Another good thing to teach is no matter how much we quilt it is always good to read and educate ourselves. I had a question at our group and three different people gave me three different answers. Not sure which was right I got out some books andstarted reading. Found a lot of interesting information that I will use from now on. And none of them were right. By reading I now have the correct way of doing it.

Would you share what was your question?

See if you find the history of the one quarter seam allowance. Who started it, when it began, and why?

I too am a beginner, thought i could learn from buying books and watching others and trail and error. Boy what errors. Finally one of the books spoke about grain and weft and selvedge. Who knew? Now am on the right track but my cutting is wonky. bought a rotary cutter because you could see each cut with my scissors. thought since i bought a sewing machine to save money on having to send out my needlepoints to be completed by someone else i might as well learn to quilt. I don't even know enough to ask what i need to know. This thread has explained more than the 5 books, pretty tho they be. And informative.

Discuss the wash the fabrics before cutting or not to wash them issue - perhaps show some washed and unwashed - discuss the why or why not to wash- - -

Discuss fabric - how it's made - terminology - selvages, grains, bias, - show/compare different types/kinds of fabrics - we are exposed to many types of fabric, but few of us know what the various types are - knits (which can vary from zero stretch to lots of stretch) - different types of weaves - denim/twill weave vs. a "regular" weave, etc.

It's a bit difficult to condense years of knowledge and learning into a few hours.

Maybe a list of books that are especially helpful - Quilts! Quilts! Quilts! is on my list - that one can refer to

A few good tools are better than a bunch of junky ones. Perhaps a reminder that "in olden times" people made lovely quilts by hand with very few of the tools/toys that we have now.

I grew up in an era where home ec was still taught in school - and the women all sewed -

Now it seems that for some people the whole thing is completely "new" - and it is necessary to learn "from the very beginning" - think of it the same way little kids learn arithmetic.

By the way, my grandkids made paper quilt "blocks" when they were in second grade. The kids did a good job.

Color is really important. I learned on my second quilt. I picked colors that went together real good, BUT, they were so bland I really don't like the quilt. I learned CONTRAST is very important too.

I absolutely agree with this little bit of information is ESSENTIAL. When I first started quilting I was using the lines on the cutting mat for measurements - what a mess!!