Classes for Sit-Down and Domestic Machine Quilting
Thinking With the Needle: Laura originated hundreds of designs now considered machine quilting classics. Learn from the designer herself.
This is a series of eight classes, each lasting 6 hours. Schedule one, schedule all, no particular sequence is required. Each 6-hour class will cost $750 plus travel expenses, and will be limited to 15 students. If you have more interested participants, each additional student will cost $50 per day, up to 20 maximum. More than that number of participants? schedule a second day of class, each participant deserves personal attention.
(Photos available at longarm/standup quilting classes page, as they are the same class topics)
1. Mindful Meandering I: Classic fills and overalls. From the basic jigsaw meandering and vermicelli, to seagulls in the clouds, from still waters to thunderheads over the mountains, the background quilting makes all the difference: does it detract or fulfill the story of the quilt top. How will you know? how will you quilt it? See Mindful Meandering from C&T Publications
2. Mindful Meandering II: Novelty fills and overalls. Here we find the split circles, the spiraling universe, the dinosaurs in volcano-land, tropical leaves with fiddleheads, dancing people, art-deco florals, undersea worlds. These overalls tend to compete for your attention, but hey, that helps make the quilt sing. See Mindful Meandering from C&T Publications
3. Leaves and Flowers. That's about it, we'll quilt leaves and more leaves, composing them in overall edge-to-edge formats and in borders and sashings. We'll do the same with flowers. Endless possibilities.
4. Baptist Fans. Learn the basic and Laura's novelty versions of this classic quilting design. Quilt it in an over-all random form, in braided borders, in thin sashes, and in a grid of blocks. 6 hours is hardle enough to cover all the possibilities. See creative Classics from C&T Publications
5. Mindful Meandering III: Orange Peels and other squares. Play with the square itself, play with the seamlines, find a reason to emerge from one design to the next. Interlocking circles reveal themselves, secondary designs abound. See Mindful Meandering from C&T Publications
6. Ropes, Braids and Classic Feathers. Yes, classics, perfect for borders, for row quilts, for sashes. More than one way to implement each design, more than one way to travel from border to the body of the quilt. See Creative Classics from C&T Publications
7. Novelty borders: serpentines, waves, and flaunted feathers. First we gain confidence with the basic line path, then we add the elements which can tie the design into a quilt's story, and distract the judgemental eye at the same time. See Creative Classics from C&T Publications
8: Using imagery in your quilting. Here is the ultimate quilting class. How to get the imagery onto the quilt once you've found the right images to fit the quilt. How to compose the isolated image into a cohesive border, overall, or fluid custom-to-block design.
Supplies for each student to bring:
Sewing machine with hopping foot/darning foot/freehand quilting foot. Student must know how to attach foot. If possible, bring an attachment which extends the bed of the machine to support the quilting area, this will not be required for participation.
Thread and loaded bobbins, no particular brand or kind, but we will be discussing threads in class.
Scissor or snips to cut threads.
Gripping device: Machingers quilting gloves, 2 sheets of sandpaper, 2 scrubber sponges, whatever you might already be using to give you a grip on the fabric sandwich as you work. At the very least, bring water to drink so you can spit on your fingers to give them grip.
Size 1 embroidery needle for hand sewing, to use for securing our thread ends, any brand.
Sandwiches of plain-color fabric and batting: fabic-batting-fabric. Ideal is cotton batting. Each sandwich should be about 15" square, bring 6 already cut and pinned at edges, and more fabric and batting in case you progress quickly and need more sandwiches.
Marking tool - whether it is Crayola washable markers or just a pencil, something to launch your layouts.
Scratch paper or sketch paper to doodle designs before quilting them.