I Finally Decided To Take Some Craftsy Online Classes - Here's What I Chose

As a pattern designer I'm always on the look out for great websites to sell my e-patterns and have been a big fan of Craftsy since January 2012.  In fact, I sell some of my e-patterns there.  If you'd like to see my e-patterns shop at Craftsy please click here.   Unfortunately, as of 12/28/18 Craftsy is closing all indie designers pattern stores including mine.

I'm also a big fan of websites that offer online classes and have been eyeing Craftsy's online classes for quite some time.  They have so many wonderful classes to choose from.  My problem has always been lack of time.

Well, in November and early December I finally decided to purchase 4 of their online classes. I figured that over the holidays and winter snow season I would certainly have some time to take some of the classes I've been wanting to take.


Here's what I chose and the reason why:

Stupendous Stitching: Adventures in Surface Design

I decided to purchase the Stupendous Stitching: Adventures in Surface Design as I've been interested in fiber arts for years and wanted to learn more about how different fiber applications can really enhance my quilt creations.

Re-Piecing the Past: Civil War Blocks Then & Now

With my passion for history and the Victorian era how could I resist the Re-Piecing the Past: Civil War Blocks Then & Now class.

Stumpwork: Raised Embroidery Essentials

I've been a needlecrafter since I was a little girl and have created cross-stitch, crewel, needlework, stitchery, and crazy quilt creations over the years.  Recently I've fallen in love with 3D quilts and have wanted to see how stumpwork would enhave some of my 3D quilts. So, of course, I had to take the Stumpwork: Raised Embroidery Essentials class.

Embroidering With Ribbon

And, last but not least, I have also been a huge fan of SRE (Silk Ribbon Embroidery) and the beautiful floral embroidery creations you can make using silk ribbons for decades.  I know a few of these techniques but wanted to learn some more so, of course, I had to choose the Embroidering With Ribbon class.

I'm hoping that this week I can start watching the video's for these classes. The problem is which to pick first. I'll let you know what I think so stay tuned.

Silk Floral Terra Cotta Flower Arrangements Decoration Free E-Book

There's nothing better than being able to combine several different loves into one creation.  Such was the case with my "Silk Floral Terra Cotta Flower Arrangements Decoration."  It combines my love of crafting with terra cotta, love of floral arrangements, and love of silk ribbon embroidery flowers.

I had so much fun making this I thought you might enjoy a free e-book on how I created my "Silk Floral Terra Cotta Flower Arrangements Decoration" so you could make one of your own.

My free e-book also includes directions for creating gathered and petal ribbon flowers.

Linda's How-Do-I Series? How To Make Our Silk Floral Terra Cotta Flower Arrangements Decoration Free E-Book

To view and download my free e-book please CLICK HERE. You'll be brought to Google Drive where you can view my free e-book. Then just download my free .pdf e-book from the File menu in the upper left hand corner.

For more information on all my free e-patterns, e-printables and e-books please CLICK HERE.

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Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer.

My Crazy Quilt Purse Is DONE!

What is it they say?  "A little rain never hurt anyone!"  Well, that's true as far as I'm concerned as a little rain today allowed me extra time to finish my crazy quilt purse.

If you've been following along with the posts on my Linda's Blog you know that I've been taking my very first online class with Pat Winter on Artful Gathering. The class is called Crazy Quilting 101 and I have LOVED every minute of the class. Pat is such a fantastic teacher. I only wish I had taken one of her classes years ago.

My head is filled with all sorts of ideas for crazy quilting creations that I can make and, maybe, give as Xmas presents this year. Who knows! My head is spinning.

What I do know is that I LOVE crazy quilting and may have found a new passion.

Does that mean I'm giving up of dolls, Victorian fashions, silk florals, history and everything else I LOVE. Of course not! It just means I'm going to find a way to combine everything I love. That means I may be creating crazy quilting things related to Victorian dolls or florals.  Maybe a little genealogy? You never know.

I ended up lining and finishing my purse with some addition iron-on interfacing being added  to the lining material as well.  So, both the lining pieces and the front and back pieces ended up with iron-on interfacing on them.  The front actually ended up with two iron-on interface pieces.

I'm also thinking that I'm going to sew two large snaps to the inside top of my purse to hold the top closed. That way no one can just reach in and steal my belongings. Not that I'd put anything in it worthy of stealing! Well, Chapstick maybe!

I'm really pleased with the way my purse came out. Definitely looks Victorian which is certainly right up my alley. I may just have to keep my beautiful blue purse. I'm such a bad sister!

Silk Ribbon Embroidery and Final Beading On My Crazy Quilt 101 Purse Is Done

It's pouring cats and dogs and I'm sitting here finishing the last silk ribbon embroidery flower and final beading detail on my Crazy Quilting 101 Artful Gathering 2012 class purse.

So far I'm very pleased with the way my purse is coming out. The next step is to add the lining, the cording around the side and top edges and the strap. As mentioned in a previous Linda's Blog post I'm going to add the lining and finish the purse a little differently than Pat's instructions called for.

Once the lining is done my purse will be finished. I'll be sure to take a picture so you can see the final results.

I've thoroughly enjoyed taking Pat's course. If you love crazy quilting and want to learn from a terrific teacher then you'll want to take one of Pat Winter's crazy quilting classes. She has definitely created a crazy quilting monster in me. Just don't tell hubby this! LOL LOL

Some Stitching and Beading Work On My Crazy Quilting Purse

I just LOVE really productive days. Don't you?

Yesterday was one such day for me.  The morning was close to 100 degrees and the afternoon brought thunderstorms so I was able to catch up on several things, including my Crazy Quilting 101 Artful Gathering 2012 class purse.

I'm probably right on schedule but wanted to get more done yesterday as some of the other students in the class seem to be ahead of me. And, you should see their creations. They are absolutely beautiful.

In fact, Pat Winter is going to be publishing pictures of the students finished purses in the Fall edition of her Crazy Quilt Gatherings Magazine so be on the lookout when that issue comes out. I, of course, will be purchasing that issue not only because I'll be in it, but because I've been purchasing Pat's magazine since it first came out. I absolutely LOVE each issue and still find myself thumbing through issue after issue and viewing the gorgeous crazy quilting eye candy.

So, yesterday was a very productive day. I added green herringbone stitch and shiny white beads to the top right hand seam. I also added a beaded dragonfly to the top right hand corner as well as a tiny blue beaded spider just below that and just above the blue/teal embroidered flower. Can you see it?

I added wide gold herringbone stitch and blue sequins with shiny white beads to the lower right hand corner just below the decorative blue/gold lace trim.

I used the Cretan stitch with gold beads to secure the left hand side of the blue/gold lace trim.

In the blue/black/gold piece at the very bottom of my purse I stitched a lazy daisy type flower with a combination of cream and blue thread and added gold and blue sequins with white beads as well as a combination of white, blue and gold beads inside the petals.

I used a green chevron stitch with green beads along the left hand side seam just to the left of the white butterfly.

Later today or tomorrow I'm hoping to add some of the silk ribbon embroidery flowers around the picture. Then I may be done with my embroidery embellishments. We'll see. 

The First Day of My 1st Online Class - CQ101 With Pat Winter at Artful Gathering

Several months ago I decided to take my 1st online class and decided to take one of the Artful Gathering classes that were being offered in Session One and/or Session Two. My problem was there were so many wonderful classes to choose from that choosing just one was going to be difficult. I finally decided to take Pat Winter's Crazy Quilting CQ101 class. I'll be making that adorable crazy quilt purse you see in the picture above.

So, I've been anxiously awaiting June 6th, which is when the Session One classes were to begin. Along the way I've been receiving emails from Artful Gathering regarding how taking classes with this Ning group will work and how to maneuver around my Ning page. I'd didn't have any problem with any of this as I've been a member of several Ning groups for years.

I was really anxious this morning to start on my purse but I had foolishly scheduled a hairdresser appointment and wasn't able to begin right away. When I got home I followed the steps outlined in the class initialization memo and proceeded to see what was involved.

I clicked through all the links in Pat's welcome page and quickly discovered how easy it would be to start and stop the video's for my time-frame during the next 6 weeks. Pat had also included a bunch of printable vintage freebies and some instructions for different silk ribbon embroidery (SRE) styles as well as how-to's for different stitches we will be using. Thank you very much for those Pat. They are well appreciated.

I made it through the introduction which is the first of twenty video's for this class and ran out of time for today. Hopefully, I'll have more time tomorrow.

I keep looking at all the material, all the lace, all the ribbons, and all the beads in my kit. There's a lot there. Hopefully, my purse will come out really, really good. We'll find out. Tomorrow I start with Video 2.

So far all I can say is, "WOW!" There was a LOT OF WORK involved in creating and organizing this Artful Gathering event for C. Zinnia Galliher and a lot of work for each of the instructors in putting their video's together. My hats off to all of you for a job well done.

Pat Winter's NEW Book

I have exciting news. A crafting friend of mine just published her first book on BLURB.com which is self-publishing website.

If you don't know what a self-publishing website is it is where you can actually create your own book just for yourself or create a book to be published to the general public. It's a terrific concept and one I'm thinking of looking into.

In any event Pat Winter is my crafting friend's name and the book she just published is called "Pat Winter's Gatherings - My Crazy Quilting Journey." It's a book about Pat's unbelievable crazy quilt creations.

Here's Blurb's description: This book takes you through the garden of the Author and into her world of crazy quilting. Florals in silk ribbon embroidery, beading, stitching encrust fabrics and bring them alive with elements of nature scattered throughout her work. Photos of her prize winning crazy quilt and numerous other works shown in full color are offered to inspire. She has sprinkled a few projects along the path in hopes to encourage the reader to try their hand at this beautiful Art of Crazy Quilting. www.patwintergatherings.com

Pat is also the creator of "The Comfort Doll Project" which I posted about on my Linda's Blog. If you'd like to read my post, just CLICK HERE for the article.

From what I understand Pat's book is already on the self-publishing best seller list. I'm not surprised. Pat is unbelievably gifted and talented.

CONGRATULATIONS, Pat. YOU GO GIRL!