i'm set to teach a class next month on beginning quilting and applique...and i've been working on and working out the patterns for the past month or so.
its a bit of a struggle for me to teach classes, not because i don't know how to teach or the content, but because i have a hard time choosing what others should do...or telling someone "do this," i think i'd much rather have a class where people come along and i guide them in carrying out their pieces...
however i know the masses of people don't learn that way...i do...but most don't.
so i had to choose.
and i figured beyond teaching the basics of quilting...i wanted to teach how to quilt in a "bohemian" "free-style" way...
i'm the kind of quilter who likes to discover along the way...who likes to not know what the final piece will be...and i'm certaintly not married to the idea of perfect points...and perfectly pieced quilts.
i love the imperfections. that's what the eye focuses on...i believe that's what the eye wants to see...and that's what really puts the show on.
those are just my ideas...my approach to quilting.
here is what i'll be covering in my class...and of course in true ki fashion...
"everything is everything..." so there is always room for any student to make this quilt their own. in fact...i took a basic traditional pattern...and made it my own...
take a look:
"house flower" based on amaryllis bulb quilt block...90% pieced
i started doing some "freestyle" piecing up at the top...(top left) and i originally thought i'd just square up the block...but i find that it seems to me like i should just continue piecing...and make another strip layer.
also...the border isn't fitted with 100% accuracy, my eq6 pattern was rounded to the nearest 1/8" in the cutting diagram...which means it didn't piece together perfectly...i'll have to go and take another look at the pattern draft....although..i like this...imperfection...it allowed for me to find solutions...like adding another strip onto the left hand side.
i love the surprise of the house image i get in the top left side....
i do like some perfect points...just not all my points to be perfect...i find that the "energy" of the piece changes with perfect points...i don't know...could just be me...but i find the mix between perfect and imperfect pleases me...showing skill...and also a willingness to "let go."
there are a lot of "broken points" to appreciate in this area...along with some that are pin straight...
again...more correct and "broken" points...
and this is the top left area...i had a lot of fun...free-piecing pieces together...the thing about doing this is it does create some quilting "no-no's" like raw edges...in the past i've folded these in...but with this quilt i just may leave a few of those edges raw...
our bedroom...i love the bright and bold colors of the quilts against the all white walls...beautiful!
this is really the joy of quilting to me....
peace.ki.
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