Very nice videos, Barbara, I've put that into my Favorites to send to new quilters.

Pat in Rockport, TX

Can I be cheeky Barbara and ask you what the fabric requirements for your star quilt are? I'd like to have a go, I've got the perfect fabric selection, you know how it is when something new catches your imagination! Thanks!

Hey Barbara, those are brilliant videos, and the block is quite easy once it's broken down into its component parts. I'm inspired to have a go myself, it's a very effective quilt! Thanks so much for sharing.

BTW, I just thought of something else. In July I was video-taped for the website http://www.monkeysee.com The title is "How to Quilt". While I thought it was a little hokey, my Fall students said they watched it several times at home and it helped them master or remember the skills taught in class.

My joke is I can teach anybody to make a quilt in seven 3 minute segments. And it only took 6 hours to produce! Here is the link:


http://www.monkeysee.com/play/10919-how-to-quilt

Yes, the students do a lot of the piecing at home. At the second class they make their first block, then they are to come back to the 3rd class with a total of 6 blocks done. At class 3 I introduce the 3 other units and they return to class 4 with all 12 blocks done. There are 8 students in the class and most keep up that pace. I try to put a week off between class 4 and 5 so everyone can catch up.

This is an ambitious project but when the class is done most of the students are proud of their accomplishment and ready to make their next quilt. Many of them join our large quilt guild and enjoy the friendships that come with that.

I always tell the students that if "life intervenes" and they can't make this large of a quilt, they can make a smaller wallhanging. Of all the quilts I've taught to beginners this is by far the one they all seem to learn the most from. And I'm still enjoying teaching it so I won't be makng a new quilt for 2009.

I expect my TQS BOM will garner a lot of attention and hope to teach the one that is available from Quakertown Quilts (a simpler version than ours) in 2010.

One very important thing to teach the new quilter is that rotary cutter blades do get dull, and a new blade is much cheaper than a trip to the ER. We are much more likely to cut ourselves trying to use a dull blade than we are if using a nice sharp one.

Pat in Rockport, TX

Barbara, do your students have to do quite a bit of work at home? The star quilt looks like an ambitious project to start with! I am teaching a beginner class at the moment, it's a rail fence quilt with a couple of different options on the borders, and even with this simple quilt the students have had to do some work at home. I decided to go with this design because there are lots of straight seams for them to practice getting an accurate 1/4", and the rail fence block is quite forgiving. It also gives plenty of practice on cutting accurate strips with the rotary cutter (and all the safety stuff), nestling seams, strip piecing, sandwiching the quilt and basic machine quilting, plus putting on a binding. Although we do have longarm professionals here in the UK, they are quite expensive and I want my students to finish a quilt themselves first time out. Pictures 4 and 5 on the second row in my profile show what I'm aiming for students to complete at the end of 5 weeks (5 hours each Weds). Three lessons in and we're looking good!

I really like Eileen's and Barbara's ideas. I'm pretty much a self-taught quilter. I am so glad I learned to hand piece and hand quilt. I think this has made me a much better quilter. Many of the things Barbara mentioned were things I learned over the years in guild classes or from friends. It would have been nice to learn these things in a class over several weeks. I can look at my quilts made 20-25 yrs. ago and see the improvement. If I had known how to properly measure a quilt for applying borders, for instance, all my early quilts would have better borders. That information just wasn't out there back then. I lived in Las Vegas, NV, and we were lucky to have one or two quilt shops! I learned ALOT from the older ladies in my sewing circle.

A new woman joined our quilt group today and needed some advice and assistance. First off she is left handed and was having trouble using a rotary cutter. Well her first teacher had not explained about right and left handed cutting with a rotary cutter. I helped her by first changing her blade to the other side and then showing her how to rotary cut and line up the ruler left handed. I am right handed but I understand the differences. She was amazed. Then she was looking for some easy blocks to begin with and since we are not doing a sampler quilt this year in the park, I loaned her my Fons and Porter - guilt basics book Can't remember the title but it has a brown cover and if you did all the blocks you would have a sampler quilt. Anyway we reviewed the blocks together and I gave her some hints about things to do in the beginning. I am no expert by any means but I have made 99 % of the mistakes so could steer her away from some of them. I am excited to be able to help her and through the process make a new friend. When she wins her first prize, I can say "I knew her when"

Ann

I've never taught a class, but my future DIL wanted to make a quilt for her new baby sister. We shopped for fabric and thread, then we came to my house and I walked her through it. She made a simple nine-patch with alternating plain blocks. It covered alot of basics-1/4 in seams, rotary cutting (and safety!), nesting and matching seams, pressing. She loved the process and her mom loved the baby quilt.

Sherry

As a newbie quilter myself I would love to chime in here.

I took my first quilt class less then a year ago and It was wonderful.

We recieved a beginners set of tools (cutting mat, ruler, rotary cutter, pins, etc) A pattern (turning 20) , we were taught how to read our patterns, It was a 2 day class

We were taught about fabric and thread and how to use our tools, we cut and pieced our tops, we were taught several quick piecing techniques. we all finished our classess with a finished quilt top. The shop also offered us 50% off and a bump to the front of the line to have our quilted done on the longarm there.

Within a week I had a completly finished project and for me It was the best thing, really encouraged me and I really got the satisfaction of something finished.

I would say as much as you want to put all the beginner techniques in a class don't throw so much in that you overwhelm the student. sometimes instant satisfaction goes a long long long way.

Jess

If your local quilt shop is 'hosting' or offering the class...perhaps for new quilters the shop could offer a package deal for tools. Just like on the first day of school...your student could have a rotary cutter, ruler, cutting mat, marking pencil...etc. The 'starter tools...LOL
Sometimes giving a list of supplies to a new quilter is overwhelming. Once they have the basics...they can expand on their needs.

FW

This whole discussion began because my GF wants to teach a more effective class then the one being offered now but the instructor that is moving out of state. I agree with my GF ideas because if I had learned just to make a TAKES FIVE as my first quilt I would have quit taking classes... real nice lady but I would not have learned anything from her and so would not take the classess.

I am passing on the information from here... ( acutally I think she is signing up for TQS and will be coming to the forum) I think she is planning to divide up all the classess into Session One and Two but really stressing the importance of accuracy.


It seems like alot of shops are hosting classess in way to easy techniques and not enough advance techniques... I have not decided if that is because NO ONE signs up for those types of classes or because in our area there are not enough teachers of more advance techniques.

Barbara, great information, even for those of us who aren't teachers and are self-taught!

Maggie in E. Central Illinois