I had the opportunity to attend the Longarm Training Academy in Houston, Texas. It was awesome. Carrie and Tom Dugan with Texas Quilt Machines hosted the academy. They did a great job and had a great line-up of teachers from all over the country! I met lots of neat quilters and learned a whole lot. The down side is I lost all my pictures of classes, teachers and beautiful quilts! I am just sick over it! 
I was able to do some "line dancing" with Diana Phillips! Line dancing is a machine quilting technique based on repeating a single design line that follows a continuous path across a block or quilt top using the piecework as a guide. The class was called "Fun with Shapes -- The Leaf Version". This was a lecture class with lots of pencil quilting. What an entertaining and good teacher. Diana is from Michigan.
DeLoa Jones from Michigan taught the class "Got Stencils? Use Them!" I have lots of stencils but hardly ever use them. I now look at stencils in a whole new light thanks to DeLoa. DeLoa gave a very interesting presentation and then we had 'hands on' using parts of different stencils to create our own quilting pattern. What a fun class!
I took three different classes from Lisa Coker. Lisa is a good ole Texas gal from Commerce, Texas. The first class with Lisa was "One Start, One Stop Borders". Lisa did demonstrations on the longarm machine of different borders using traditional curling feathers. The second class was "Now You're In Business". Lisa shared the basics of business and how to handle those PITA customers, the importance of ALWAYS using a work order, pricing, advertising, etc. The third class with Lisa was "Elegant Formal Feathers" where she taught us the basic stitching pattern and shape and how to give these feathers motion and make them come alive.
It was a great training academy and well worth the $$$$ spent. My 'feather knowledge' has really grown and I think those feathers in my brain may be fighting each other -- LOL! As an extra bonus, I was able to stay at my childhood friend's home and do lots of visiting in the evenings. Thank goodness she only live a 15 drive from the training.
I was able to do some "line dancing" with Diana Phillips! Line dancing is a machine quilting technique based on repeating a single design line that follows a continuous path across a block or quilt top using the piecework as a guide. The class was called "Fun with Shapes -- The Leaf Version". This was a lecture class with lots of pencil quilting. What an entertaining and good teacher. Diana is from Michigan.I attended two classes taught by Jodi Robinson of Pennsylvania. What a delightful and talented lady! She taught us "Less-Stress Feathers" (a hands-on class) which taught formal style feathers without the stress of backtracking. The second class was "Quilt to Fill" a lecture class with pencil quilting teaching freehand quilting. I truly enjoyed Jodi's classes.
I attend a 2-hour class called "Threadology" presented by Bob Purcell, owner of Superior Threads. Now talk about fun! Bob is funny as well as very knowledgeable about threads! He even tied us all up together!!! No really, he did -- with threads!!! Bob dispelled the myth about "polyester thread" cutting into your cotton fabrics. We learned about all types of thread, thread construction methods, needles, tension, thread delivery, thread breakage problems and much more! There is lots of info on his website so go take a look. I even received a diploma!!!
DeLoa Jones from Michigan taught the class "Got Stencils? Use Them!" I have lots of stencils but hardly ever use them. I now look at stencils in a whole new light thanks to DeLoa. DeLoa gave a very interesting presentation and then we had 'hands on' using parts of different stencils to create our own quilting pattern. What a fun class!I took three different classes from Lisa Coker. Lisa is a good ole Texas gal from Commerce, Texas. The first class with Lisa was "One Start, One Stop Borders". Lisa did demonstrations on the longarm machine of different borders using traditional curling feathers. The second class was "Now You're In Business". Lisa shared the basics of business and how to handle those PITA customers, the importance of ALWAYS using a work order, pricing, advertising, etc. The third class with Lisa was "Elegant Formal Feathers" where she taught us the basic stitching pattern and shape and how to give these feathers motion and make them come alive.It was a great training academy and well worth the $$$$ spent. My 'feather knowledge' has really grown and I think those feathers in my brain may be fighting each other -- LOL! As an extra bonus, I was able to stay at my childhood friend's home and do lots of visiting in the evenings. Thank goodness she only live a 15 drive from the training.
Just remember this:
I hope you enjoyed my overview of my recent training. I'm just sorry I don't have the pictures of all those beautiful quilts!!!!
