Looking for ideas for a quilting presentation
 

I am to make a presentation for my college class and we canmake the presentation on a hobby. There are few things I enjoy more thanquilting so I thought I would make it about quilting however now I cannot thinkof what I should present. Therefore, I have come to ask you my fellow quiltersfor some ideas if you have any. There are some things to consider

1. I will be talking to non-quilters
2. I have 7 to 9 minutes to talk
3. I will be using power point
4. I cannot use pictures I can only use clipart.

Besides the history of quilting and quilting bees, I amsimply stumped as to what to write/talk about. Does anyone else have anythoughts, ideas, or input on the subject?

Thanks for reading my post and your imput.

Debbie Feavel the handquiltin Grammy

Why can you only use clip art? That seems overly restrictive. You might want to dispel the myth that quilting is anachronistic and talk about how many peopl are involved in quilting. Also, you can touch upon the different styles such as modern quilting vs. more traditional, machine vs hand quilting... Etc. can you bring in visual aides such as samples?

I would also include the impact that quilting has on the economy. I can't remember how many billions are spent by quilters but you could look it up easily. Also, explain why people quilt instead of going to Wal-Mart to buy a blanket.

You might be able to find a quilty background for your PowerPoint slides if you search online.

Good luck!

I had to do a presentation on how technology had made an impact on a certain aspect of my life, which included a power point presentation. I did it on quilting and focused on how quilting started out so primitavely and how with modern technology it has become much more technically advanced. I focused on where pioneers got fabric and now we have shops just for fabric. Scissors vs. rotary cutters and die cut machines. Hand sewing vs. sewing machines and also long arms. Plastic templates vs die cut, etc. You get the idea. I also brought in one of my quilts to for show and tell. This presentation was to a class that besides the instructor, I was the oldest student. I was amazed at the questions that the class asked as most were 18-30 yo and had no one that they knew that quilted.

I still have a copy of my slides (although we were able to use pictures). I can't locate my written report though. If you would like to see what I did, PM me and I will send you a copy of mine for information purposes.

ETA: I found the written portion as well!!!

Geesh, talking about quilting without pictures is almost as bad as talking about recipes without pictures....how can you?!

Good luck! I hope you do well and surprise everyone with the topic.:)

Jan in VA

I'm going to bookmark this as I'm really interested in what you wind up doing. Wish I could say something helpful but everything I think of starts "she could use a picture of.....". I hope some good suggestions come in and wish you the best of luck with your report.

I know just what you mean Jan. I feel the same way. But I don't know what else to talk about. I have found a bit of clipart that I can use hopefully that helps to aid visually. And I do have a quilt I can take in plus one that is partway done. Maybe that will help.

I am not sure why we can't use pictures. I think she is trying to stretch our minds and make us use words and PowerPoint as the tool to help us remember our words, you know use PowerPoint the way you would use note cards. It is very difficult for me. This is my first year back at school in probably 25 years and I am not that good with words unless it is on a topic that I love so when we were told it was an open presentation the only thing I could think of doing it on was quilting. Then she said we could not use photographs and my heart sunk. But I think I would have as hard of a time writing this if it were on a different subject.

Thank you for your ideas. I do appreciate them.

How about the friendships you make while quiting, the help quilters give to others and the importance of community?

There has been some study that shows that quilters have less probabilities of having alzhaimers due to the use of their brains when using math, angles and so on. I think it is an interesting point of this craft.

Creativity is an important part of a persons life too. And quilting is a good way to learn color, math, it is social, it is a good way to make a living. You might make a living teaching all aspects of it. It is used as an excellent way to help hospital patients, nursing home patients etc. etc.

I don't know if you have access to any digital versions of quilt magazines or if you have print versions ask your instructor if you can take a picture of the line drawings which is clip art. Copy and paste it into word or paint, crop any extra space then copy and paste it into your PowerPoint slide. There should be drawings on some websites that offer free patterns you could copy and paste also. Make sure you only do this with free patterns and you need to cite the website either on the respective slide or on a works cited slide at the end. One more suggestion don't try to cover many different topics of quilting. These are nonquilters so tons of unfamiliar info will make them glassy eyed. Keep your topic narrow and related enough to keep them engaged. Good luck you'll do great I'm sure!

One more point- most cultures have some type of quilting or similar textile arts-it is a "tie that binds us together".

Be sure to carry your papers for your talk in a quilted bag you made, and maybe have a quilted pillow to sit on.......get your visuals in anyway you can!

Quilting presentation
 

Do a demo of how a block is made, from the cutting with the rotary cutter to the quilting. The power point requirement could be be briefest of the steps involved. If you don't have to use clipart, skip it. To save time you could do the demo
in steps that are mostly predone like is done on the TV presentations. Have the finished product to show. Do the whole thing like you were talking to a nonquilter friend.

Such great ideas, be sure to mention the cyber quilting community.

Suggestion -- in your presentation, answer these questions:
3 minutes: what is a quilt?
3 minutes: what is the basic process for making a quilt?
a) pattern selection
a) fabric selection / color combinations (warm vs cool colors, perhaps)
b) fabric preparation / cutting out the pieces / sewing them together in to create a pattern
3 minutes: why do you make quilts?
3 minutes: how does making a quilt benefit you?
a) satisfies personal desire to create
b) provides personal satisfaction of a job well done
c) challenges you mentally throughout the entire process from considering a pattern to completed project.
d) encourages you to start the process all over again

This is such a huge topic that could lead you "into the weeds", it's a good idea to start with the narrow scope (questions) as a guide and then expand if you have time.

Perhaps you will pique someone's interest...and you have another quilting buddy. Enjoy the process and you will do just fine!!

Just an idea. Cover the table you use for the power point with a quilt so the students can at least see one.

I appreciate everyones imput on this. I am excited to write this paper now. I just got the video why quilts matter. I think I should be able to put it all together but I don't know that I would have been able to without all the help I got from all of you. You have been great. My cyber family is great and greatly appreciated.

Do something funny about how people react when they receive a quilt. To drive your point after your presentation award one of your audience with a finished quilt block or mini quilt. Reactions of our furry kids when they are around a quilt. Or a beautiful quilt intendeed for a human given to the dog by the reciepent.

go to http://www.quilts.com/home/index.php and read the study. It will give good information about the economy of quilting.

Good luck on your presentation! I belong to Toastmasters at my company, and when I made one speech about my other hobby (mosaics), I actually couldn't keep it to the time limit! I even had an entire 'nuther 7 minutes speech on JUST adhesives! Have fun!

dont forget to mention the charity quilts that bring so much joy to the recipients. quilts are emotional to both the maker and the receiver.

What abput talking about putting a Quilting LAbel on the back which can include your name, city, year and can also include the recipents name and teh name of the pattern and pattern author. This is where we find out how old some quilts are--if they have a lable on the back.

Lots of good ideas here. Could you wear a quilted jacket or vest? It is seriously hard to do justice to the subject without pictures. Maybe you could give a handout with websites for those who wanted to look up more info.
Oh I just found this:
http://www.straw.com/quilting/articles/clipart.html

they didn't say anything about visual aids, like showing a quilt you have made. you could bring it and talk about it and the process you followed from start to finish, like choosing the pattern, for what reason you made it, choosing colors ... all the way to the binding (and hanging for shows). enjoy the process.

I did a presentation a few years ago on the history of Sunbonnet Sue for our local guild. My research led me to a book talking about women's history and art in the expression of the times - most interesting if not controversial. Quilting is/was an expression of a woman's life. Just a thought.............................

I love all the ideas - mine are more to the presentation itself. I found myself in your boat back when. I learned I had to practice my remarks until they were all second nature, trying hard to leave out the "ums". Also, when I looked at my power point I found myself reading the slides! Bad habit, the audience could read. So, maybe just bullet points that you put up and then face the audience and expand on them? The more you practice it out loud, the better it will become. The other thing I found that helped me was to encourage questions anywhere along the presentation, if your instructor will allow. Somehow that opened new avenues to talk about, without resorting to reading the slides. And it engages people. Good luck and let us know how great it turned out!!!