Monday 4 September 2017

Quilting With Your Walking Foot

       A couple of days ago my daughter in law posted Eli's 3 month photo on instagram and remarked that these three months had been the craziest they had ever experienced.  I agree.  It seems that my new normal has been responding to crisis on an almost weekly basis as three different members of my family have been in and out of the hospital.  In the midst of all that came an oasis of calm when I took a weekend for myself to attend Quilting with your Walking Foot with Jacquie Gehring.



      If you ever get a chance to take a workshop with Jacquie, please do.  She is a superb teacher very clear and calm and with an easy manner that makes you feel like she is your friend.

     

     We learned a lot of technical stuff in the workshop, and for me this was a lot easier to learn in real life than in a video or in a book.  We learned how to mark our walking foot feet to help us in stopping and turning and yes going evenly along those curves in the spiral.



     We practiced designs using minimal marking (two lines are marked in the sample above) and we learned to sew from point to point without a line.  This skill which teaches you to look where you want to go not at your foot is one which will help me not only with my quilting but with my piecing.  I've always had trouble sewing on a line.  Sewing on the line is where we ended our sampling with this design which is made entirely of straight lines which are marked.


     Jacquie brought along many sample of her work which was a great way to show us how the designs we were learning would look in a quilt.  Jacquie's work is really inspirational and I left the workshop with a desire to look at where my quilting is going and where I would like it to go.  My time is so limited now that I feel I need to be more selective with what I work on.   I'd like to focus more on specific skills and creative design.

     Jacquie was really good at helping us to recognize our skill level, to work within that skill level but also to break out bravely and learn new things.

     I went to the workshop with Deb, who I met at the Toronto Modern Guild.  I couldn't have chosen a better person to go with.  She was a great room mate and it was fun getting to know her a little better on this trip.  Maybe there will be future quilting adventures for us. I'm sharing this post with Beth at Main Crush Monday.  Happy Labour Day everyone.  




17 comments:

somethingrosemade14@blogspot.com said...

You did good, I love all of your class samples. I hope you get some time to use your newfound skill. I know what you mean about Jacquie; I have her Craftsy class saved and learned so much just from the first lesson. I need to find time to watch the rest of her classes. Thanks for sharing.

Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting said...

Nice spiral in your first photo! I am just in the midst of watching Jacquie's first Craftsy class today. I loved this line--"Remember, it's a walking foot, not a running foot!"

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

Your samples look great. Jacquie is fabulous, and I am so glad you took some time for yourself and learned so much as well. I look forward to seeing how you incorporate what you learned from Jacquie in your quilting moving forward.

Chopin - A Passionate Quilter said...

Neat samples. Assuming you have a long arm.

Louise said...

I love Jacquie's work! Since every Craftsy class is free today, I took another one of hers. You're right, she's a great teacher and makes everything seem possible.

Preeti said...

So glad that you got to meet Jacquie!!! Also a bit jealous :-)
Walking foot techniques are a saving grace for me and all those who are FMQ-challenged. Today I am watching one of her classes on Craftsy - Improvisational Techniques.

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Lisa,
I'm so happy you mentioned this class with Jacquie today. I was able to watch her on Craftsy. I would still love to take a class with her, though. ~smile~ Roseanne

Lisa J. said...

The samples were done on a domestic Janome. This was a class for your domestic machine and I believe Jacquie does all her own quilts on her domestic machine with her walking foot. Her's is a Bernina.

Paige said...

Wonderful job! I watched her 2nd Craftsy class today. I learned some new tricks to try out!

Stitchin At Home said...

Your samples look great! A skill learned with confidence will go far.

Anonymous said...

I took her Craftsy class and felt very empowered. She's a great teacher!

Jan @Cocoa Quilts said...

Your samples look great. I would love to take one of her classes live.

Catherine said...

I hope that things are now going much better with your family - what a stressful time for you. It sounds as if this class was a lovely meditative thing to do.

Anja @ Anja Quilts said...

I hope everyone is on the mend. It sounds like you had a great time at the workshop. I have one of her Craftsy classes that I need to finish watching.

Kaja said...

This sounds like a really useful and interesting class and all your samples look great. I hope your life is quieter for a while and that you get a chance to put all these ideas into practice.

Sandra Walker said...

So glad you got to take advantage of a well-known teacher in person, not just on Craftsy! I may know that from experiencing Angela Walters...that is her design that last one, and one I've used quite a few times, both on the longarm and on a DSM. Good point on the look where you are going, not at the foot; that is so important and a key to good quilting. :-)

Nicole said...

What a blessing that you were able to not only take the class but learn so much, as well as gain introspection about your future quilts and techniques. (Wow, a clunky but heartfelt sentence!). Hope everyone is more stable in the few weeks since you wrote this post.