designing a class

I have previously mentioned here my plan to teach an “unusual and difficult stitches” class at Beating Around the Bush in 2012. I thought you might be interested in reading about my thought processes for this class.

Most of my classes that I already teach are just a variation on a theme. For Mountmellick, I teach the stitches and we work a project. From class to class, the project changes, and maybe a couple of stitches are varied, but its usually basically the same class. For Hardanger and Merezhka I teach the stitches on the project we are working. The Hardanger and Merezhka projects may vary, but much of the information taught from class to class remains the same.

As I have taught such classes many times, while I may need to design a new project for a new class, and then write up the instructions, there’s not a whole heap of preparation other than that. But this new class is quite different, and as its not one that I have taught before, I need to nut out how its going to work, and do a lot of preparation and planning.

For starters, I need to come up with the list of stitches that we are going to use. The class is going to be over two days, a total of about 12 hours (I’m not sure of the exact length, but its probably about that). I have to consider how many difficult and unusual (not necessarily difficult in that case) stitches I can teach in that amount of time, with enough time to reasonably master them and feel confident about working them, but without information overload!

I have also been trying to figure out how I will present the class – will it be a project based class, will it be a sampler class, or will it be a combination of both?

I think that really if it is presented as a project class, people will focus on the project too much. The point is the stitches that we are going to learn. But if I present it as a sampler class, then how am I going to attract people to the class if the class model that is in the brochure is just a boring sampler of stitches?

Well, the answer to that is that it has to be an inspiring sampler of stitches!

When I think of non-counted-thread samplers, I think of boring looking lines of different stitches. Completely uninspiring! So yesterday I put a notice up on the blog asking if anyone could direct me to any pictures of contemporary non-counted-thread samplers.

Elizabeth gave me some excellent links, pointing to:
http://39squares.blogspot.com
http://countedblessingsproject.blogspot.com

These really got my brain ticking over. Suddenly I wasn’t thinking boring lines of stitches any more. It could be a grid, with each section of the grid being for a different stitch. Sure, those grid sections could have lines of stitches in them, but the grid would give the whole sampler structure.

And then my husband suggested two concentric circles, divided into sections. Rather like you might see on a colour wheel. There’s a great example of the type of thing I mean here.

So this has got my brain whirring. As soon as I get the chance, I’ll be getting out some fabric and thread, and working with the two ideas (a grid of squares, and sectioned up concentric circles) to see which I like better, and to see if I can come up with any further ideas.