My First Quilting Class
For my birthday this year (Monday, in case you were wondering) I treated myself to learning a new craft. You see, there's this awesome new (well, relatively new) quilting store in Lincoln Park, Quiltology. While I never expect sewing or quilting to become my primary craft, I do really really want to get over my current sewing machine anxiety. You can do so many things with woven fabric that just don't work all that well in the knitted medium. Or you can use fabric to provide structure to a knitted item, like a purse or a blanket. And I just love the idea of making a quilt. There are so many fabulous fabrics out there, and there are a lot of shortcuts (like letting people with long-arm quilting machines do the actual quilting) that make a large quilt project something that a dilettante like myself can actually contemplate.
The class I am taking is called "Starting @ Square 1" and it literally starts with an introduction to sewing machines and how to use them, and ends with a simple quilt. Tonight was the first class, so we learned all about how the spiffy Bernina sewing machines at Quiltology work (Quiltology is also a sewing/quilting "workshop" where you can come in and rent time on their spiffy machines if you don't have one of your own). Now, I do have some basic sewing machine know how thanks to my mom, but I wanted someone who could help put some structure around it for me. Believe it or not, it was actually a cool exercise to "sew" on a piece of lined paper without any thread in the machine -- there was no way for me to screw anything up, so I could just play with the speed and get a sense for how the machine behaved.
As it turns out, those Berninas are pretty well behaved machines. I don't think they are quite as nice as my mom's Husqvarna (I thought the bobbin mechanism was a bit fussy) but they are easy to control. And they have a lot of fun electronic features on them. Give a geek girl a digital display and she can be endlessly entertained.
By the end of the class, we'd all stitched without thread on paper, learned how to "turn corners", wound bobbins and threaded the machine and started stitching on some fabric squares that Colette had ready for us to play with . She did a nice job of introducing things without being overbearing or micromanaging. And we got a short tutorial on presser feet and when to use particular kinds of them and also got to try out some of the more specialty stitches programmed into the machine. The class ended with a lesson in cleaning one's machine and a discussion aimed at helping us pick out what we wanted to do for our projects.
One of the nice things about Quiltology -- she has some "premade" quilt kits where the fabrics have already been bundled together (nothing has been cut out or anything like that). While I could have picked my own fabrics, I didn't need to since the Serenity quilt kit already reflected some of the colors I love best in batik prints, which I am always drawn to when I am in a fabric store (just ask my mom). For me, since this adventure is about getting comfortable with sewing and not so much about color selection (at least not yet -- one hurdle at a time) I really don't feel guilty about taking the easy road and letting someone else put together good color combinations for me.
No homework for this class, but since my mom is coming to visit this weekend, it might be time to get out the sewing machine she loaned me and do a little practicing. Next week in class we'll be focusing on rotary cutting, so I don't have any "homework" this week. However, I did buy a copy of Amy Butler's In Stitches
Quilts are my first love, before I was bitten by knitting. The geometry, the colors, the fun of a rotary cutter...sigh. Congratulations on facing your fear and trying something new! And happy birthday.
I wish we had a place like that around here! I've been wanting to learn how to sew, and am enamored with the idea of making a quilt, but am terrified that if I even look at my sewing machine (a wedding gift I have yet to use, and we're almost to our 2-year anniversary!) the wrong way, it'll break. There's just so many moving parts and little gizmos that I know nothing about.
The Serenity Quilt kit that you linked to is really gorgeous. I would definitely have taken the easy road with that one, too.
Oh, and Happy Birthday!
This class sounds terrific - I like that they have you get comfortable with the machine FIRST. And I agree that the Husqvarna is better than the Bernina. Heh.
Belated Happy Birthday wishes! Your class sound wonderful!
Happy birthday! What a great gift to yourself! Did you drool on the Kaffe Fasset fabrics? I was in the store last summer and my only disappointment was the lack of little kits, like for Xmas ornaments.
Happy happy! That sounds like a wonderful gift, and a lot of fun! Enjoy yourself!
That sounds like a really cool concept for a shop! I would definitely at least sign up for that intro class just so I could figure out how to use a machine. But I also like the idea of "renting time" to use one of theirs.
Yeah, I have always wanted to try quilting - and I think the main thing that stops me is the fear that I won't have time to knit and sew. But maybe in a few years, when life is less busy (ha!).
Hey, congratulations and happy birthday! I'm still a bit skittery around the sewing machine, but I can't wait to see your results.
The class sounds great! I'm taking a beginning quilt class that starts on Thursday, and can't wait. I'll be following along with your quilting adventures.
Oh boy - that quilting bug got me and held me for many years. I still love fabric and quilting, but knitting has taken over as primary fiber play right now. (although I'm working on a great scrap quilt right now!)
HAVE FUN!!
I'm so glad you posted this - I had no idea that this shop had opened, and I too have been wanting to learn a little about sewing to help with my knitting. Thanks for the info!
I have my mom's old Bernina, but I ended up buying a new Bernina because the digital display just made it all easier for me to figure out. They're definitely sturdy machines, my mom's is over 35 years old.
I love Amy Butler's patterns and the In Stitches book as well. I think she really explains the details that a newer (or less frequent) sewer might forget.
That quilt is gorgeous! I love the colors and the geometric pattern - seems very much right up your alley. That shop and class sound great, and Happy Belated Birthday!
What a great birthday present, the gift of knowledge! Have fun with it. I LOVE the look of the quilt on the wall. Is there any chance of a closer look?
I loved learning to quilt. It's on hiatus now, as I have little time even to knit, and quilting is much less portable than knitting. But oh, the colors!
Happy Birthday! I can really see you getting into the quilting thing, at least for a little while.
It is a little-known fact about me, but I once made a quilted Christmas tree skirt.
Happy birthday and welcome to the dark side.
Happy Belated Birthday, Theresa!
That looks like a terrific place - so colorful and filled with textiles. BTW, nothing wrong with adding a bit of sewing knowledge to your craft arsenal. Although I'm sorely out of practice, I got my first real sewing machine at age 9 - two or 3 years after I started knitting and crocheting.
Welcome to the wonderful world of sewing and quilting, and happy late birthday!
I know the appeal of quilting--I've got a quilt pattern design business because I like quilting so much. The store you've showed pics of looks wonderful! And don't forget that you can knit with fabric, although I'm not sure you'd want to... :-)
Belated Happy Birthday!
My neighbor across the street owns two Bernina's. Those are dangerous stores.....to many pretty things.
Sounds like a fun time. This is the first I've heard of that shop. I will have to check it out!
GRRRRrrrr... You SO make me want to get in the car and come to Chicago. I LOVE what I see of Quiltology. I've spent most of the last half-hour or so on their website, and my quilt-jones has already given me the shakes. WAH!!! {~(
So when's your next open Tuesday? ;-)
A belated happy birthday! That was an ingenious way to celebrate.