Teaching Beginners

The other morning while I was at my sewing machine a flock of turkeys came across my front lawn, right in front of my window. The cat popped her head up out of a basket with a purple quilt in it, looked around and went back to sleep. I chased after them and got a pic on the neighbors lawn. They come down from the oak hillsides in the fall, looking for water, birdbaths, kiddie pools, or the creek on the other side of a busy highway. They don't usually come into my yard, because I have a 2-4 foot river rock wall, but they can fly. I saw the other cat stalking them for a moment, but then she ran passed them, just too darn big for her.

My friend Bonny has recently retired, and is looking for something to do, so I gave a beginning quilting class. She wants to make a quilt for the veterans, as she is a air force vet herself. She hasn't gotten a sewing machine yet, so I set her up with one of mine. Susan of the discharge birthday party, came along too. She has only made quilts by hand, the old fashioned way.

After a little lecture on the basics, and safety with a rotary cutter, they cut out some patriotic fabric that I had. Beginning patchwork "Hole in the Barn Door" was quickly and easily sewn, and they were both so proud of their finished blocks. I love the moment when a student gets addicted to quilting!

I taught beginning sampler classes for years when I used to work for Joann's Fabrics. But as I became addicted to art quilting, teaching beginning classes lost it's appeal for me. No one in our smallish town wanted to pay money for advanced quilting and art quilting subjects. I almost wish we were closer to Eugene, Oregon. It's at least an hour drive North, and has a more varied quilting community, with more opportunities. But I do love our textile art group Fyber Cafe, that I am a member of. I sent them each home with a little bit of fabric for homework, to make a few more blocks. A friend gave Bonny an old "Jaguar" sewing machine. Has anyone ever heard of that brand before? So now I am back to my UFO's, I've got a few more tops finished, as soon as I can get my husband to hold them up for the camera, I'll post them.

I am linking this to Nina-Marie's "Off the Wall Friday" click on the badge in the right hand column, to see what other talented textile artists are doing.