I attended MQX 2012 and took a lot of classes.
I attended just about every lecture class Mary Beth Krapil taught on the Pro-Stitcher for my HQ Fusion and on the digitizing design software Art and Stitch. She is an excellent instructor and really knows her material. I learned a lot from the Pro-Stitcher class because I'd been using it for a year, totally self-taught, and was familiar with the functions. It was enlightening to see how I could now do things more simply and get the same results. I wish I had been more familiar with the Art and Stitch program. If I ever make time to use the program, I know those notes I took will turn out to be very useful.
I also took two hands on classes. I've taken classes at MQX three separate years and this was the first time I was dissatisfied.
First, let me say that the quilting of the instructor that I was not pleased with is gorgeous. She has won many awards. Teaching skill, however, does not always go hand in hand with mastery of the craft. She did not spend any time roaming the room to see how her students were doing. The batting supplied in exchange for a kit fee was stiff, scratchy and lumpy. No backing was supplied. The thread shredded incesssantly. My major complaint is not about the inferior supplies, but that the information provided could easily have been taught in an hour, but I paid for a four hour class. I don't know how all of the students felt, but the woman who shared my frame was also unhappy with the presentation of information and subpar supplies. And yes, I did fill out my class review form noting my concerns. I'm not sure if this was her first class or if she had an off day, so I will not mention her name, but she is not on the 2013 schedule.
My other hands on class was with Judy Woodworth. I highly recommend her. She made sure the students' technical difficulties were taken care of immediately (empty bobbins, tension issues, etc) so they had more carefree practice time. She alternated sit down white board instruction with standing at the frame to allow us time to practice what we learned, yet time to rest our bodies. She showed us samples so we could see the background designs she was teaching us used in a real situation. Besides being an award winning quilter, Judy has a captivating personality and is an excellent educator.
Okay, below are pictures of my quilting in these two classes. Both classes used width of fabric to load on the frame, so you can get some idea of size and quantity of the quilting. The black fabric is from Judy's class, the tan from the other one.
First, we did a simple crosshatch.
Then we used a water soluble pen to draw a grid to use for continuous curve quilting. While I waited for her to go to the next step, I did it twice.
Then we quilted a brick design.
Then we quilted clamshells. Again, I quilted a second, smaller set while waiting for her to continue.
Then we cut paper out, snowflake fashion, and used that to make an original quilting design.
Now, my sample from Judy Woodworth's class.
And again, a comparison of the results of the two classes.
