I’ve been watching Quilting Arts TV episodes while ironing over the last week. I actually have all but Season 1 (there are 8 seasons), although I have to admit that some were gifts and some I bought when they were having a special deal.

You might wonder why I, freaky art quilter, would be interested in these at all. It’s true they are heavy on educating the dabbler in the art quilt world. I don’t think this is a bad thing for most people. Each episode is 30 minutes and usually has 3 segments that are related in some way. During a single season, a demonstrator may be on two or three episodes. There are some interesting sections with art quilters talking about technique, process, and inspiration.

I do get tired of the cute little gift projects (although I saw one the other day that might work for Xmas, so there we are); I don’t want to make my own totes or petwear, although I admit that some people will, and some people just were way too nervous to watch. Most seemed knowledgeable about their process. There is a regular section on the later episodes called Save My UFO, where viewers send in a quilt they don’t actually know how to finish and Pokey and another artist make suggestions. This is interesting to watch, but I think it’s because I think this is the strangest idea…half the time I think the suggestions are wacky (a couple were right on, but they mostly involved redoing the whole thing); the other half make me want to bang my head on a desk. That said, I’m not your standard art quilter, so my judgement might be a bit off. I think artists (and artists-in-training) should be OK with abandoning or completely ransacking a project if it’s not working.

That brings me to a blogpost I was reading comparing Fons and Porter’s quilting TV show to QATV (how can I not like someone called The Cranky Quilter). The writer describes art quilters in a particularly offensive (and yet often accurate) way (um, yes, I miter and do all that stuff)…I laughed at her descriptions, because some art quilts do look to me as if someone watched a season of QATV and then used every technique they could on a single quilt. There is something to be said for at least a few basic art classes, whether art 101 or drawing or painting…although there are some outsider artists who just have an eye for balance and composition genetically. Mostly though I think there is a stage artists go through that is all learning and not very pretty, but it’s all very normal.

Just so you know, the season DVDs are a whopping $39.99 each, but they often go on sale if you buy more than one at a time. They have also started selling single episodes of seasons 6 and 7 for $3.99 apiece, so potentially you could skip the ones you don’t want. There are about 13 episodes per season, so it is cheaper to get the whole season.

I should also out my serious early addiction to quilting shows, back when my local station would actually schedule them…that was years ago. I contacted my local PBS station after they cancelled all the relevant shows, and they said there wasn’t enough interest. I only half watch any TV (right now I am sitting through the 2nd episode of West Wing…again…because my TV-viewing partner never saw all of them, so I am writing this instead…this was started during the boychild’s piano lesson), so it’s not like I’m avidly watching. But I did stop what I was doing to listen to Jane Dunnewold and Deidre Adams and a few others. Ideally, your local PBS admits that quilters watch TV, and you don’t have to pay for the episodes. But I can think of at least a few of my readers who shouldn’t watch at all, because it will just irritate them…you know who you are.

Also, sometimes the projects just don’t work very well…mostly in surface design. I guess that’s true in real life too.

Another way the masses might get educated would be the eMag In Stitches, also published by the QA people at Interweave Press. I would like to like this…

But I just cant get into them. They’re hard to remember to look at, and I can’t get through them in one sitting. If I had an iPad, it might feel more portable…I usually read quilting mags while cooking dinner or waiting for soccer to start, so having it on my home computer is not particularly helpful.

I like the short videos…they’re short enough that I don’t need a big chunk of time to watch them. The other things that slide around or pop up just seem to be there because they can be. In Stitches was $14.97 for the first 3 issues, but dropped to $9.99 for the most recent issue. I didn’t analyze whether the newest issue is shorter to match the lower cost; its interesting that they have adjusted the price…it implies that people weren’t willing to pay the higher price.

There are other free downloads from a variety of places; I see offers all the time, but rarely download them, because I probably will never look at it again if it’s on my computer. Often they are just like a printout on a screen, hard to read and scroll through.

Educating oneself in quilting stuff doesn’t have to be a download or a long video…there are many classes online. I can only talk about those I have actually experienced. I would highly recommend Jude hill of Spirit Cloth. I would suggest you read her blog for a while before choosing one of her workshops. I think she is doing a great job of encouraging people to do their own thing (although some will always copy), but her style will not appeal to those who want direct instruction. She has workshops that run from 1-6 months, and she now has classes where you work on your own, presumably watching her videos and reading instructions without group interaction. Those run from $29-39, with her workshops running more than that.

One of the early online class companies was Quilt University. They claim 90,000 students in 2500 classes over 11 years. Classes run about $9/week, with classes lasting 3-4 weeks (some longer) and costing $27-64. Both my mom and I have taken multiple QU classes…mine were mostly batik and dye classes, but I liked that I could work at my own pace…it’s been years since I’ve taken a QU class; I can only assume their interface is continuing to be updated. It was easy to use a million years ago; I doubt that’s changed.

The last person I’ve taken online classes from is Susan Sorrell of Creative Chick Studios. She teaches creative hand-stitching and collage techniques with fabric. Classes cost from $25-60 and run from 2-6 lessons. She has a great sense of humor and gives lots of ideas while encouraging students to branch out from her style.

So educating yourself in new art quilting techniques (new to you, not new to the world) is not difficult. You just need money and either the Internet or a DVD player. If you are experimenting, I would suggest getting a group together and sharing the cost of materials. It’s even better if you can find a member of your group to teach a technique they already know, which may help you be more successful. Or you can work alone at home, like I do, with the help of an online community, such as those provided by Jude, QU, or Susan…your choice. You can also figure it all out on your own…but assume some of it will be a UFO that not even Pokey can save. Please.