A New Quilter Makes Progress

Claudia, one of the students in the SPARK! class on beginning quilting that I taught earlier this month, has sent me an update on her fantastic finish. I just had to share it here.

This is Claudia, a newbie to quilting. She has been pursuing the hobby lately, and has invested some time and money in studying books and buying supplies.When she signed up for the class, I was impressed from the start by the questions she had - I could tell they came from someone who'd really been delving into the intricacies of the craft. Her questions ran the gamut - from wanting advice on needles to rotary cutters to understanding the difference between quilting and piecing.

This is her finished project top. We were marking our quilting lines and building our quilt sandwiches. Claudia's quilt top was quite well done; her intersections were spot on, everything was pressed, and it laid quite flat. Impressive!

After that last class meeting, the students were tasked with finishing their quilting, trimming the batting flush with the top, trimming the backing 1.5 inches larger than the top so that it could be folded over to become the binding. I demonstrated this in class, and offered to meet with anyone who felt they needed me to reassure them. *wink*

Claudia is the first I've heard from who has finished. And what a spectacular finish it is! Her quilting stitches look great, the binding is even, and the project looks simply wonderful. I hope she is pleased with her efforts. I certainly am proud of her.

Here are a couple of observations she made in her email to me.
"I didn't realize, when I attached the front to the back, the importance of making sure it was squared up with the lines in the design. I have measured and measured and everything "measures" correctly BUT the edges still look "wonky" because the lines of the design aren't straight. Live and learn.." 

She tells me she has read all of my blog and "the blog fills me in on the 'quilting culture' that exists of which I was totally unaware."

I'm just beyond thrilled that Claudia has come so far so quickly. She is continuing to practice, as she has been working on making some quilted pot holders, and when she finishes those, she plans to make a Mondo Bag. Hooray, Claudia! Call if you need help!

Happy Quilting, Friends!