LucyInTheSky

My sister-in-law is learning how to quilt. She went to her LQS (she lives in Albuquerque) and signed up for a class. The teachers are uber-perfectionists, to the point where if your seam isn't a perfect 1/4", you have to rip it out. Her machine is doing a fat 1/4" (which I told her not to worry too much, since all of her pieces will be a tad shorter, so it evens out), but they freaked out and told her it's awful. UGH!! It really bugs me since that is not how you teach new students! At my LQSs (in Tucson), they were always super nice. They explained how to adjust to get the right seam and ways to pin for accurate points but would never make you tear something out because it wasn't perfect (though I did have to tear out once because I sewed too far in and it threw off the block, but that was a construction issue, not a seam issue). And looking back at my first quilts, they were okay but not great (which is expected) and I DIDN'T GET DISCOURAGED SINCE I HAD KIND TEACHERS. I've repeatedly told her to not get discouraged or worry and such. It's just really bugging me, since that's such a bad way to teach anything. But especially something where it's practice makes perfect.

DebraK

Not every one can teach ;-)

snow

IF YOU LOOK CLOSE ENOUGH YOU CAN ALWAYS FINE SOMETHING WRONG FOR WE ARE HUMAN AND NO HUMAN IS PERFECT SO OURS QUILTS IS NOT ALWAYS TO PERFECTION.qUILTING IS FOR FUN NOT STRESS!!! TELL HER TO GET ANOTHER TEACHER.

dunster

If my first quilting teacher had been like that I doubt that I would be quilting today. Instead she showed me how to salvage the quilt after I made a mess of it. I value that lesson, since I still make a mess of it on a semi-regular basis. That being said, it is good to learn at the start how to make 1/4" seams, but not at the expense of feeling like a failure because your seams aren't perfect to begin with.

lynnegreen

My first quilt teacher was like that, and, unfortunately my Mom was in the class and she does not, I repeat, does not follow directions well. The teacher was beside herself. She wasn't much of a warm and cuddly person to begin with, had just published a quilt book that became very popular, and admitted she was only teaching the class because she had commited to this one last one. By the time the six or so weeks of class were over you could tell she could barely look at my Mom, as well as another lady who was a bit of a challenge as well. On the last nigth of class someone asked if there were any guilds or clubs for quilting and the teachers response was "yes, but they are not for people like this group, they are for real quilters". I just about gave up on quilting, but, I already knew I was bitten with the bug, and fortunately, my Mom convinced me that we should try another class with a different teacher. She was right, the next class was a dream, despite my Mom being the problem child...... again...LOL

ckcowl

you should encourage your sister to try a different class-taught by someone else- some are like that- but i don't believe it's the majority- i think most teachers are more (accepting) of beginners....especially if it is a beginner class. when we had the sewing school we did not really stress perfection at all- i have one friend who makes great quilts- and her seams are always----horrible- they range from 1/4" up to an inch---seriously! but she makes it all work and the quilts turn out beautiful. i do wish she would start (she's been quilting 5 or 6 years now) to work on technique- but she really has no interest in worrying about it- she does on occassion take a class at a lqs---she just ignores them if they get===picky===she did get up and walk out of one class once---but it didn't slow her down-she just decided if that was the teacher she wouldn't take that class- she would talk one of (us-her friends) into taking it to learn the technique- then we can show her...
tell her not to let one bad teacher spoil the fun==

Crlyn

I think I would give up, in my mind I'd have failed at my lessons.

I don't think this woman should be teaching!

dolores

Well since I didn't have a teacher except for books and utube, I couldn't handle that . I am sorry for her, maybe she should find another class. I would love to have been able to take classes, sounds like they want everything perfect when nothing is except God. Even they make mistakes, they might not won't admit it. They didn't start out perfect

Tweety2911

You are so right to offer her encouragement. I feel so bad that her experience is a bad one and it is so unnecessary. This perfectionist is ruining the quilting experience for a newbie. I bet her work is not 100% perfect either.

auntmag

I don't take classes for that reason. I have taken a few, but seemed to get lost about half way thru and have to finish the project at home. I am self taught, my seams are good and most of my points are sharp. I spend my money on fabric.