While at the recent IQF Long Beach Quilt Show, I had the pleasure of meeting Sharon Schamber in person. I'm sure she was exhausted with vending at this quilt show, as well as helping in a number of other ways, but when I met her she was still energetic and willing to personally share her free-motion quilting insights with me.
I hope thru this post to share insights with you on Sharon Schamber. If you are not already an avid admirer of Sharon, I hope to share insights with you on why you should be regardless of your level of free-motion quilting skills (FMQ). This woman is very talented and wants to help you learn and improve your FMQ skills.
I attended the IQF Long Beach Quilt Show for three days and every single day one of my highlights was spending time watching Sharon and admiring her quilts, and quilts that she had free-motion quilted and were on display.
Sharon encouraged me to try out her famous quilt halo and I will admit that I really enjoyed using these halos. They are now on my wish list and I'm hoping Santa will bring them to me, but my quilt budget was in the red, so sadly I couldn't afford to purchase them at this show. But, I still love the quilt halo and believe you will too!
Sharon has a number of free videos on youtube. I highly recommend anyone interested in improving their free-motion quilting (FMQ) skills to create a free youtube account and follow Sharon Shamber on youtube. You can't go wrong!
It would be difficult to not fall in love with Sharon's free-motion quilting. I particularly love how he works a variety of angles into her feathers to create layers.
I obtained a copy of Sharon's DVD "Domestic: Filling the Spaces" and highly recommend this DVD to anyone interested in learning FMQ and/or improving their FMQ skills on a home sewing machine. I'm not certain when this particular DVD was created, but belive it was probably back in 2007. As such, this is definitely not a HD video that allows you to see the thread details, but it does a great job sharing insights on how to create quilts with beautiful free-motion quilting.
I was definitely inspired by Sharon's approach to sandwiching the quilts using boards to help baste. I will not share her secret with you, but simply say if you've ever had problems with wrinkles in your quilts, when you sandwich them, insights she shares in this video will definitely be worth the cost of the video!
I also enjoyed that Sharon's goes thru a variety of free-motion quilting designs and tips, taking you thru a project that will show you the basics of free motion feathers and many other motifs, and where you can end up with a beautiful project that shows off your FMQ skills in a lovely 22"x22" quilt.
Sharon Schamber Network also has a membership program where you get access to a variety of online classes (e.g. longarm, binding, design & color, domestic quilting, machine maintenance and more). I wish I had hands on experience to be able to share insights with you on this annual membership program, but I don't. While it appears reasonably priced, it is an expense that SewCalGal just hasn't had the funds to spend to be able to share insights with you. But, from what I've seen, I'm sure it is a great program.
While it would be easy to admit I have a soft spot in my heart for Sharon Schamber's quilting, I'll confess I'm a stalker. I'm subscribe to her youtube channel, I follow her on Twitter, I follower her on Facebook, and I'm tracking where she teaches FMQ in hopes of taking a class with her. Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I must confess I'm a stalker fan of Sharon Schamber.
If you have taken a class or enjoyed DVDs or other insights from Sharon Schamber, I'd love to hear your insights. And, if you are wanting to learn FMQ, or improve your FMQ skills, I do hope you'll check out Sharon's DVDs, youtube videos, attend one of her classes, etc. She is truly a very talented woman who has given back to the world of quilting ten fold!
And, I truly think you'll enjoy her "Domestic: Filling the Spaces" DVD for learning or improving your FMQ skills on a domestic sewing mchine.
http://sharonschamber.com/
17 comments:
I too have been a (stalker) fan of Sharon. I've watched all her youtube, they are so inspirational. Love her quilting!
I am so glad that you got to meet Sharon! She is such a delight! I have had the pleasure of seeing her twice...once in Paducah, KY at the show there and once in Raleigh, NC when she came to the Capital Quilter's Guild there. I actually own the "Angel" that she gave away in 2008 when she was launching her new website and I treasure it! We redecorated our master suite around the quilt. She is more than an inspiration!
Sharon is a wonderful teacher. I have many of her DVD's and go back to them over and over.
Sharon came to my guild but unfortunately I was unable to take her class. I did go to her trunk show though. WOW!!! Is this lady a phenomenal quilter.
Oh my gosh.....I will have to put that on my wish list too.....it looks wonderful....and I loved watching the videos...thanks so much.
I have been fortunate enough to take a class with Sharon when she came to Australia and all I can say is she is amazing, she taught me so much, absolutely fabulous. Now all I need to do is practice. I am also a stalker as well!!
Thank you for introducing Sharon to me. My fmq needs alot of work, so I'll be "stalking" her too now. Her feathering and other designs are amazing.
I can echo what you say - love, love, love Sharon Schamber. She is coming to Nebraska next summer for the Nebraska State Quilt guild's annual convention and I have my fingers crossed that I get into a workshop of hers. She does such an excellent job with her videos and has a lot that are free to watch.
Sharon is a amazing talent and person. Thanks for sharing this.
Lucky you, would love to do work like that.
Debbie
I am going to have to check out the videos.
ditto - Sharon is fabulous!! Her quilts are just incredible.
: )
~Monika
stitching in Saskatoon
I met Sharon at the Paducah Show and was very impressed by how open and friendly she was! She encouraged me to ask questions and then took her time answering them completely, not rushed at all. It's wonderful to see a real quilting "star" who is still just a down to earth girl like the rest of us. And her work is just beyond compare - WOW!
Sharon is pretty much the master of free motion. And to be the only person to win three IQA Best of Show awards is amazing.
I'm jealous you got to meet her!
I have not stalked her as closely as you but it looks as though I need to. I am in the red very much in more ways than quilting. Isn't it a pain when we can't buy what's on our wish list. Of course mine is so very long. I have wondered about those halos for quite some time. So you tried it in person and truly liked it? hmmm I may need to think about them someday...
Hi! I love trapunto quilting! I have done only very little. I love these works!!!
Yours, Ulla
www.ullantilkut.vuodatus.net
Sharon is teaching a class at Quilting-Adventures in New Brunfels, Texas in March of 2014. There may still be openings. I'm enrolled & I can't wait to meet her. See www.quilting-adventures.com Spring classes.
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