Learning to quilt

Most of what I have learned about quilting has been from the internet. There is a wealth of information out there. My three main sites to go to to find great patterns and lessons are:

• Craftys – As they say, Craftys bring teachers from around the world. They have some free turtorials, but most of the them are pay. They have lots of sales, so you can usually get a class for about $20. Craftsy doesn’t only teach quilting. They have a large variety of other crafts, including knitting, baking, crocheting, drawing, and more. Most of the classes that I’ve signed up for are quilting classes, but I’ve started dabbling in crocheting as well. (My grandson needs sweaters too!) Most of the teachers that I’ve watch are great. There is a platform where you can ask and answer questions, which is really great. You can go back and watch the classes as many times of you want.
• Fat Quarter Shop – Kimberly Jolly has to be one of most friendly people in the world. I guess that’s why her name is Jolly. She has some of the best short cut tutorials. I love watching her videos. I wish she would put out more. One of the first quilts that I made was the Jelly Roll Jam II. You can see the video here.
• Missouri Star Quilt Company – If I had to stereotype one person as the quintessential quilter, Jenny Doan would be it. Gets so much joy from creating quilts and is excited to share all her knowledge with us. Jenny runs the Missouri Star Quilt Company with her family, but she’s the face of it. They have created a ton of incredibly useful videos. I’ve made a couple of them already.

Besides the incredible tutorials that these guys give you, they also have stores that sell fabric as well. Craftsy does not mail supplied to Israel, but both Fat Quarter Shop and Missouri Star Quilt Company do. Shipping costs are high, but they cap out at $40 and $35 respectively. The shipping is not what really gets you, it’s the VAT that you need to pay when you bring things in. I have a growing cart for all these stores. What usually happens is that I wait for someone to be visiting from the US and then I get them to bring my my goodies. If no one is coming or when the carts get too big, I send it straight here and just pay the VAT.