Tonight was the first night of my "Beginning Quilting" class, and it was a blast and a hit at the same time! The ladies were a riot and came from a wide mix of sewing backgrounds. However, they all did share one thing: they all were beginners at quilting. So, it was a night of going back to the basics: mastering the 1/4", folding and cutting fabric using a rotary cutter, how to read the markings on the ruler (which they ALL picked up quite easily!), some strip-piecing and chain-sewing.
At one point, one of the ladies said she "felt bad that we are taking you away from your quilting tonight." Golly! Bless her heart, but I didn't mind one bit! I really had a blast! I am very surprised at how much they really were sponges, soaking up whatever tips and advice I shared. And of COURSE, I started by saying......"You can ask five different quilters the same question, and get five different answers and perspectives." 
They all understood because one of the ladies used cooking as an example. We've all followed recipes, but after making that recipe enough times, you kinda "make it your own" by tweaking it. PERFECT example! 
Wednesday will be the next class, during which time we plan to subcut the pieced strips and sew the cuts into blocks. I also have ambitions for them to piece all of the top, including borders by the end of the night Wednesday. No biggy if we need to push some of that off until the following class though. 
I did "bargain" with them about class time Wednesday night since I need to be packed up and out of there by 8:30 to get to Volleyball. They, again, were all understanding, and we decided to move class time 1/2 hour earlier or to simply "show up when you can." I'm SO thankful it was a hit (at least to me).Happy Monday!
Co-worker update: Blood pressure has been stable to most of the day, only changing when she is repositioned. Other than that, not much news.
3 comments:
I'm so glad everything went well. I know you were stressed getting ready (both physicall and mentally) and it's a relief now that you know what to expect. Congrats!
Well done on what looks like an extremely happy class room full of ladies. It sounds like it was a complete success - as if it wouldn't be.
What a wonderful thing to have a class and help others, you are certainly a great teacher! I will look forward to see what your students end up making. You get an A+!
Post a Comment