I took my first class through a class at an Adult school. It was 6 weeks in length and 2 hours per evening. It was meant to just give an introduction into quilting and then if you liked it, move on to classes. It was suggested that we begin with the Quilting 101. The adult school class was superb! We began with the very basics and then made a hand pieced 9 patch block. It truly was the art of quilting!! It served as a foundation to moving on to bigger and more complex blocks. While many fell in love with quilting and could do the basics, they needed a class (perhaps 6 weeks to do the series of blocks. I am one of those people. I began quilting in the mid-1980's and that's the way we were taught. Let's get back to the art of quilting, teach the basics and work with those who want and need the classes for the more complex blocks. I remember taking a monthly class in how to do the hand applique Baltimore album blocks, how to hand quilt, how to choose fabric, battings, threads, acccurate seaming and piecing, 1/4 inch seam allowances, moving on to machine piecing, etc.
I thank those instructors who provided such a rich foundation. Hope we get back to it.