Classes I come back to again and again…

I’m enjoying a very rare lazy Saturday afternoon today. James is hanging out with his Grammie, Josh went grocery shopping, and I’m hand binding squares on the couch with a few Craftsy classes for company.

At this point I’ve watched hundreds of hours of Craftsy classes about everything from cake decorating to hand spinning yarn, but there are some classes that I return to again and again because it’s hard to absorb all the little tidbits of wisdom from the instructors with a single watch.

Three classes have been on my watch list this week:

Design it, Quilt It with Cindy Needham – I adore Cindy’s quilts and her gentle, quiet teaching style. She shares information so clearly in this class, and always with a giant helping of practicality.

This class focuses on quilting DESIGN, which seems to be on the top of everyone’s list to learn. Using stencils, Cindy adds elements to a quilt, designs a little wholecloth, and teaches you how to make a border design fit into the border space on your quilt.

Hand Stitched Collage Quilts with Laura Wasilowski – I’ve learned fusible applique from many teachers, but never in the free form, free cut way that Laura shares in this class! Best of all, each quilt includes step-by-step hand embroidery embellishment, which really makes such a big difference for this style of quilts.

I’ve watched this class many times just to review the hand embroidery stitches, and to enjoy Laura’s unique way of working with fusible and her bright, whimsical quilts.

Finishing School with Mimi Dietrich – If you’re looking for new, unique ways to bind your quilt, this is the class for you!

I’ve been feeling rather bored with my standard binding finish so Mimi’s class was a breath of fresh air as it included instructions on using the backing for a super quick bind, adding decorative elements like piping and prairie points, and even curved edge binding for a spectacular finish. I review this class often as it’s hard to remember all the complicated steps to properly binding with any method!

So those are the three classes I’ve been rewatching this week! Remember with Craftsy once you buy a class, it’s yours FOREVER, so you can go back anytime and watch the lessons again and again.

I certainly love this feature as it makes the classes easy to enjoy whether I’m watching the whole class at once to learn a new technique, or reviewing little bits and pieces to get back on track. There’s always something new to learn in this wide wild world of quilting!

Let’s go quilt,

Leah Day