debcavan

I am a believer in experience, the more you do the better you get. The first experience should be a happy thing. You should learn a lot. There are certain quilts that if you use the same seam allowance throughout, it comes out well. But I would explain how to get the perfect one and tell her to do it on the next one.

My friend, Patty, is slightly handicapped, she couldn't hold the ruler as the teacher said and was told "if you can't do it right, don't bother". Can you imagine. I teach how to adapt. If you are getting good results, I don't care how you do it unless I think you will harm your body. There are many different ways to do everything. I think I should give you options if something doesn't work for you. I was asked to teach at the shop that had "the mean teachers" including the one who was so nasty to my friend and I refused. I didn't want to be lumped in with them.

thepolyparrot

I'm sorry for your SIL. Send her here! It takes more than skill and a desire to pass it on to make a teacher. Even more than technical ability, it takes empathy, a positive attitude and a love for providing encouragement.

Students will eventually get the technical aspects of almost any skill - but beginners need encouragement even more than they need facts and technical details. Derision and tsk-tsk critiques may salve the ego of a teacher who needs that kind of reinforcement, but they do nothing for raising up students and giving them confidence.

If you're going to be a teacher and you want to make a living at it, plan to put the catty remarks and critiques away. Cultivate a positive attitude.

If a student comes away from your class with a less than perfect finished project but she likes it and she has lots of enthusiasm and courage to try it again, you have a convert.

If you have snippy-sniped your superior attitude at them, they may finish a class with perfect 1/4" seams and a very nice quilt that they absolutely hate. They may have also developed an intense dislike of anything quilt-related.

nancy59

My first class had an instructor that would shut us down early so she could get home and watch ER (remember that show) She didn't deter me, I just tried other classes and found out some instructors are great and some are not! Tell your SIL not to give up.

sandybuttons

I had a great teacher for my first class, made me feel it was okay to make mistakes,

Cagey

I took a techniques class a couple of years ago and the first thing the instructor asked was if anyone was left handed.
All her instruction were for right handers and when I did something with my left hand she tried to change it to right handed. Needless to say I stopped going to class and and have learned more from this QB. I still quilt left handed and still enjoy it.

SuzieQuilts

Sound like your sister needs to find another teacher. I am a teacher by trade. I would never talk to my students in my classroon like that. I would be fired! I have taught a few beginner level quilt classes, and make it a point to encourage, not discourage. If they are not encouraging, then you must do it, and it sounds like you are. There is nothing worse then feeling bad about your sewing.

Dolphyngyrl

Too bad. I have had excellent teachers and classes, real friendly and helpful. I would try another class elsewhere, maybe hit up some other quilters in your area that can recommend a good patient teacher. I think patience is something that is really necessary in teaching, which is why I didn't go into that field. I have absolutely no patience, while I would like to teach quilting to someone, I really don't know if I would have the patience for it.

jaciqltznok

I taught my daughter like this. She just wanted to sew and did not think that 1/4" seam was important. So I let her try to make one block HER way...after that..she ripped, and ripped and ripped...and NOW...she can make a perfect 1/4" seam in her sleep. I was really proud of her when she phoned one day just to say THANK YOU...because of that perfection on seams, she was able to quickly strip piece a rail fence baby quilt for a friend with NO pattern. She still has her first seam ripper and says she rarely uses it, because she knows her machine and it's 1/4" seam line!

Sometimes...striving for perfect is NOT a bad thing! And if you don't learn that seam early on..while doing the simple seams, then trying to figure out what went wrong on your more complicated blocks later will only be more frustrating!

I teach beginners on paper first..then fabric...and only straight bar blocks..till they get that seam down pretty close to perfect. It really does matter!
I tried teaching a class you all said...all nicey, nice, nothing is wrong, do it as you can..and I got royally pinned to the wall by two ladies who were seriously upset that their projects did NOT meet their standards. SO..no more playing nice. You want to learn a skill with a machine..be it a sewing machine or bandsaw then learn to do it right the first time...even if it means undoing it...at least in sewing you get that 2nd, 3rd of 10th try to get it right..in welding, pottery, woodworking,, you don't get those chances! AND if you are paying to learn this craft, why wouldn't you want to learn to do the BEST?

Sheila_H

Wow that's horrible for them to do they would have thrown me out the door then if they saw my first blocks and quilt. I would get so frustrated because it wasn't coming out as nicely as other's. My teacher was fantastic she told me that it was fine no one would know the difference besides it was my first quilt. When I have to learn something new I have a hard time just reading the instructions I prefer to have someone walk me through it the first time and then I'm fine. I'm more a hands on learner. I certainly wouldn't have fit in their class structure, I take classes on different things once a month because of the great teacher's we have. Now instead of feeling nervous going into class I'm a little bit more confident.

However I took a tote class this past month that one it was too many people, and the instructor was not on her game. So she was always scattered all over the room they only blocked off 2 hours it wasn't enough time, one person completed the class. The rest of us went home with a half completed project she said "oh the rest of the assembly is easy just follow the directions" and gave us her phone number. I've called twice no call back, so I will wait until the end of the month when we have a problem 101 session. That is for anyone to come in that is stuck on a pattern or block and they help you get it finished. Did not leave good marks for that instructor.

Candace

I completely agree! Those that are saying get a new teacher....sorry, but I would want to learn correctly, not sloppily. The teacher doesn't want perfection, she wants her students to be happy with the finished product.