Craftsy Classes
 

Has anyone taken any classes from Craftsy or any other online site on free motion quilting, especially feathers? Thanks.

go to utube, lots of free tutorials out there.

I took Angela Walters' Free Motion Quilting with Feathers, excellent class.

I've signed up for several classes but haven't gotten very far yet - just got my printer hooked up so now I can try Leah Days classes), block of the month classes for 2012 and 2013, and a few more. I do want to try the feather classes but figure I need to know a bit (lot) more of the basics first. Will be interested to hear if anyone has taken the class you're interested in.

My mother has. She seems to like them

Yes, I have and I love them. I buy when they are on sale and do all the free ones.

Same here! I have not gotten too far in the FMQ classes because I'd rather quilt than practice. The classes are great and if I'd complete them, I'd be good at FMQ. For instance, early in Leah Day's first class, she taught how to do stitch in the ditch with FMQ. I really practiced that and now I seldom use my walking foot to SITD. I am really good at using FMQ to SITD. Now if I could just learn to stipple.

I signed up for many, many classes and so far there is only one that was blah, but I got it for free so I am not bitching. I loved Easy strip paper piecing, Ruler work for long arm quilting, Angela Walters quilting class, Weeks Ringle modern quilts class, Elisabeth Hartman's class, and the list goes on... You will love it. That being said, what helped me learn the feathers was drawing them ad nauseoum, and two very good books. One is by Sally Terry called Hooked on Feathers for no backtracking technique and more free style feathers. The other one is The Art of Feather Quilting by Judy Allen and has more traditional elegant feathers. Good luck!

I took Ann Petersen's Beyond Machine Quilting. She does a nice job of teaching feathers and other FMQ designs. What I really liked about it is that you end up with a wall hanging.

so far I like my craftsy class but have only got through half

Bought two. Loved one and hated the other. The one I hated, I still learned a bit from.

I took Angela Walters craftsy class on feathers and loved it! I just added feathers to the border of a quilt I just finished and I was very happy with the results. She shows how to make the traditional feather and the custom feather and goes on to show how to embellish them by echoing or making ferns instead of feathers, etc., then she shows how to fit them into a block and also how to fit them into borders. It was a great class and I really learned a lot.

You can also take "video notes" which, when you mark them, takes you right to that point of the video. So it's a great reference tool.

I am sure you won't be disappointed if you take her class.

I'm doing the quilting quickly one right now. It's fun and Ive learned some great skills that will help my piecing. Though Jenny sews VERY fast. What skill!

I've taken several. It's like anything else, some were wonderful, one was horrible, and the rest were OK. I got a refund on the class that I didn't like at all. No hassle at all. The general format is good, you can watch them as many times as you like, ask questions etc. The classes I was less impressed with were the ones where the instructor also had a book out and the class didn't have a whole lot of additional info. If you are a visual learner and do better with video instructions than a book, this is a good way to go.

Thanks, Carolaug. I had done that but I wanted the classes. It got to be confusing.

Thank you, dunster. That is what I was looking for - someone who had experience and could recommend.

Thanks, everyone. You've been a great help, as usual. I'm so glad you were able to recommend some.

I'm taking a class from Leah Day called Free Motion Fillers. I've learned a lot and I haven't even started the actual FMQ lesson! The advantage to taking Craftsy over just watching YouTube is you can ask the instructor questions and she will reply within 1-2 days. You are also provided a list of supplies you'll need for the course. Also, each course you take you come out of it with a finished product. This class I'm taking will be a lap quilt with 50 individual blocks and each block has a different FMQ design, so basically I'm learning 50 different styles of FMQ.

I'll have to look for this one... I must admit I try to purchase them when they are on sale.

I haven't taken any classes on feathers but I have taken a few of the Craftsy classes. Although there are free classes online, I really like the Craftsy platform. I never pay full price for the classes and I grab all the free ones.

I have taken that class, too. I don't actually do the project, but use her techniques to practice on quilt sandwiches. I think she is awesome in the details she shows. If you go on her web site, she offers her Craftsy classes for 19.99.
I have been wanting to sign up for Angels Water class, too. So you really don't have to do the project to learn- great references if you are looking for something specific!

I signed up for that class, but haven't done it yet. Concentrating on Leah Day's free FMQ project which is fabulous!

I hesitated for a few months before I plunged in. I buy when they are on sale and have not regretted it yet. There are also FREE classes and I've taken some of those. Several things I like: you can watch when it's convenient for you, you can replay sections as much as you want, you can ask questions and the instructor plus other classmates will answer you, you can see what others are doing for their practice or projects as well as share your own, the camera angles are in close so you can see clearly what the instructor is doing. I have not experienced this but others have said if a class was not what they were expecting or wanted - they got a refund from Craftsy. If you have interests that aren't served by taking a class where you live , this is a perfect solution. I used to buy a book to learn a new technique and go from there. With Craftsy classes, since it is interactional, you can get an answer to a question in a day or two or less. I had a question for Cindy Needham and it was beyond what she knew so she ended up asking another instructor and got back to me in a few days. It was great to be able to have that access of information.

Any ideas on FMQ without drawing first? I have MS and can't draw! I have mastered stiple, but would really like to learn feathers.

I also took this class and really enjoyed it, she is a good teacher and she is funny too.

I just bought the Craftsy FMQ class on sale for $19.99 for future reference when I finally make it to that point on a quilt. Hoping it helps me out a lot.

I second this. I've found several youtube videos helpful, but the full length, detailed class is good, and paying a little for it (if you're like me) provides a little extra incentive to stick with it. Craftsy runs specials frequently. Get on their mailing list. When you first sign up they offer a few free classes to choose from, and a sample class will help you decide if you're likely to find them useful. You have unlimited access, so you can go back for a refresher as needed.

I like that they have teachers who go around the country teaching similar classes in person, but if you take one of those live ones, you'll have the inspiration and the exposure, but you can't repeat at will on your own schedule. This is an opportunity for some of the best teachers to reach many more students than they could possibly have reached in a lifetime before Internet. I hope they know what a difference they're making by sharing their skills!

I took Peggy Martin' "quick strip paper piecing" and made her version of a mariner's compass. It was the first time I did paper piecing and the project came out quite well. It was a challenge for our quilt guild. I've since made another mariner's compass by Brenda Hennings using Peggy Martin's techniques and it too came out well. I think with paper piecing that you need to do a small project every so often to keep the technique in you mind. I struggled with the second star until I went back and watched the video again. Good luck finding something you can do. By the way, the Indian Summer pattern is a mariner's compass. I would never have been able to do the two pieced quilts using templates. Sometimes my frustration level just gets too high.

I LOVE Craftsy classes! Not only do you get lots of instructions, instructor support, downloadable printable resources, but each class has patterns included - sometimes lots of patterns. So $20 to $30 bucks gets you a lot of stuff!

My favourite teachers are Leah Day, Cindy Needham, Kimberly Einmo and Jenny Doan. (I haven't tried Angela Walters class.) Not all of them 'agree' on everything which is actually liberating! Find the method/style that suits YOU....and run with it!

I watch the videos instead of watching TV! A quilting mini-series!

I forgot Camille Roskelly - she has lots of great tips... mostly on working with pre-cuts.

I have taken and am currently taking several Craftsy classes. I love it. Once you sign up for the class, it is yours forever to watch and rewatch whenever you want. The teachers are great!

Love all of mine! I feel this is one of my best investments as I think you get significant bang for your buck- and I always buy on sale.