QuiltCon Class Recommendations

Yikes!  QuiltCon 2019 workshop registration opens up this coming Tuesday, June 26th at 10am EST.  I had better get serious and decide which classes I would like to take. For me, it's always a challenge to balance the amount of classroom time vs. leaving enough time to see the quilt show, shop all the vendors and visit with friends.  It's the perfect opportunity to meet online friends in real life.

QuiltCon is the Modern Quilt Guild's annual quilt show and conference and took place this year in Pasadena, CA.  It was only my second trip to the west coast and my first trip to California.

This view was only steps from the Pasadena Convention Center where QuiltCon 2018 was held and I think these are the San Gabriel Mountains are in the background.

Next year, QuiltCon 2019 is within driving distance from South Carolina and takes place in Nashville, TN at Music City Center .  So, I am definitely planning to attend and the hotel has been booked!

Now, what classes to take?  Well, if you have not decided the classes for which you plan to register, I have a few suggestions.

I previously mentioned the balance between class time vs. show time.  In Savannah, I didn't leave enough time to see the show so I decided to take a light class load in Pasadena.  I signed up three 3-hour classes: Lino Printing with Karen Lewis, Hand Quilting with Sarah Fielke and a domestic machine quilting class with Christina Cameli.  I highly recommend taking classes from all three instructors.

I never gave a QuiltCon recap upon returning home, so this is a perfect time to tell you about the classes I took in Pasadena.

Beginning Lino Printing with Karen Lewis

I have never taken a class where I had such a successful outcome.  I was pleased with everything, and I mean everything.  

I preorderd all the supplies needed directly from Karen and she brought them to class for us. This was my first attempt, just some simple lines printed on Kona Pickle. I rotated the lino stamp to create a grid.   

  

Next, I ventured out and tried some leaves.  

This photo was taken in class.  You can see the lino stamps with the ink on each.  I took Kona solids use as the base for printing.  This is Kona pickle.

I made one more stamp in class.  I guess you could call this an improv 16-patch.

I used the simple lines again and wondered about using this print as a binding or a focus print on a zipper pouch.

  Karen was so sweet, I highly recommend her classes.

This is a an excerpt from the class catalog for her beginning lino printing class, SUR100, but she is teaching several other classes.

Hand Quilting with Sarah Fielke

The next class I took was hand quilting with Sarah Fielke.  I have taken one of her Craftsy classes and knew I wanted to take a class from her in person.  And since she's from Australia, I didn't know when I would have the opportunity again.

Now, don't judge my outcome as a measure for taking her class.  This was a first for me, and didn't come as natural.

My hand quilting needs practice, just like free motion quilting or most anything else.  I struggled using a metal thimble as I normally us the little pads that stick to your finger.

Sarah even gave each student a charm pack of her new fabric line Grid Paper, compliments of Windham Fabrics. The top print is Grid Paper in green.  You may recognize it from the June Blogger Bundle I curated for Bernie's Etsy Shop, Needle and Foot.

And, Aurifil provided to everyone a small spool of their 12 wt cotton thread perfect for big stitch hand quilting.

Sarah is teaching several classes, but this the description to her hand quilting class.

Machine Quilting with Christina Cameli

I had been following Christina's blog, A Few Scraps, for a long time and was thrilled to take her class.  Her free motion tutorial, Leafy Lines, is one of my favorites.

The name of the class was Free-Motion Textures.  The class was on Sunday morning and by that time I was a little tired, but free-motioned as fast as I could.  The machine I was using started acting up and skipped stitches terribly, but I kept right on quilting.

 

 And, while I don't remember the names of all the designs, I have the sample to remind me free-motion fillers to use.

Christina is not teaching the exact class in Nashville, but I would recommend any class from her.

Additional Recommendations 

And also, consider classes by:

• Michele Wilke (Factotum of Arts) is teaching several classes.  She has taught a class for us at the Greenville MQG and she's a fantastic teacher.
• Cheryl Brickey (Meadow Mist Designs) who teaching Beginner EQ8 and Subtracting for Minimalism.
• Yvonne Fuchs (Quilting Jetgirl) who is teaching Transparency Quilt Design.

And don't forget about the many lectures that are offered.  I hope these suggestions will help with you picking classes is you are undecided.  Are you planning to attend QuiltCon in Nashville?  If so, I hope to see you there!