I had the good fortune to attend a three day workshop with Elizabeth Barton in Denver last weekend. What a joy. It was wonderful to hear her talk about her artistic process, her thoughts about composition, and her views on judging exhibits. Thanks to the Front Range Contemporary Quilters organization that made this workshop possible and affordable!
I would like to attempt some Quilting Art but I have no idea where to begin. Could you direct me to beginning quilting classes or someone who might take on a beginner in this art form. I have been a sewer all my life learning at the hand of my grandmother who was a seamstress by profession and a quilter and then my mother who sewed basically all of my clothes growing up. But I just find myself wanting to try a different way of expressing myself and thought that this might be a direction I would like to try. My arthritic hands are taking away hand sewing and knitting, but I can still direct that fabric through my sewing machine. I took your online class in Stitch & Slash, but the slashing is pretty hard on my hands. Any info you can send my way will be much appreciated.
There are many ways to start and I would recommend taking a class to start out since you can get personal attention and make some friends. So much is local and I don’t know where you live but here in Denver, I can find beginning art quilt classes at my local quilt store, quilting guilds, our state-wide quilting group, and at the Mancuso show that comes to town once a year. http://www.quiltfest.com/ I don’t know if you like to travel but there are many wonderful workshop venues that occur every year. One coming up soon is Empty Spools http://www.emptyspoolsseminars.com/. On the east coast, there is Hudson River Valley Art Workshops http://www.fiberartworkshops.com/. I would google “quilt workshops” and your state and see what comes up. Go for it!
Dear Cheri–I believe that if you take Carol’s ” Stupendous Stitches ” course you will be able to do art work and you will definitely enjoy the course–I have arthritic hands also and also quilt but there is NO stress on your hands with this course–it is offered on the crafts.com website and is offered at half price every once in awhile–it is addicting so watch out–you will be spending a lot of time with your machine–try it–Mary Ellen