Oh boy, do I have something exciting to share with you today!
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| Photo courtesy of Christa Quilts |
I got to take Christa Watson's new class on Craftsy called Startup Library: Quilting and it was so much fun. Craftsy classes are neat because once you have them in your class library, you can watch them as many times as you want and they are available forever! This is definitely a good thing with this class as there is a lot of information given in the first couple lessons, and it is worth watching a couple times to pick up on things you may have missed. Another nice feature with the classes that you purchase is that you can ask questions and the teacher will actually answer them, so you know you are getting expert advise.
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| Photo courtesy of Christa Quilts |
This class is fantastic for beginning quilters who are looking for clear step-by-step instruction and knowledge. The class consists of 14 lessons with nearly 6 hours of instruction. There is a printout that breaks down the lessons into all the steps Christa talks about and demonstrates, with the times during that lesson so you can quickly re-watch a step when needed. The printout also defines many of the processes and lingo used in quilting and has the pattern for the quilt made in the class which is called Friendship Stars (shown above).
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| Photo courtesy of Christa Quilts |
I enjoyed a lot of things about this class. The camera angles used, the close-up view during processes, the simplicity of the pattern, and the fact that as an experienced quilter I actually learned some new tricks! That makes this class a worthwhile investment to me.
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| Photo courtesy of Christa Quilts |
My favorite trick that I am excited to use is her basting technique. You just need one table, a can of basting spray, a large ruler (such as a 6 inch by 24 inch), and a well ventilated area. And depending on the size of the quilt, a helper. :)
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| Photo courtesy of Christa Quilts |
Christa is well-known for quilting on her home sewing machine. She walks you through using both your walking foot and free-motion quilting as options for quilting your quilt.
This class literally takes you from barely knowing what quilting is to fully creating a quilt! And as I mentioned before, this class is certainly useful for an experienced quilter as well, there are always new techniques to try out. I hope you will also hop over to Christa's page and read some of the behind-the-scenes that she has on her post.
Now, one of the things Christa says early in the video is to "take what you learn and make it your own". I have mentioned before that I have a tendency to switch things up in a pattern, I'm not sure that I've made a pattern completely to the letter of the instructions since I began quilting. I even changed up a block in the very first quilt I ever made!
That being said, here is the top I made this weekend:
I went with a Sawtooth Star in place of the Friendship Star and decided to make 9 blocks instead of 25. I love how quickly it came together, simple 12 inch blocks are the best.
At first I thought I would be donating this but it's not going to happen, LOL, this is definitely staying with me! Every time I see it I do a happy dance.
I am still figuring out the border, I only have that little scrap of blue left so I wanted to plan the border around it. I may add another cream border after the pieced border also, then use the center star's fabric as the binding. And depending on how much jean material I have left after finishing my sister's quilt, I am thinking a jean backing for this one as well.
Now, I have a special code for you to be able to take this class at 50% off the regular price, how great is that! Follow this link http://craftsy.me/2v4ZQeF and it will add the discount to your cart. The discount will be reflected once you click "Buy Now". The discount is good through October 8th, 2017.
Thank you for visiting, have a wonderful day!
~Brandy
