I went to Sharon's class, and while I felt bad skipping Mimi's class...that one's monthly, so I can catch up with Mimi next month. It was quite interesting, and a bit different from any other class I've taken.
Sharon has a rather unique way of teaching you to think about the process and develop 'body memory' (which, amazingly, the hubs knew what that was). Basically, the thought process is that you need to do something 12-40 times in order to remember it. (That explains why I seem to know the words to EVERY song I heard on the radio between the ages of 12-15---what else did I have to do, but listen to music and sing along...I couldn't drive!).
It was fun, she was entertaining, and most importantly, I learned a few things. Not only do I have a good start at quilting feathers, but I now know how to use two 3" wide by 1/2" (various length) boards to baste a quilt...no pins, perfect sandwich. in just a little more time than it would take to insert safety pins. There's some videos on this on YouTube, check them out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA&noredirect=1.
I wouldn't have believed that using a needle and thread to baste a quilt wouldn't take a week, and I'm looking forward to trying this out on a future quilt. I learned the herringbone stitch is the go to hand stitch for this, and I also learned that there are 'basting' needles. (who knew?!).
With the basting and the lectures, there was little time to stitch, but I did get in a little bit of feathering:
Not great, but not bad. There'll be plenty of time for practice after the wedding. (T minus 6 days and counting!)
You're so fortunate to have such talented and respected instructors so available to you! You did a great job with the feathers. Her basting method was the one I was taught for hand quilting.
ReplyDeleteWhat a treat to be able to go to that class.
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