My QuiltCon 2019 Classes

I’ve definitely had QuiltCon on the brain this month, and now that I know which of my entries made it into the show (this one!), I’m turning my attention to my plans for the conference itself. Last year — my first year — I purposefully kept my schedule light and only took two 3-hour classes. I spent the rest of the time enjoying the show, and enjoying some vacation time with Jose.

But when the class schedule for 2019 was released, it was chock full of awesome stuff! I’m currently signed up for 3 classes and really, really want to take each one…but I’m a little concerned that it’s too much. I’m booked for 2.5 days of class, and QuiltCon is only a 4-day show.

And since Jose will be traveling with me again, I admit to feeling a bit guilty about the idea of ditching him for such large chunks of time. Our trip to Nashville is obviously driven by me, but it’s supposed to be a fun vacation for him too.

So! What to do, what to do…

Improv Paper Piecing with Object as Inspiration with Amy Friend

This one is a full day class on Friday, the second day of the show. I enjoy paper piecing and have designed a couple patterns on my own, but am really interested in learning how to take it to the next level — I’m unsure of how to make a pattern from anything more complicated than the relatively straight lines and angles of the Astros logo. It’d be great fun to learn how to take an object and make a pattern out of it.

Map Quilts B with Timna Tarr

This is another full day class on Saturday. I’ve followed Timna for a few years now after first seeing one of her quilts at Quilt Festival. I LOVE maps and I LOVE map quilts. I am definitely keeping this class no matter what.

Central Pivot with Kim Eichler-Messmer

This is a 3-hour morning class on Sunday, the final day of QuiltCon. One of the first ideas I ever had for a self-designed quilt was based on the view of farm fields from the air. I’ve never turned that idea into reality, but Kim has, and I love the look and texture of her Central Pivot quilts and the reverse applique technique she uses to make them.

…You know, when I started this post, I was planning to ask for advice. But after typing all this out, the answer suddenly seems obvious to me.

My motivation for taking classes is usually that I think it will teach me something new — a new technique, or a new design process, etc. And while two of these classes would expose me to things I haven’t done, one of them is something that I already know a bit and have some skills.

So I’ll keep the Map Quilts class. Keep the Central Pivot class. And transfer the Paper Piecing class to someone else who’d like to take it.

I feel better about my schedule already!

p.s. I’m doing a 31 day blog writing challenge!