One of the groups I belong to is the Virginia Consortium of Quilters.  This group meets four times a year, each meeting at a different location throughout the state.  At each meeting there are minimally two classes to choose from.  If none of the classes suit your fancy there is an option to sew for charity or do your own thing.  The important thing is that you are meeting other quilters that share your passion for the craft.  This is a wonderful opportunity to see different parts of the state, visit local quilt shops along the way, learn something new, and be inspired by new friends.  I highly recommend if you are a Virginia quilter that you join in the fun.  I’m willing to bet they also like Maryland and West Virginia Quilters.

I participated in the November meeting, and stayed with a friend that lives locally.  The class I took was taught by Deborah Schupp of Gumbo Design Studios.  Unfortunately I had missed her lecture and trunk show at my “local” guild, but was delighted at the chance to take her Big Blue Modern Mini Class.  Deb is a delightful lady filled with Cajun charm and humor.  She is an easy-going teacher and makes everyone in the class feel at home and confident.  The project itself was easy enough and a nice way to try something modern, and succeed.  I learned several things about color, quilting, and finishing.  My quilt did not look like any of the others in the class.

Most of the ladies used blues (As in Big Blue) and reds on a blue background.  Progress was made and what I saw was stunning, as these ladies nailed it.  I had a little difficulty settling on a color story and finally took out my color wheel and chose my fabrics a couple of days before class.  The purple background is a little bold, but that orange makes me smile.

It was my first time doing a facing on a quilt instead of binding, and I like the way it finishes the piece.

And I actually made a label!

I’ll admit to needing to work on my labelling skills – maybe there will be a workshop on that in the future.

There are so many good reasons to continue your quilting education.   Looking forward to my next class!  What will you be learning next?

For more information about this class and Deborah visit http://www.gumbodesignstudios.com/

For more information about the Virginia Consortium of Quilters visit http://www.vcq.org/ or check out their Facebook page.