Craftsy- Free Motion Quilting Designs

You've probably worked out by now that when it comes to trying new sewing techniques, the first thing that I do is go in search of advice on the internet. I have learnt so so much from the clever and kind bloggers who share their talents and expertise for free, but every now and then even I come across something that is bigger, where I need more than occasional snippets of advice.

Just look at that dodgy stitching!

For me Free Motion Quilting is one of these times. The technique is so different to everything that I have done so far and there are so many things about quilting that I still just fudge my way through. After my frustrations of the other week, I decided that it was time to get some lessons and work out once and for all whether my problems really were down to me or my machine.

I quite like this design!

My determination to work on my skills is only increased when I consider the rather large sampler quilt which is in the "almost finished piecing" pile and will soon need some decisions made regarding quilting.

Definitely need to work on my pebbling, but not sure I want to- it drove me nuts!

Enter Craftsy and Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting a Sampler Quilt Class.

I must admit that so far I have only followed three of the lessons, but for a beginner self-taught free motion quilter like myself it offers a gold mine of information and advice. Among other things, so far I have learnt how to adjust the foot on my machine to make it work better; lots of tricks as to how to baste and lots of tips about stitch length and remedying beginners problems.

The format of the class is very accessible and if anything is unclear, you are encouraged to ask questions- even take photos of your quilting and ask Leah to diagnose the problem for you- how cool is that?!

Once you have purchased the class, it is yours forever.

As with all Craftsy classes. you can place video markers in the lessons so that you can easily find spots that you want to watch again and again and there is a large amount of class material to supplement the video lessons. I had a wee peak through the class material last night and can't wait till we start learning all the different free motion designs.

I started free motion quilting the sunshine quilt before starting this class (just look at the dodgy quilting work in the photos on this post), but I intend to continue using it to practise my skills. Hopefully I will be able to show you some much improved quilting work soon! I promise to share my progress with you all and let you see how my quilting improves as a result of following this class.

*My sewing machine is off having its service as I write this- yay!!!

**In a first for me, I have signed up as a Craftsy affiliate, so I can potentially make money from people following craftsy links from myblog. Please don't hate me for it! All the opinions expressed in this post are my own and I would not endorse a product that I don't approve of.