Craftsy Quilt Class "Pictoral Quilting Techniques"

I recently enrolled in the Cratsy course "Pictoral Quilting Techniques with Machine Applique"

with Wendy Butler Berns 

In this course she teaches how to create an art quilt using freezer paper (with turned-under applique.) I have heard of using freezer paper before, but have never tried it.   This is an extremely valuable technique, and my mind is spinning with all the ways I can utilize it in future quilts.  

In this course she explains how to take photos and turn them into art quilts.  I'm already starting to design my quilt using a photo of my daughter, but the possibilities are endless.  

 This freezer paper-method also has an exciting "big reveal" aspect.  It's like a puzzle somewhat.  you have a general "idea" of what it's going to look like when complete, but you don't get to see it until you remove the freezer paper.  Here is my quilt TOP, before my big reveal.

 However you CAN hold it up to the light and look at it from the BACK.  Here I am trying to get a sneak peek.

 Quilt front AND back, waiting for everything to dry.

  and finally my big reveal!!   Wow, that yellow is BRIGHT. . . and what was I thinking with those bricks?   ;c)

I would like to add that I wanted to QUICKLY get through this "practice" quilt so that I could get to making a quilt using the photo of my daughter.   I wanted to just practice the techniques discussed in the class, and so I ran into the fabric room while my baby was sleeping.   I grabbed some fabrics off of a top pile, and tip-toed out.  I didn't really look at the actual PRINTS. . I just focused on the aspect of value.

I sandwiched my quilt, and decided I would start with outlining the flower, stem, and leaves in black with a zigzag stitch.

 Here's the back with the outline.   (I have no idea why these are upside down)

I had some thread from Wonderfil called "hologram" that I wanted to try.  So I added some shiny fun stuff in the flower.  

 Next I tried to tone down the yellow and brick areas with very thick white quilting.   (it didn't help much I know)
I also wanted the ground portion to be a bit darker, so there would be more contrast with the sky.  So I used a dark grey thread and did a dense pebble motif.

 For some reason I really liked my little bottom part of my flower just hanging out down there all alone.  So I tried to find a way to keep it like that in the final quilt.   Here is the batting trimmed away with my lonely little flower stem just hanging out on the bottom.

 I thought this looked weird  (as if it couldn't get any weirder!)
So to even that out, I trimmed some of the top portion out, so it looked like the flower was very much in the foreground of this scene.   That helped a bit I think.

 Since this was an art quilt - I decided to lose the binding - and gave myself permission to break all the rules and I kept the edges raw.  I tried doing a thick zigzag stitch with black thread, but it kept getting jammed and acting weird.  So I decided to switch to a regular clear piecing foot, and used a large doubled-up buttonhole stitch.  (#30 on my Janome.)  I like the way this turned out.

 And just for fun, I wanted to share a photo of the finished quilt BACK.  Isn't that pretty?   I might like the back better!

Finally - I HIGHLY recommend this course!   If you have ever wanted to learn the freeezer paper applique method, or make art quilts, give this class a try.   I love Wendy's teaching style, and really enjoyed listening to her talk about how she went about making each of her quilts.  She has a large variety of quilts in her gallery and there are many fun stories to go along with each one.

 In this class you will learn:
how to choose fabrics,
making your quilt pattern from a photo,
mapping your pattern,
freezer paper applique,
glue basting,
and unique quilting and finishing techniques.

I would also like to say how impressed I am with Craftsy's class format.   I have only taken ONE quilt class in my life, so I don't have much to compare it to, however Craftsy offers several neat tools.   One, you can pause the video at any time and add a NOTE.   That way you don't have to go back and try to find that one spot you want to hear again.   Also, there is a constant stream of people asking (and answering) questions and offering tips.   The instructor quickly answers any questions you might have and they are there for the whole class to view and comment on.  Everything was really smooth and I had no problem at all navigating between lessons/outlines/patterns.  I'll definitely be taking more craftsy classes in the future.    When you sign up for Craftsy, they email you when they are having sales, so you can wait until they are offering the classes at a discount.  I have seen them up to 50% off!
And if you sign up - (it's free)  please sign up through ME by click one of my links - so I can get credit!!!  Thank you!

And click here if you would like to try this same Craftsy Quilt course "Pictoral Quilting Techniques using machine applique with Wendy Butler Burns "

I'll post later when I finish the quilt of my daughter that I am so excited about - here's the photo I have chosen to use for my next quilt.