Quilt Whisperer: On-Line Learning Adventure

I recently took my first on-line class, Quilt Whisperer 101, with Carla Barrett. I am picky about what classes I take-I want to learn techniques to make my own and I’m careful to avoid classes that teach me to be like the teacher.

This class was a fantastic experience. We learned how to design the quilting for a finished quilt top. My experience with the class was humbling (so much to learn), enlightening and encouraging. The class included many very talented and seasoned quilters as well as newbies. One of the exercises was to come up with a unique fill-an example of what I worked up follows:

 

Now I know these pieces in themselves are not spectacular-they are essentially scratch paper, the genesis of new ideas and that’s exactly what I’m looking for.

The on-line format allowed each of us to see the work of other students on the forum and it was instructive to see their detailed work. Although most of the discussion was around bed quilts (which I rarely do), the class sparked my creativity, got me sketching again and opened up a whole new world of design and unique motifs. This has revved my creative engine and I already see my quilting creativity coming to life.

Carla is one of my quilting heroes, incredibly talented as an instructor and quilt artist so I was delighted to learn from her. I am still very new at this but now I know I can see a quilt and “whisper” it. It’s great to be a student again.