Craftsy Class Review and Giveaway- QAYG Patchwork Bags

Oh, do I have a good thing in store for you!!! I'm sure most of you remember one of my most recent posts where I did a class review for Craftsy, well Melissa enjoyed my post so much that she asked me to.....REVIEW ANOTHER CLASS!!!!! *happy dance*
So, which quilting class was I asked to review?!?!?  Quilt As You Go Patchwork Bags taught by Tara Rebman (aka Tinkerfrog)! Can we say SQUEEL?!?!? Really though, I knew this class was coming because I follow the instructor on IG (I told you guys, I'm addicted! LOL!) and was soooo excited to watch this class!!!
Disclaimer: The opinions in this post are strictly my own, no one has told me what to say or write nor have I received any form of payment for this review!

Buuut, before I go into my review of this class, just in case you didn't read this post let me tell you a bit about Craftsy first:
   Craftsy is an online educational website that offers TONS of classes for ANY crafting need! They offer not only quilting classes but cake decorating, crocheting, knitting, sewing, and so much more!!!
I absolutely L-O-V-E their platform. Once you enroll in a class (whether it's a free class or one you paid for) you have UNLIMITED access (24/7) that lasts FOREVER!!! You can ask questions you may have and get answers back from not only your instructor but your classmates too, you can take a video note (it helps you bookmark a specific place in the course), share your projects, and so much more! Every class comes with printable course instructions and material lists.
 Craftsy offers not only classes you can buy but they have a HUGE selection of FREE (yes, completely FREE) classes!!!!!!!! I promise you, you can find a class that you will LOVE! Craftsy also offers a place for designers (experienced and newbies) to sale their patterns! You can find a lot of free patterns too!!!

I could really keep going on and on and on about how wonderful Craftsy is, but weren't we here for something else? Oh yeah, A CLASS REVIEW!!!!

(yes, this is a screenshot, I'm "resourceful" that way! LOL!)

Where do I begin?
I guess I'll start with the description from the website....
"Learn the theory behind the quilt-as-you-go technique by working your way through a charming potholder before creating the “Tinker” patchwork bag from blocks you create on the fly. Tara shows you how to use scraps from your stash to build out from a single square using a freehanded approach that celebrates the uniqueness of each quilted bag. Whether you prefer straight-line or free-motion quilting, your extemporaneous blocks will blossom as your bag comes to life. Add a simple pocket or follow Tara’s instruction for a painless hidden zipper pocket. Learn how to add material to the bottom of your bag for extra durability and box corners for extra stability. Finish off your quilted bag with a magnetic closure and eye-catching bias binding. Or hand-sew an invisible binding for extra sophistication"



I love the description they give! It's right on the money (is that the expression I'm looking for? I hope so!)!!! Tara does an amazing job with breaking down the process of QAYG (quilt as you go), and you can take what you learn from her and apply it to ANY quilty project! Tara breaks down this process by teaching you to first make an adorable pot holder, which I think is great because it is a small project, so you don't get overwhelmed! After she teaches you how to make the potholder she moves on to her own pattern, the Tinker Tote! She breaks down the ENTIRE process of putting her bag together, I mean the ENTIRE process! (Even if you are new to making bags after you take this class you can apply a lot of the techniques to other bag projects!)

I can't tell you how much I LOVE this class! Tara knows what she's talking about and makes it SEW EASY to understand! She gives you tons of extra tips along the way to help you out! I learned a lot about (cue horror movie theme song....) bias tape! (I really hated the thought of bias tape before this class, just so you know!) I took away a lot more than what I expected from this class. I've made QAYG bags before, but Tara's method is a lot better than the free tutorials you find on Google.
I can really go on...and on....and on...and on about this class, but you're just going to have to take it to believe me. Then once you do, you can come back here and say "WOW! You were totally right!" LOL!

I really really really wanted to make a Tinker Tote for this post, of course I have way too many other obligations going on right now. Though I did find the time to test out Tara's technique! Do you wanna see what I made?
Of course you do!!!

Aint it purty? :) I really love this clutch! Just so happens, there is a FREE TUTORIAL for this clutch right here on Tara's website! Don't pay attention to my flap though, it's all uneven and out of whack! I still love it though!

Here is a view of the back of my "Crazy Cute Clutch".

I mean, I REALLLLLLY love how this turned out!

It's a really good sized clutch too! I stuffed it full of scissors and rotary cutters for this pic! :)

So, are you all ready to go take this class yet????? I hope so, because the wonderful peeps at Craftsy said I could giveaway a Quilt As You Go Patchwork Bag class to one of my LUCKY READERS!!!
*happy dance* (again)
Okay so here are the details for this giveaway:
I only have on rule: You need to be a follower of mine! (You can now follow me on Bloglovin by clicking the Bloglovin icon in the upper right side of my blog!)
Then all I need for you to do is CLICK HERE and sign in/register! Once you've done that come back here to this post and leave me a comment letting me know you did! EASY PEASY!!!!

ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON!
You have until this Thursday (June 27th, 2013) to enter!
This giveaway is open to EVERYONE!

I will announce the winner of the giveaway on Friday (June 28th)
Edited to add: This giveaway is now closed!
~Hope y'all are having a GREAT day!!~

Class Review and Discount!

I was recently contacted by Craftsy and they asked me if I'd be interested in doing a review for one of their new quilting classes. Commence jumping up and down and screaming! Really? They wanted ME to review one of their classes? This can't be real! But it is! I think I'm still in shock! Sooooo.....what class did they ask me to review? Precision Piecing taught by Norah McMeeking.
   Okay, let me be honest for a sec.... I was really skeptical about reviewing this class. I didn't think I'd like it, it's not really "my style" and I didn't want to give a bad review. I feel like if I'm going to review something, ANYTHING, on my blog that I need to be 150% honest and give my true opinion. Because I know when I read a review on someone's blog I want that same honesty. So, I will tell you the truth about what I think.
Disclaimer: The opinions in this post are strictly my own, no one has told me what to say or write nor have I gotten any form of payment for this post!

 
Let me tell you a little about Craftsy first:
  Craftsy is an online educational website that offers TONS of classes for any crafting need! They offer not only quilting classes but cake decorating, crocheting, knitting sewing, and so much more!
I absolutely LOVE their platform! Once you enroll in a class you have UNLIMITED (24/7) access to your class! You can ask questions and get answers from the instructors and class mates, make video notes to book mark a place you think is important or need to go back to, and soooo much more! Every class comes with materials provided by your course instructor so you can print them out and have them in front of you! I really really really LOVE the classes I've taken, and trust me, I've taken quite a few!
  Not only do they offer classes you can buy, they offer a great selection of FREE classes! Yes, FREE! Craftsy also offers a place for designers to sale their patterns, you can find some great patterns for free also! I could really go on and on about all of Craftsy's GREAT features but, that's not why we are here, right? We are here for a CLASS REVIEW!


 So, let's get this review started, shall we? I sat down to my IPad after putting the kiddos in bed and started watching. Thinking "I don't know how I'm going to give a review, this is not the class for me" But let me tell you, I was wrong! No, I do not like traditional quilting, No I do not like the instructors fabric selections, but hold up! She's got some great techniques! I mean really, WOW! I love paper piecing, I mean really really LOVE it, but I'm not too great at lining up my points and getting things too accurate. In this class I learned A LOT about...well, precision! Here is the description Craftsy gives for the class:
Norah offers an overview of foundation paper piecing, showing you how to avoid common trouble spots. As you piece blocks inspired by traditional Amish quilts, the windows of Notre Dame and Roman mosaic floors, you'll achieve beautifully matched points, even Y-seams and smooth curves. With Norah's detailed instruction, you'll create intricate designs with the accuracy that quilt-show judges demand.

You will learn how to make 3 quilts, Amish Pinwheel, Stained Glass Window, and Emerald Rings. You will "walk away" with skills on fast and accurate foundation piecing. how to get PERFECTLY "married" seams, the dreaded Y-seams, and so much more!
 I would not recommend a brand new quilter take this class though. You need some knowledge of quilting since this class assumes you already know the basics. 

The instructor knows what she is talking about, she's a very confident and experienced instructor and it shows! I could tell she has a lot of experience teaching. And to me, that makes a difference! 

I really enjoyed taking this class and learned so many new techniques that I can use on so many future projects! I think you all would learn a lot too! So, I have a little bit of a surprise for you! Anyone who signs up for Precision Piecing through my blog post will get.... a 50% discount!!!! All you have to do is follow this link to get your discount! Pretty cool, huh? 

I hope you all will give this class a chance! I promise there is a lot to be learned! In my opinion, you can never know too much! So, go ahead, click here and save some money when you sign up for Precision Piecing! I promise you WON'T regret it!


~Hope y'all are having a great day!!~