I had the pleasure of meeting quilt artist Laura Wasilowski this weekend. She came to teach a couple of workshops on applique for one of the quilting guilds I belong to, Desert Quilters of Nevada.
Christa and Laura Wasilowski During Class
Let me tell you, she was extremely entertaining. She told us her story of how she got into quilting and gave us the history of how she founded her “infamous” Chicago School of Fusing, complete with song and dance, literally!
Those who attended the workshops got to have a “graduation ceremony” where we ll became “iron – maidens” (get it??)
Fowl Play – Birds Wiith No Egrets Workshop
On Friday, we used one of her bird patterns to create a pictorial scene. Each of the students created a unique piece of art as we learned her methods of fusing and selecting designs.
On Saturday, Laura taught us how to combine shapes and free-form drawing to create our own zen-like quilts. This was definitely appealing to me and I’m going to try to develop a larger applique quilt based upon my fabric sketch I made.
My Zen-Doodle Quilt – “Modern Art”
Laura was so pleasant to be around and very inspiring with her encouraging attitude. She even gave me a special Craftsy offer to share with those of you who are interested in taking the online version of her workshop. Use this link to sign up for Hand-Stitched Collage Quilts and get 50% off the class registration fee. How cool is that??
Here are a few of the beautiful pieces from the rest of the class:
Artwork on Display
Like many class projects, these will probably sit around as UFO’s for awhile, but the hours of classes this weekend were definitely time well spent!
Yvonne’s Aztec Piece
Cactus Doodle
Christa Quilts 
Great teacher! I love her work and even own one of her pieces in the Housing Department series! It’s a great story on my blog.
Thanks for taking my workshops Christa! I really enjoyed meeting you and enjoyed your refreshing attitude toward quilt making. Hope to see even more of your fused art quilts.
Thanks! It was an amazing weekend!
I love Laura’s work and that had to be a fun workshop! Great photos of you and everyone too! Thanks for sharing.
Freemotion by the River Linky Party Tuesday
Wow, those all look impressive. Love learning new techniques and trying something new!
Looks like a fun class! Love those colorful blocks! Thanks for linking up with Let’s Get Acquainted!!
What a neat workshop. Love the Zen-doodle.
wow. just wow!! The warm/cool color placement is breathtaking!
I love it. I hope you show more on your blog too…. you could make a kit and give us a SAL
Ohhhh… I love them all!!!!
If you are a member of Iron Maiden, my husband wants your autograph! 🙂
Ha! Ha! Ha! 🙂
Wow, those are beautiful art quilts!