What would you take?
 

My guild is having its annual education day and members sign up for a class of their choice. It's a really fun day because we learn something new, catch up with friends during lunch, and the cost is minimal. I am in charge of selecting classes, so I'm researching what to offer the members. Ideas for classes, please.

How to use your 60 degree ruler and blocks that can be made with it, how to do the layer cake stars (MQC), microwave bowl holders, how to resize a block, binding (machine, 2 color, by hand), a pinwheel made with 2 1/2" strips (eleanore burns), how to do a scalloped border, making prairie points (2 different type) are some of the classes we have done through my guild. If you want more suggestions, please let me know and I will provide more.
Brenda

Do you have any idea of the needs of your guild? Are they mostly experienced quilters or a mix of newbies and experienced. Can you guage what might interest them from past show and tells?

I think how to paper piece would be good for beginners
Advanced you could offer how to do a mariners compass using either traditional or freezer paper piecing

Do you have a really good longarmer or quilter in your guild? Or can you bring in an outside teacher? Maybe a seminar on "how the heck do I quilt this" with participants bringing in flimsies the teacher could use as demo.

How to properly measure for borders

Tricks for getting points to match, such as elmers school glue or basting at the intersections and checking before stitching the whole line, double pinning (which is what I do) etc.

how about a couple different quilt as you go methods?

How long are the classes? 1hr? 2hr? 4hr? Do you want 'hands on'? Or is it seminar (talk) style?

Sounds like fun.. Id be the first to sign up whatever it was.. !!

One of my guilds has "quilt college" every other year. It's two days of classes, all kinds of topics. One of my favorites last year was dying fabric. Someone taught a class on making quilted jackets (wish I had taken that one too). Binding is a favorite topic for classes. Almost anything someone is willing to teach...

Some popular trends are Anita's Arrowhead, Twister, rope bowls, disappearing 9 patch, and Bonnie Hunter's Scrappy Trips Around the World. How about Featherweight cleaning? Using machine feet and attachments? The Disappearing 9P
can also be used to make I Spy blocks that are automatically sashed for quilting when the 9P is made with the novelty blocks in a certain orientation. I have it bookmarked somewhere if it's needed.

I would suggest a class on Bobbin work.

The classes last the day--10-3 pm

I like all your suggestions and think they will make for a great education day. Our local LQS is a sewing machine dealer and they teach most of these classes and she is a member of the guild. How do you justify having these classes when she is teaching them or has taught them at her store? Isn't that a conflict of interest? All her teachers are members and it would be like taking money out of their pockets.......just wondering how you all feel about this situation?

Include the dealer in the planning stages. Tell her you wanted to check with HER first because you know she offers these classes at the shop and you didn't want to cause a conflict. I am sure she will be most appreciative of it. Maybe she can forfeit a couple of classes. Or it could be not all people who take her classes at the shop are members of the guild. So she will still make money from non members who will pay full price for the class at her shop, while members can benefit from her instruction on your guilds learning day. If she agrees make sure it is announced at the classes that her generosity made the class available so that way she gets a plug and members may be inclined to "thank" her by giving her some business.

We did this at our guild. One presentation was "Perfect Bindings", another was "preparing your quilt top for Longarming", one other was "Perfect Borders".

What I wish every one here could do-----------------
translate any straight cut (as in NO curves) pattern onto graph paper to make any block or any pattern the size you want. (and as a companion class-----------color selection!)

I'm math minded and it seems so simple to me, but I realize many folks can't even imagine doing that.

LOL, I'd have to pass--------------I don't care about perfect. Functional is the best I can do!

I would second pp'ing and binding. I think those are 2 things specifically that are (or at least were for me) best demo'd/taught hands on.

i think that whatever you decide to do regarding a hands-on eperience, i would want a finished project at the end. teach me the technique then use that and others to finish the item. i think USING the technique would help to remember it.

I loved the New York Beauty class my guild offered. I think that is a block that scares a lot of people, but it's so easy. I'd take a class on needle turn applique in a heart beat.

These were my ideas too. So, what she said!

Keep in mind that if you use a commercial pattern (even if it's from a book), each participant must buy a copy, or your event will be in violation of copyright law! I would stick to techniques and not teach from a specific pattern.

What about how to tie a quilt? That method seems to be enjoying a resurgence.

Applique.. hand & machine.

Our guild does something similar. The person in charge ususally asks those that have shown somehing that others really liked. It also depends on what is popular in your area. Some members volunteer to teach a class. We have a large guild. We charge $10 for a half day class. All the money goes to the guild. We just had our 2 day event. The guild made about $1200.

I would take the bobbin work class and how about FM embroidery

What she said : )

I wish I could come! All the above sound like they would be good classes.

LOL, a 10 minute class! That wouldn't be bad, but I never though about anyone being "taught" how to tie.

What is the format for the day? Half hour class & move onto the next one? Or in the same class all day? Do they pay anything for the class? Does the guild have other classes throughout the year? Is then the only education day for the whole year?

What facilities are you using? Is water available?

What is the makeup of the guild members? Beginners? Traditional or art quilters?

Wouldn't teach anything the LQS is teaching.

Survey the guild membership for their interests.

Can the guild afford to pay for an outside teacher? Or is this all done by guild members?

Looking after your sewing machine and other notions, rotary blades etc.the history behind the needle and how the machine works.
Kaleidoscope quilt block.
Hunters star.

I'd go for a class on use/choice of colour.

How about a class on doing maintenance on our sewing machines. Not computer machines but basic maintenance jobs that we could perform ourselves. Maybe you could get a technician to donate a few hours of their time to help the cause. Just a thought.

paper piecing and applique are always welcome classes too

I am not math-minded and I have to stretch my brain to do this, BUT I am great at spelling. Haha, we all have our useful gifts!

A paper piecing class/ demo. I use freezer paper instead of a tear away paper and find it to be much easier and less time involved, since you don't need to remove the paper. Maybe you could find someone to demo this procedure. Bobbin work or using different embroidery threads or textured threads in your machine. Couching threads- how to and demo. Adding piping or skinny flanges to your binding. Do a hands-on with fabric paints, Paintstiks, fabric markers. My Guild did a hands-on with rust dyeing. I missed that meeting, so I'm not sure how it all worked out, but do know that people went home with wet fabric, they had to rinse out at home the next day. My Guild has lots of long armers in it, maybe yours does too. Perhaps some of them would be able to share some ideas of how they decide what designs get quilted in different portions of a quilt. Binding, borders.

Thought of a couple more: using washable glue for bindings = no pins! Enlarging or reducing blocks, adding pieced borders, a basic color class.

How about how to put on a sleeve on the back of a quilt for those that hang them.

Modern quilting is the next big thing! I love it and it really appeals to young quilters. Just like churches the quilting world needs young blood.