Look, Ma, no feed dogs!

Last Saturday, I took an all-day thread painting class at a local quilt store.  Wow - did I have fun!  I'm so glad that I spent a few hours the week before the class doing some free motion quilting on the not-yet-finished Easter placemats.  That's Easter 2011; another project that did not quite get done in time for the event.  Sound familiar?

The thread painting was a blast.  There were 12 of us in the class which was taught by Phyllis Binkley, a local art quilter.  Take a peak at Phyllis' work, and you'll get an idea of the techniques that she was sharing with us.  The class was fast-paced which actually helped me quite a bit.  I didn't have a chance to freeze up and worry about whether or not my practice piece was perfect!  The phrase "Just do it!" kept popping into my brain.  I was concerned about missing the next bit of advice from Phyllis or the demos of her stitch techniques.  No time to think about what my hands were doing or how fast my machine was running or where to look next!  I think I understand now why good free motion quilters recommend listening to music or getting into a "zen" type of trance.

My practice piece isn't anything to brag about, hence, no picture.  But I really think I'm moving away from the newbie stage and into a more comfortable stage with free motion stitching, whether quilting or thread painting.  I'm by no means good at it, but it doesn't scare the crap out of me anymore!  I consider that progress.