Friday, July 13, 2012

Learning Online - three Great Websites

School might be out for the summer but quilters can have fun all year long! If we are fortunate there are quilt shops or guilds near to use where we can take workshops and learn great new techniques or brush up our skills in a classroom. But perhaps our schedules don't give us the opportunity or maybe we just cant get to a workshop nearby us.
Sometimes we can take the opportunity to travel to a place like Grand Rapids, MI for the next AQS show www.americanquilter.com or we're on the road this summer and we can visit the Pacific West Quilt Show in Tacoma www.apwq.org But sometimes is just great to learn in the comfort of our own homes with our own sewing machines and fabrics at hand!
So where can you go to learn online? I am lucky to be one of the faculty at www.quiltuniversity.com a resource that has been operating for more than 12 years, has over 120 different workshops to take and offers a FREE introductory class. Sign up for their newsletter and check out some of the great techniques that you can learn.
When discussing online learning I am often asked how the classes are step up. My reply is generally like any other place to learn. The classes are set up at specific dates, the lessons are posted once a week and progress over 3-5 weeks. There is an opportunity to ask questions of the teacher and meet other students in the Discussion Forum and send in pictures of your work for the Gallery. You can participate in the class as much or as little as you want, but I think that students get the most from the class when they take part in the discussions and ask questions.
At www.craftsy.com there are several great learning opportunities from well known instructors. The classes cover a range of different techniques and can be purchased at any time, they are not set in a calendar.
If you are keen on mixed media and doll making as well as quilting, then www.joggles.com might be a good place to check out. They offer a wide range of hand and machine embroidery, book making, doll making ans sketchbook classes. Joggles gives the lessons as PDF downloads and offers an opportunity to meet other students.
Do you have other favourite places to learn online? Id love to hear from you!

1 comment:

Katie Stein Sather said...

I've taken an online course in Abstraction from Lisa Call (lisacall.com) and learned a LOT and enjoyed it too. it's not specifically for quilters, but she is a quilter, so it seems to fit well.