A Day At The Quilt Shop

Saturday, I taught a hand quilting class at Acorn Quilts. As you can see, I could not gather my supplies without Sassy thinking I had made her a new bed! I am a self taught quilter and have never taught a class before! I was given some "coaching" by Jan Ragaller, who works at Acorn and is a pretty noted quilt designer/quilt tester in many national quilt magazines. Some of her quilts have made the cover....I know! How famous is that??? Her color skills are incredible. I highly respect this lady. She use to teach a hand quilting class, years ago, and so she took some time and gave me her tips. They were invaluable! Still, I figured if I took gifties (homemade needle books and some different needles) and a box of donuts, they would be happy and fed, which would make for a nice start!!!The class went off without a hitch. There were 7 including my friend Coleen, so it was nice to have a familiar face there. I took sample quilts done by 4 different quilters, including myself, and that was the best thing I could have done. I came up with that idea just as I was gathering my supplies! It gave the ladies a chance to see that not all quilting should look like one example. Everyone looks at stitch length and that is really not where the focus should be....it is in the evenness of the stitches. It helped them to relax and not reach for perfection, or for the idea of the stitch made by one other person. Some had no trouble learning to make that necessary hill, and others struggled a bit and all of a sudden you would hear, "I got it!!!" All in all, it was so satisfying. It helped that every one of them were so sweet and kind. Here are Barb, Luella, and Joanne. Luella has made several quilts and wanted a refresher. Joanne had never made a hand quilting stitch before. She was doing GREAT by the time class was over.Barb who is holding up her hoop, already knew how to hand quilt, but she always used a spoon underneath. She wanted to learn to hand quilt without the spoon. She was doing it on her own after only watching me demonstrate a hand quilting stitch for a minute!Another sweet lady was a knitter since the age of 4, and struggled a bit, but was well on her way to the perfection she felt she needed.....I told her she had to let go of that. ;) Of course, there was the youngest of the group....she had to be early 30's. When we went around introducing ourselves and telling about any of our quilting abilities, she said, "I play softball and volleyball, and that is the extent of my quilting abilities." What a charachter...I loved her. By the time she left, she was a "quilter" who played softball and volleyball!

Yet, another, older, lady, Mary, came in last and was quite stoic and not a chatterbox AT ALL. She had hand quilted some, but could never get her stitches to go through to the back....this is a pretty important detail. She had taken a hand quilting class in the past at another place and still could not get it down. I worked with her and she had it in 10 minutes time. Her face beamed and she began to visit and was so enjoyable! That night, my phone rang and it was Mary. She wanted to say thank you to me. She told me she needed to let me know how grateful she was that I taught my class in such a way that uncomplicated the whole process for her. She said she had always wanted to hand quilt and had just given up after the first class she took. She said things were complicated for her to the point that she felt she could not do it. Also, she was told she needed a minimum of so many stitches per inch and that was that. I actually told everyone the opposite....oops. Well, it is what I believe. Even is more important than size. Mary had went home and had her little sample well underway. That phone call was such a blessing!!!

The 3 hours flew by and everyone went home happy....which was my ultimate goal. Jan said all the ladies gave very positive feedback. I had nightmares of unsatisfied ladies who would throw their brand new hand quilting supplies in the trash after my class!!!

I also got a nice check! I had fabric purchases I saved for just this day. With the 20% discount I got that day for teaching the class, and the paycheck in my purse, I was able to make them (plus put half of the money in the bank!). I needed a fabric for the final border on the Underground Railroad Sampler. I decided I want it bigger, queen size to be exact.....Jan, who is fabulous with color helped me pick this one. I LOVE IT! I got enough for the border and binding.Sorry....Sassy jumped up there and took a snooze before I could snap the picture. You get the idea. It is a perfect fit!

I also got fabric for the back of the Hidden Star. I already had the batting, so now I can get this in the hoop. Christmas gifts being made in the summer....how perfect is that?!And finally, some fun fabrics. I saw this focus fabric and fell in love. It has a folk arty feel to it. A few fat quarters to accent it, and it becomes eye candy!I have a plan.....Shhhhhhh.

My Saturday was spent sharing something I love, with people who were incredible to be around. How does it get any better???

Well it does....I also had the grandkids this weekend and will see them again today. I will come back with pictures, I promise!

Have a Blessed Lord's Day!

Blessings, Bren