Tuesday night I taught the second quilting "class," here at work. Again, lots of laughs and fun. I brought along a Keepsake Quilting catalog which totally amazed them with all the possibilities!

I started off with a list of quilting terms (e.g., FQ, Cakes, Jelly Rolls, etc.) and what they mean and how the catalog uses these terms. I tried to demonstrate on a white board how to cut a FQ. I knew the dimensions but do you think I could remember how a FQ cut differs from a 1/4 yard cut? NO! Complete brain freeze. They loved that! :-) And, later in the night, when I cut my finger, using SCISSORS no less, they laughed even harder! Not at my boo-boo but at all the disgusted faces I made at my own stupidity!

From there, I asked them to cut their FQs into 2.5" strips and those into 4" rectangles. We're going to make the Chinese Coin pattern which is 3.5" but, given that their rulers were slipping, I had them cut to 4" so we can square up later.

Lesson learned.... The Fiskars beginner's pack that includes a rotary cutter, mat, and 6"x18" ruler is really not a good buy. The mat is okay but the rotary cutter is very slippery and is not the self-closing one from Olfa that I prefer, and had them buy, for safety reasons. The worst is the ruler -- no non-slip stuff on the back! Thankfully, I had some Invisi-Grip with me we used and that helped. If I teach another beginner's class, I'll have them buy everything individually, not in packs.

For beginners, they are doing super! Considering it's only the second time we've met, and the first meeting included unpacking their newly purchased sewing machines, they've come a long way. They managed to not only get their rectangles cut, they actually had time to sew a few sets together. Again, they were amazed at how fabric choice can make a pattern come alive!

Next Tuesday is class #3; I'm so looking forward to it. I couldn't ask for more enthusiastic students. (Reminder to self: bring bandaids!) :thumbup:

It sounds like everyone is really enjoying your class :D:D:D
Don't you hate those brain freezes? :roll: It is good that you can laugh and roll with them :D:D:D Sorry to hear about your scissor mishap.

Sounds like you are having alot of fun while sharing your knowledge with your group. If you had to guess how many do you think will get biten by the quilting bug and start to buy fabric "just because"?

Thanks, I'll survive! Both the scissors and the brain freezes although I could do without both! :-)

The best part of it is to see it dawn on them what is behind making a quilt; e.g., the colors make a big difference and, everything can be broken down into simpler parts. It's a little like taking a child to Disney World and seeing the wonder on their face.

Sounds like you have a great class going!!!

Good question! Actually, I was thinking about that this morning. I think 2 out of the 3 will get the bug. One is my Admin who we've dubbed the over-achiever because she's very fast & accurate. Even she's amazed. And, the second has an art design background and is treating the fabric (rightfully so) as another art medium.

The third... seems a bit frustrated with not being able to cut an accurate strip, etc., so I'm spending a bit more time with her. Turns out, she really doesn't like the fabric she chose so I told her that a good rule is to go buy something else if your first choice turns out to be not so good. Hopefully, that will help.

Any way it turns out in the long run, I'll be satisfied.

Sounds like you are off to a terrific start and having a good laugh makes it fun!!! Keep it up!

Now, if could just smuggle one of my furry ones into work, the class environment would be complete! :-)

Aw, that sounds so fun!

Hey at least when you cut yourself, they learn that even the most experienced person has accidents :thumbup:

Glad all is still going well , which when I started I would have had such a class . More relaxed and casual friends getting together. I have only taken one class and it was "ok" but I didn't know anyone there, so I wasn't really comfortable

Keep us posted