Quilter's Academy - Class 110

So today I'm starting off on the Quilter's Academy Books by Harriet and Carrie Hargrave. Even though I'm not a beginning quilt maker, the books appeal to me. I'm going to be doing a few different projects and working through these books is just one.

I've always liked Harriet Hargrave. I met her once long ago when I first started quilting at a store in Pasadena California where she was teaching. She impressed me at that time and I've followed her stuff ever since.

There is a new breed of quilter coming through doing something called Modern Quilting. It involves doing things in an easier more free form manner. And although I'm thrilled to see younger quilters picking up, it's not a style I find visually appealing and I feel that in some ways it's fhe very antithesis of what I'm trying to do now.

I will be going through the Quilter's Academy books lesson by lesson...and so without further adieu I'll start with Class 110 Lesson One.

The first class is talking about tools and your quilting space. When I first started quilting I had to work on a fold out table that I put up in the living room and took down every evening. I had not fabric stash and only the bare minimum of tools. Now I'm lucky enough to have a whole room and somehow it seems more cramped then that fold out table. Mostly I think because I have so much stuff!

I have an old wood desk that my sewing machine is currently on. The space is large and works well for sewing. The only downside is I do not have a cutout for the machine to bring it down level with the table. This makes it a bit more challenging to sew and at some point my husband has promised he will do the cut out for me. If he isn't able to get it done, I may do as suggested by the book and order a portable table. The threat should get him moving on the cutout if nothing else. :)

This lesson also talks about ironing and cutting spaces. I have an ironing board that I will take up and down, but at some point I want to get a big board. My friend Yvonne has one and says it's really great. It would certainly help when ironing fabric after dyeing.

The last section of this lesson is about a cutting area. That's one of my areas that's less than ideal. Because I have so much stuff in my little sewing room there isn't a space for a permanent cutting area and I will have to do it on a card table I take up and down.

The lesson gives information on what is the best kind of areas, but most of won't have the best of everything especially those of us without a permanent setup. Tomorrow's lesson is about the sewing machine!