Planning a New Class Sample

I really enjoy teaching my class “Design Your Own Nature Quilt!”  In it, students learn about design and composition, then use their own photos to create a quilt.  The results are always great and the process is exhilarating. (Actually, the process can also be a little intimidating but the students are told to pack their artistic courage, so it works out well.)

The only downside to this class is that I keep selling the class samples.  Finding myself in that situation, once again, I’m about to make a new one.  I thought you’d like to see a little about my process, so I’ll be posting about it here on my blog.

This is my inspiration photo.

Planning a New Class Sample. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Don’t you love the bright colors and back lighting?  It’s great, but is this the best composition for a small quilt?  Since the flowers are vertical, would a vertical composition be better?  And, do I really want to create ALL those flowers in a small scale?  Maybe I’d prefer something like this.

Planning a New Class Sample. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Look closely.  This is more than just a crop.  Things have been moved around a little. When doing so, I thought about focal points, sweet spots, balance, weight, and contrast, all things students learn in this class.

And this is my loose sketch. (copyrighted)

Planning a New Class Sample. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I like it.  Soon, I’ll be composing the background with a variety of green and blue-green fabrics. Keep watching and send me your questions.

Also, I’ll be teaching this class online soon. See full details.

Ellen Lindner

, ,

12 Responses to Planning a New Class Sample

  1. Martha Ginn May 8, 2018 at 7:24 am #

    Good design! Selling your class sample over and over is a happy problem to have.

    • Ellen Lindner May 8, 2018 at 10:57 am #

      Thanks, Martha. (Yes, it is a good “problem.”) 🙂

  2. Pam Keeting May 8, 2018 at 7:27 am #

    I really enjoyed taking your Floral Improv class up in The Villages. I am attempting my own design on a table runner. Wish me luck!

    • Ellen Lindner May 8, 2018 at 11:03 am #

      EXCELLENT, Pam! You don’t need luck. You’ve GOT this.

      That was a fun class. Everyone had such great results and I’ll post photos to my blog before too long.

  3. Lif Strand May 8, 2018 at 10:30 am #

    Oh goodie! A new project! I love following your works in progress. I fear I’m becoming a fangirl of yours.

  4. Ellen Lindner May 8, 2018 at 10:59 am #

    Fangirl, I mean Lif, It IS so fun to get started on something new! Glad to have you following along.

  5. Dij May 8, 2018 at 1:55 pm #

    I loved that class and the quilt I made from it. I think I’ll try another one – I still have my notes. I highly recommend this class!

    • Ellen Lindner May 8, 2018 at 9:19 pm #

      Thanks, Dij! So far, everyone has had really good results with it.

  6. Mich Ke May 8, 2018 at 7:14 pm #

    How do you define “sweet spots”?

  7. Barbara Grandon May 9, 2018 at 11:12 am #

    Hi Ellen, two questions and a comment.

    1. When will you be teaching this again online. I’m not available this time around 🙁
    2. What program are you using to move stuff around on your photo, photoshop?

    LOVE what you’ve done with with composition.

    Barbara

    • Ellen Lindner May 11, 2018 at 10:59 pm #

      Hi Barbara,

      Thanks for your compliment. I’m having fun with this. I’ll be teaching this class online starting June 1st. Too bad you’ll miss it. I don’t plan to teach it again until next summer. (Maybe your quilt group would like to have me come do it in person?)

      I used Photoshop Elements to move things around. I like it. It’s a very popular software which means it’s easy to find tutorials, etc. HOWEVER, it’s not that user friendly initially. I highly recommend a good tutorial book or class. I always buy the book from “Teach yourself Visually” series that’s appropriate for any new software.

Leave a Reply