Classes at QuiltCon 2017.

Mark your calendars, because registration for QuiltCon 2017 classes is just about a week away (registration opens at 10am EST on June 25). This QuiltCon will be in Savannah, Georgia February 23-26. (yay, East coast!) Savannah is such a picturesque and quintessential southern city that I’m sure it’ll put an interesting spin and flavor on the QuiltCon experience.

I’m looking forward to attending and especially excited to be teaching. And since I’ve had to cut back more and more on my teaching schedule, events like this one are great because they attract a wide and large audience, meaning I can work with more and more folks in one go. Because of that, I thought I’d share a little bit more about each of my classes so that anyone interested can get registered. I’d love to see you in class!

First thing, here’s the catalog and below is the list of my classes with their titles and numbers (and even a pic of me from last year–ha! Oh, the candids…).

I have 3 classes, each covering a different technique and overall design concept/strategy/idea. All of my classes are intermediate-ish skill level, meaning they’ll be great for folks with familiarity with the techniques but craving to take on new challenges.

First up, on Friday, Feb. 24 is my Paper Piecing with Precision class (#630), a full-day workshop devoted to getting super specific with your paper piecing. I often get asked in class how to make stripes go a certain way, how to position a special motif in the right place or how to work with the smallest scrap possible. In this class, we’ll be working on those exact things, all of which are reasons why I love to paper piece. It can be really entertaining and a great challenge if you’re up for it. We’ll be working from one/some of my patterns, and I’m encouraging students to bring a mix of directional and fussy-cuttable fabrics to play with and to learn from. Any student can take on whatever challenge they feel comfortable with, so if you’re relatively new to paper piecing, you can challenge yourself with the general ideas of being more deliberate, or if you’re fairly confident with paper piecing, you can push yourself even more–either way, I’ll be there with instruction and guidance.

Next, on Saturday, Feb. 25 is my Design Strategy And Implementation For Home Machine Quilting class (#829), another full-day workshop, but this one is devoted to machine quilting strategy and implementation–what design to use on your top and how to actually quilt it? In this class, I’m encouraging each student to bring one quilt top (just one) to class. We’ll spend time as a group looking at each student’s top and discussing different options for quilting it. Then, we’ll dive in to the technical side and explore the mechanics of how to actually make those things a reality. (Take note that while we will be looking at quilt tops from each student, students will actually quilt on practice quilt sandwiches.) I’m really looking forward to this class, because I know that we’ll all get a super varied look at different strategies for quilting tops–something that I find to be an incredible creative challenge and skill builder.

Finally, on Sunday, Feb 26 is my Fabric And Shape Diversity in Applique With Hesperides class (#132), my last full-day workshop. Like I mentioned in my recent post announcing the pattern, this is a project that I can’t wait to start teaching. It’s one that challenges and entertains me both in its composition, its opportunities to explore applique with different types of fabrics and the technical challenges involved with making the shapes and working with the fabrics. It’s really so much fun! In this class, we’ll be getting fussy with making sharp points in applique–a good challenge whether you’re familiar with the technique or not. And then, we can kick up the challenge (and fun) by using different types of fabrics in the process. Students are encouraged to bring bits and pieces of many types of fabric–lawns to linens. (Yay for variety!) And then to tie everything together, we’ll discuss and play with our composition. I’m excited.

In all of my classes, there is plenty of opportunity to take on additional challenges depending on your level of experience and curiosity. I always anticipate a wide range of experience and interest from my students, which is why it’s always important for my classes to be structured to accommodate that range of needs so that everyone leaves with something. Plus, classes should be fun. That’s the goal.