I took a quilt class once where the teacher put a white pearl eraser on the supply list. It couldn't be one of the standard pink erasers, it HAD to be white. Halfway thru the class I asked why specifically the white, was it better for some reason? She said no, she just likes the white better. Fortunately erasers are only a buck or two, but still.

I took a class a few years back at the Houston show with my friend Cindi. The only empty seats were at the back of the class. The woman in front of us kept chatting with her neighbor while the teacher was giving instructions, it was maddening. We tried subtle clues at first but finally Cindi asked her to either pipe down or move. Nicely, of course. I would have said it just like that. 😆

When a person I never met before sitting close to me asking may I borrow your scissors (whatever tool)? I always have to ask for them back because I need them! I say I have a pair you can borrow. I hand her a pair of really dull scissors. After many classes I kept a bag of dull basic tools. That has saved me a lot of frustration. If she does say anything about them I say Oh, they work fine for me last time I used them and continue on sewing. She'll go bug someone else to borrow.

My biggest frustration as a teacher, was one student constantly making the same mistake even though, one on one with samples, we went over the problem after her first attempt. Was I talking a foreign language? Were my written and verbal instructions not clear enough? I felt she had wasted her money because her attempts could not be used and I also felt like she had wasted my time because she could not--or would not--follow the instructions. (BTW the instructions were VERY simple--finger press the seam and trim leaving a generous 1/2 inch length of fabric. This was for tumbling string blocks that would be trimmed to a specific size later.)

I have only taken a few classes. I arrived 30 minutes late to the first one because of mix-up of start time. The instructor avoided helping me all day. Bummer. I already felt lost being late.
I taught elementary math for 26 years. Tons of preparation daily! I miss it! I was a fun and games kind of teacher in low income areas near Texas/Mexico border.
There is a cycle to a lesson. Not all instructors follow one. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you can be clear when explaining your method.

This is so true! I've never wanted to teach because I feel I'm one of those people who can do things, but I'm not good at teaching others how to do it.

Unless impossible I try to get to the location of the class at least one hour early. Always ask what time is set up time. Usually it not the time the class starts. I have my choice of where to sit, get everything set up how I like it, get a feel for the classroom and usually have a nice chat with the instructor or other early birds.

Onebyone, yes! that is a courtesy to the teacher and to the rest of the class. Plus, it gives one time to make sure that all the necessary items on the list have been included. I once forgot the electrical cord for my machine. Because I was early, I actually had time to call the DH and get him to deliver it to me before the class began.

Many good points and suggestions have been made. Most boil down to being respectful of the instructor and others in the class.

I once took a class from an internationally known teacher. The first issue was that the facility had us all sitting at round tables, 3 to a table. By the time we set up our sewing machines, we had very little space left for organizing or cutting, which was required throughout the day. The worst, though, was that one of the people at my table had NEVER used a cutting mat or rotary cutter. She needed help every single step of the way. After being shown repeatedly, by the instructor and tablemates, the instructor finally told her that she would do what she could to keep her moving forward, but that the class time was limited and there were steps that all class members needed to get to.

All of this has been invaluable, thanks.

I am going to be teaching my first classes this year. The first is going to be a class for people who think that they MAY want to take up quilting. Just me introducing the basics of quilting in general terms. It will be a four hour class.

The second will be a Learn to Quilt class based on HST's and will truly start from scratch. The only requirement is that you know how to use your sewing machine to stitch a straight line. This will be 5 4 hour classes with lots of homework and they will end up (hopefully!) with a finished baby quilt or wallhanging.

I'm really looking forward to it.

Watson

[QUOTE=Watson;8656308]All of this has been invaluable, thanks.

I am going to be teaching my first classes this year. The first is going to be a class for people who think that they MAY want to take up quilting. Just me introducing the basics of quilting in general terms. It will be a four hour class.

The second will be a Learn to Quilt class based on HST's and will truly start from scratch. The only requirement is that you know how to use your sewing machine to stitch a straight line. This will be 5 4 hour classes with lots of homework and they will end up (hopefully!) with a finished baby quilt or wallhanging.

I'm really looking forward to it.

Watson[/QUO

The first quilting class I took was for hand piecing - rotary cutters were just starting to be used -

I am glad I started there - the "old-fashioned" way - requirements were: fabric, scissors, template plastic, needle, thread, and pins, pencil or pen to mark templates - we copied the instructors templates. I don't remember if we traced over them or around most of them. I do remember that my hexagon block turned out too big because I traced around the master template. So by the time the piece was "increased" twice - my block was too large. Learned something there!
It was a 12 block sampler quilt.

Might consider using Jinny Beyer's hand piecing book as a reference.
We did not get to layering.

I learned a lot - plus the equipment expense was minimal.


Sorry, Ms. Instructor. I do not remember your name, except for my grandmother's flower garden block turning out too big, the class was excellent.

I sometimes think in order to be a quilter, I should have a machine with a very large throat, a long-arm, a huge cutting table, with a mat to cover it (which I did have for a while - miss it terribly), the best iron available, decent ironing board (they don't seem to get mentioned much in the equipment lists), plus every tool notion mentioned in the swing/quilting books. Forgot the die-cutter!