Hands-on for 154? Yikes!

Tomorrow is a big day! My Stitching Sister, Marie Zinno, and I will teach 154 embroiderers at Jackman’s Fabrics in St. Louis, Missouri. This will be the largest hands-on sewing class we’ve attempted. To get ready for the big event, we warmed up by teaching 85 embroiderers in Fairview Heights, Jackman’s Illinois location this week. What a wonderful store, fabulous customers and staff. We did 10 projects in two days, every one flawless! Many of the attendees exclaimed, “When are you coming back to Jackman’s? I want to do this again!”

So what’s it’s like to get ready for 154 embroiderers? Well, it’s planning, shopping, cutting, and counting. Counting? Yep. Counting sheets of stabilizer, ribbons, silk flowers, flannel, batting, Magna-Quilters, Magna-Hoops, scissors, glue sticks, magnets, Angle Finders, hoop stands, etc. The list goes on and on but the counting is key. Our goal is to have every embroiderer succeed in our classroom. And I know from experience, if she doesn’t have the right tools, she will struggle. So we count and recount until we’re sure we have enough tools and supplies.

We are looking forward to teaching this group new techniques, shortcuts and tips that will enhance their embroidery experience. Marie and I are passionate about machine embroidery and love sharing our knowledge. And we learn so much from the students. They bring (and wear) gorgeous embroidery to show, to tell and to share. They make new friends who also love to embroider, they laugh with one another and they laugh with us. It’s a fun two days, join us some time. Click here to see our schedule for 2010.