One goal at New Pieces is offering the classes quilters want, in a relaxed and supportive environment. We want to help students master skills that make the creative process less painful and more productive. Sometimes our classes teach skills via the making of a certain quilt pattern, or a project from start to finish — but some classes address the acquisition of skills more directly — but still in a fun, creative environment. This post is a plug for the second kind of class, of which we have several coming up in the next two months.

Among the May classes are two you may have been waiting for:

Cindi's Class Sample, using Saturday Sampler Blocks

Cindi Cossen will offers Setting Your Blocks class on Saturday May 12, from 10 – 2:00pm. Many of you remember Cindi from the Store, but also from years of Saturday Samplers. This class is the help you need to get from blocks to a quilt top, and Cindi is an excellent guide.

The following Saturday (May 19th) Pat Dicker offers  Introduction to Free Motion Quilting from 10 – 3:00pm. Pat’s class is designed as a true introduction to free-motion quilting, starting with supplies and threads, and with time to practice under her watchful eye.

If you’ve wanted to try free-motion, but were feeling insecure about it, Pat’s class provides the perfect opportunity to jump in and give it your best try. It’s not that you can’t do it — it’s that you can’t do it yet.

Then, on June 3rd, from 10 – 3:00pm, Pat offers Beyond Basic Binding. This class designed for those with an understanding of standard fold-over bindings who are looking for other options for finishing edges on quilts and wall-hangings. Pat has a talent for novelty bindings that complement her pieces. You can see her fused bindings on her 12 x 12″ x 12″ Challenge quiltlets. She’s also a great teacher and her classes are fun.

UPDATE: April 25, 2012

Much to my surprise, I find there are spaces available in Mary Mashuta’s June 2 class, “Foolproof Machine Quilting: The Fun Stuff”

Mary’s class is an intense introduction to a very special form of machine quilting that combines elements of straight-line and template quilting with the use of novelty threads and clever techniques. For this class it is highly recommended students acquire Mary’s book, Foolproof Machine Quilting (we have some copies in the store) to use as a resource in her class. There are also additional samples of Mary’s quilting style on display at New Pieces.