit problematic!
Today, though… Today, I can share with you one of the things that I have been working on: a free class with Craftsy and Gammill, “A New Look at Longarm Quilting”!
There I am with my quilt pattern! Love how the solid diamonds seem to float on this sampler.
This class is for people who are either new to longarming, or who have a longarm but for one reason or another have fallen out of using it, or perhaps who have hit a wall and need a way to get moving again.
My inspiration for this class comes from my own experiences. I offer quilting services for others, but in addition to that, I also write my own patterns and I design and make custom quilts for customers; there are times when I am piecing or writing a new pattern where I may be a week away from my longarm, so I always have a few things I do to get back into the swing of things. The tips and tricks I offer are great for someone who may not use their machine 10 hours a day and needs the boost!
Speaking of patterns, for my class “A New Look at Longarm Quilting” (which, in my mind I think of as “Learn to Love Your Longarm and Being Joyful”) I provide two free quilt patterns to use for practice for the class, too! One is based on a “Victory” quilt and has two layout options, and you can see a closeup here:
Kind of a closeup? Huh. Kinda got the Shirley Temple hair going on, too.
and the other is based on an ancient design and can be made into placemats or a quilt, depending on your fancy. I don’t actually know if I have pictures of this one! As a quilt, it’s very interesting, and gives lots of space and opportunity for trying new technique and just PPP (practicepracticepractice!)
In this class, you see me really doing my honest-to-goodness practicing. I asked to leave the flubs and blemishes in since the whole point of the class is to learn how to incorporate and move past mistakes — I hope you find it encouraging! I’m really proud of this class, and super happy that I can share my love of quilting with you, and my absolute belief that the act of creating should be, in the end, a joyful and fun experience —I was a teacher for a long time, and one of the things I love most about quilting is how, in this community, we are always looking to learn more, improve our skills, and support each other while doing it.
I can’t wait to see what you do, and I am honored to share part of this journey with you, no matter what style, no matter what techniques, no matter… whatever! Happy creating and quilting, y’all!
Hi Mandy
I just watched your new class. Thank, it was great. Lots of good stuff. I love the staple idea. I am going to try that 🙂
Helen, I am so glad! I actually have a few little tips to add: if you want to easily tear off the staples, make it so that the long “bar” is on the fabric side, and the prongs come out on the leader side. Then when you pull it off, the staples will stay in the fabric and then all you have to do is snip an edge and tear off a long strip. Otherwise the staples will stick int he leader and you have to remove them singly. Not a big deal, just a little easier, you know?
So very excited for you!
Red Snappers have made loading a quilt a breeze! I load in 15 minutes now! Gotta try them.
You’re right! I actually have them on my machine, and while I like them, I find the maneuvering around the extra bit on the end to be slightly aggravating. I may be giving the staples a try for a while, to see if I like them for the long term: no back-and-forth- to get the round bar out of the way.