Last Saturday, I participated in an Improv Curved Piecing class with Carole Lyles Shaw. It was organised by the New South Wales Quilters Guild and it was conducted via Zoom. Carole lives in Florida, USA and she was a marvellous teacher and she managed to stay awake even though the class was during the night for her!
I didn't know how the class would work via Zoom, but it went really smoothly. Carole introduced herself, showed us some little videos that demonstrated her techniques and then she also did them live as well.
I was very proud when I freehand cut my curved shape and then pieced it together without using any pins.
It didn't take long to make my first block.
I didn't have any intention of using that black and white floral or the red and black spot fabric but after seeing Carole's presentation at the start of the class I grabbed the fabric out of my stash. I don't know how many times I have done a class in the past and regretted not having the correct fabric. The advantage of being at home is that you have all your fabric at your disposal. Great!
I wanted to get as much done as I could so I didn't take very many progress photos.
This was my second block.
I made three blocks during the day and seeing as I was making a table runner and not a quilt, that was all I needed to make.
This was the third block that I made.
After I had finished the block, I decided that it had too much red and so I added a black curve over the top of the red.
That made it more interesting.
At the end of the class, Carole showed us some more of her quilts and showed us how she quilted them.
The class began at 9am and finished at 3pm with a 15 minute coffee break in the morning and about 20 minutes for lunch. We could call out to Carole on our Ipad or laptops and she would put us on screen and we could show her what we had done or ask her a question at any time during the class. It was great to see what everyone else was making.
I must admit, I really enjoyed doing the class at home with all my fabrics and space and the set up that I am used to. It is a bit annoying having to share tables with other quilters and space being a bit tight. There was no packing up tables, chairs and irons afterwards and then have to drive home and unpack all the stuff you took to the class.
Maybe there are some upsides to this virus. The class was much cheaper too, because we didn't have to pay for her airfare, accommodation and meals etc. Great for the teacher because she could sleep in her own bed and not have to navigate airports. Maybe it will become a thing after this is all over. I didn't feel disadvantaged at all, in fact I think I got much more done than I usually would in a class.
After the class finished I sewed my blocks together.
I even got out some wadding and backing fabric and basted the quilt sandwich.
That was a very successful days work!
I have to wait to quilt it though because I am in the middle of quilting for a deadline that is due next month.
I wouldn't be surprised if this was a way of doing a class in the future even after travel is allowed.
Bye for now,
Linda
10 comments:
I wouldn't be surprised that this form of teaching/learning will remain viable once the virus is over. As you say, it's cheaper and no travel is necessary for either the teacher or the students. Too bad she had to stay up all night though - that's a drawback.
And better for the environment! Thank you for your blog; I always look forward to reading it.
I agree Magpie Mumblings, I think it will be part of our future. The class went from 7pm until 1am for the teacher, so not too bad.
Zoom certainly has come into it's own, and I think it's fantastic. Am about to try a Zoom fundraiser, so will see how that goes. Have to think outside the square in these times.
Thank you so much Nestki, I am so glad that you enjoy my little blog. I was listening to someone speak the other day and she was talking about us trying to limit our travel for the environment.
I agree Jude, We've had family zoom parties, Mother's and Father's Day zoom catch ups, sewing group catch up via zoom and now I've done a class. Who would have thought we'd be doing this?
WOW...I'm impressed with what you accomplished! Love the black/white/red!!!! I'm taking a Zoom class from Margarita Korioth (http://margascrafts.blogspot.com/) on 9/11. I am looking forward to it and now seeing what success you had I'm hoping we'll do the same! Thanks for sharing your experience!
Thanks Robbie, I'll look forward to seeing what you do in your zoom class
Thank you Linda for your ideas and encouragement. I’ve always felt having to pack up my equipment for a class a drag and a waste of time, and the. We are squished in together. Sometimes, pieces have gone missing(my 1/4 inch foot), and sometimes something breaks(my ruler). I’ve had some great classes. But they would have worked just as well from home. Especially since there are no local guilds and I must travel. I also agree about the environment and we would be best to adapt to the technology available. And, I’ve always managed to come home with a cold. The combination of fatigue from prepping, travel, sleeping in different beds, eating from fast foods or different diet than normal is just hard on us and I tend to get sick sometimes.
Thanks for your comment, Suzanne. I agree with you completely, zoom classes at home are the way to go. I am sorry that you have had such bad luck with things going missing though! I absolutely hate putting all the stuff away that I took with me too.
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