Quilted Vase Class with Christine Ford

I enjoyed a great class today with Christine Ford learning how to make a quilted vessel/vase. Besides being lots of fun, it was the first class in a long time that I have taken that really stretched me. I tried some new (to me) techniques and products, and for the second time this year, my machine did not co-operate with my desire to free motion quilt! I tried several different needle and thread combinations until for some unknown reason, a universal needle worked! All the fancy, expensive needles that I tried either broke the thread or made the free motion foot make a loud banging sound. And...to add insult to injury, the change that made the machine work well is something that I would never tell someone to do. My free motion quilting worked best with the feed dogs UP! Unbelievable!
Anyway, my machine started to quilt, but again it was a reminder about how frustrating this skill can sometimes be, even when you have had hundreds of hours of practise! I think my machine didn't really enjoy the fast-2-fuse product, but I thought it worked great! Me and my machine don't always see eye-to-eye!!
Here is Christine (on the right) helping us with fabric selection. Not only did we learn about vessel construction, but she taught us about balancing colour theory with what you love!
After working all day, I only successfully finished one of the five panels. One panel got totally wrecked on the thread/needle production, so I have four more to make. Anyway, I really enjoyed the class and hope to finish my panels on the weekend. Here is our class with some of our finished panels. Some of us (the over achievers!) not only finished quilting their panels, but they started constructing their vase! Sheesh...what did I do with all my time?!?!