Teaching at AQS Des Moines Show in October!

"Podflowers, Froth, Diane-shiko, Pearls...."

After taking some time off from travel and teaching, I have signed on to teach at the AQS Show in Des Moines, IA this October 3-6, '12.  I know many have emailed me regarding my schedule, so I am hoping to see some of you at this event.  You can get all the information at www.americanquilter.com under the "Quilt Shows" menu. 

I'll be teaching some 3-hour classes, and two 6-hour classes geared for home machine quilters. 

There is always a bit of repetition in all of these if you do sign up for more than one, so be prepared to hear some of the info each time.  What we quilt will be different in all of them.  If you want to learn some tips on good free motion quilting, any of the classes will be fine, so don't stress about which one to take.  If you register early you'll be able to choose which one will work best for you.

In the "It's Bananas!" class I'll show you how to quilt this beautiful design, and we'll try some different threads, combine with them with other motifs (if there is time).  In a short class like this I try to spend time with each student so I can give you some individual help, and the rest is instruction for the entire class.   Because the size of the class is large and time is so limited, there is only a short time to be spent with you individually.  I believe because we will have provided machines there will be reps from the company there to help everyone with the machines.

One six-hour class is  all about Perfecting your Machine Quilting.  We'll problem solve, get good stitches, and work on some pretty motifs.  I think it will be a great day.

The other day class is  all about learning to quilt free motion freehand echo feathers.  We'll start easy and work up to some more intricate designs.  These are organic but can be made to look very formal, so it works for both styles of quilting.  Again, we'll also talk about stitch quality, consistency, tension, thread choices, etc. 

Come prepared to dive right in, take some notes, quilt on a provided machine (I think I'll have Berninas but that can always change).  Then you go home, relax, do it some more on your own machine and use the class materials as your reference. 

If you practice some more at home before the class info fades away it helps so much to reinforce what you learn.  Then go ahead and use it in a real quilt. 

Sometimes it's a good idea to prepare something ahead of time to quilt so when you GET HOME there won't be any wasted time.  Also, think of it as a "sacrifice quilt," don't worry if there will be mistakes made in it.  Feel free to experiment on it as you learn to improve you quilting. 

If you have questions about the class, what to bring, your experience, etc., email me ahead of time:  dianequilter@sbcglobal.net

I'm so looking forward to a lovely fall drive to Des Moines, and meeting many quilters I've not had the chance to work with so far.  And of course, seeing a splendid quilt show too.  Oliver says, "Be there!"

Stay cool in this scorching heat,

Diane