Four Snails

 

Any block that captures the illusion of movement is fascinating to me. The snail’s trail is one case in point.

I have been wanting to make a quilt with this pattern for about ten years. But with me being me, I had to think about it for quite some time and decide what sort of fabrics I wanted to use.

I had also been wanting to make another quilt with a contrast of neutrals and saturated tones. Generally, the assumption is that the neutrals will fade into the background and support the stronger colors. But when I found this tiny Asian neutral print of butterflies and lady bugs, I knew just what I wanted to do: The neutral print will be the focus and the darker colors, the background. A fun twist.

Quilt University Closing

A few days ago, I received a newsletter from Quilt University in my inbox. I have been very busy, so it took me a bit to open it up and read it. Since summer is eminent, it is always fun to see what courses they are offering while I am on holiday from school. One summer I took an online pictorial quilting class from Marilyn Belford, and it was excellent. I have to say that it moved super fast and that I was well aware of the fact that I would not complete a project within the time the course ran, but all the information was downloadable and available to me at any time in the future.

For those of you who are not familiar with Quilt University, it is an online establishment dedicated to teaching and improving the skills of all types of quilters. The classes are broad in range—both traditional and contemporary. There are suggested assignments but no deadlines and no grades. The teacher--and the class as an online forum--are there to assist you through your creative and technical process.

Unfortunately, some good things do not last forever. After reading the newsletter’s insightful opening article by guest writer, Linda Schmidt, I was saddened by the following announcement:

IMPORTANT NOTICE
Quilt U will close at the end of 2013.  Carol's sudden death took the wind out of our sails.  It’s just not the same without her.  The teachers and I agree that an orderly shutdown is the best way to honor her memory.  Because Quilt U normally goes on hiatus for the holidays, the end of the year is a natural stopping place.
It also gives everyone one last chance to take those classes they were putting off for whatever reason.  You won't be able to "catch it next time".  To plan ahead, print out our Calendar and mark what you missed.  Registration opens six weeks before a class starts.  I'll continue to send a monthly newsletter to remind you that a new batch of classes is open for registration.



I don’t know about you, but this left me a little sad. I am wondering if there is any way that the management could reconsider, revise, or adjust.

What do you think?

Their website can be found at: http://www.quiltuniversity.com