September 3, 2009 **UPDATE!**
All three classes are approved!
Sometimes I can have an idea, put it to fabric and YIPPYSKIPPY, first try, it comes out just as I imagined it should be. Those projects are what you usually see here on the blog.
Class projects are another thing. Developing classes is like giving birth. They take months to grow and develop. First I mull the idea over in my head. Then I put the idea to paper in the form of drawings. THEN...I stitch. I make samples. I stitch on doodle cloths. I try various colors. I try different brands of thread. I use different weights of thread. I try different fabrics for each project until the right one hits me. And then I finally whittle the idea down into a project to be taught in 3 or 6 hours. Bear in mind, the whole thing doesn't need to be completed in the alotted time, just the lessons shared. Having taught smocking and embroidery for years, I understand the process. Yet, coming up with new, interesting twists on age old techniques is a challenge.
However, I feel like my Fantastic Fibers, Fun Stitches classes have focused my lessons just where I want them to be. I try to encourage stitchers of all techniques to branch out of their normal. By giving a class using a new fiber or stitch or using them in a different way, I hope to broaden my student's repertoire.
I have submitted three classes to SAGA Smocking Arts Guild of America
for approval toward Artisan Points. I will keep my fingers crossed they get approved!
Keep smocking, Friends!
maggieb!
