Quilt Class

Went to the quilt class today......this was my first and will be my last class there. There were only 2 of us and another lady working on something else. There were 2 instructors and one of them was really hateful and nasty. We didn't even get a whole block made....there are 2 different blocks in the quilt and got a part of each finished.....maybe if she would have quit taking personal calls on her cell phone...we could have made at least 1 block. It was a total waste of time and money. I drove for 1 1/2 hours to get there and the other lady drove for an hour. I told DH that I will buy lessons from Craftsy and watch MSQC videos to learn

I have an Olfa rotary cutter...she hated mine. She hated my ruler. She just constantly made snide, rude comments to us. The supplies list said to bring a sack lunch, well she told us we couldn't stop to eat. So we took that class without any kind of break, I just wanted to get finished and get the hell out of there.

The folks that work in the quilt shop (Mennonite) are really nice. The teachers are not Amish/Mennonite.

Well I think I've vented enough. Going to get something to eat.

Sorry that the class sucked. Sure the nastiness was due to the low attendance, part of their pay comes from the number of bodies in attendance. Not very professional to take it out on the ones there. I've never taken any classes, I'm anti-social after all the years of working with clients and upper management! lol I like Craftsy and Jenny...I can turn the sound off and just watch.......

I am so sorry to hear you had such a rough time.....most of my learning has come from Jenny and the tutorials on the Web although I have learned a lot from my First Friday quilter's group...nice ladies!

Omg I'm so sorry you wasted your money & time on that! I would certainlt let the shop owner in on it....or was it the owner? You have more patience than me, I certainly would have told her (nasty one) off and left. I haven't taken a class like that yet and I was planning to, but I'm not so sure now. I think craftsey is a good idea. No way I could that long without a break anyway so being on my own is best. Again so sorry.

No excuse for an instructor to behave this way. I don't care what the enrollment is like. If she didn't want to teach only two she could have rescheduled. I would let the LQS know you are EXTREMELY disappointed.

Next time come west and I'll meet you at M* and you can pick Jenny's brain . . .

What a shame! They want customers and yet they treat them like dirt? I don't get that! I am so sorry you had such a terrible experience.

You've taught me a lesson when I start to give quilt lessons--don't criticize the people's choice of supplies, don't talk on the phone, get done what needs to get done, and hope people will return. No wonder there were only 2 in the class. As for the comment that the low attendance made the teachers behave like crabs (I was going to use the 5 letter word starting with b here), how are they going to build attendance if they act like that? And if I only had two in my class, I would give them my UNDIVIDED attention, regardless of what I got paid.

Join my quilt class in St.Charles MO, in Sept! Wish we could get together and have a real face to face quilting bee!

I did use the 5 letter word and another "bad, bad" word when telling DH about her.

I guess in a previous class one of the students told her to shut up because she was getting on her nerves LOL.

The other instructor said that the class I took is usually full.....well.....there could be a very good reason it wasn't. I was actually considering the "finishing class" next week-end, but have since changed my mind. In the finishing class they teach you to layer, FMQ and bind. I have purchased a Craftsy class and will work at my own pace and learn it.

She doesn't own the shop or even work there...she gets paid to teach classes. I should have received pay for keeping my mouth shut and putting up with her BS.

I told DH that I hope they send out a survey LOL

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Originally Posted by Jean Sewing Machine

Join my quilt class in St.Charles MO, in Sept! Wish we could get together and have a real face to face quilting bee!

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I would but that's a bit of a drive for me :)

Oh boy. How disappointing. :( I would definitely let the quilt shop owners know how you feel. She's not going to get a larger class with that sort of attitude.

Ginny B

I am so sorry this happened to you . . . why in the world was the woman even teaching a class in the first place if she is going to be so negative about the whole thing?? Crazy! :(

Hugs,

I'm so sorry -- I'm sure you were so excited about the class. I had a bad experience with the first class I took -- only 2 in the class (which was advertised as a beginner's class) and the other person had quilted before and I hadn't so guess who the instructor spent all her time with? I didn't get very far on that project and almost quit quilting because of it and then found a great LQS, got to know the owner and the ladies who work there and they are the instructors for the classes. Each person who will be teaching a class in the upcoming months makes a sample so you can see what will be done in that class project and they are available for questions before the class and after the class is over. I'm sure glad I didn't give up -- when you want to sign up for a class in the future see if you can speak with the instructor before signing up for the class -- that will give you an idea of whether or not the person will lead a good class. My LQS will happily teach even one person for a class -- I was the only person taking a turning twenty class and the instructor and I really got to know each other by the end of the afternoon.

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Originally Posted by Jean Sewing Machine

As for the comment that the low attendance made the teachers behave like crabs (I was going to use the 5 letter word starting with b here), how are they going to build attendance if they act like that? And if I only had two in my class, I would give them my UNDIVIDED attention, regardless of what I got paid.

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Sadly women don't hide their emotions very well. :o Especially when it hits their pocket book and then the *itchness...oh my. Listen to women at craft fairs, art shows, quilt shows..."I can make that better", "I can make that for less", "What was she thinking with those colors" on and on with the cattiness. No wonder I steered into fields that were dominated by men! lol I'm sorry but there are just a lot of moody, unkind women around! You have professional teaching career, you wouldn't think of conducting a class in such a manner. TG!

This is the first Forum where I have found women who speak their mind yet can do it in a civil way, many are selfless, and where I have found some "Sisters" who have walked parallel lifes. Here I have female friends, in actual life...my friends are males. Go figure...

Wow, how awful for you! But I can vouch for Craftsy, I have bought 3 of their classes and do the free BOM!!!

so sorry you had such a horrible experience. If the quilt class was offered through the shop, please let the owners know how the instructor was. If they don't know they can't change it.

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Originally Posted by Jean Sewing Machine

Join my quilt class in St.Charles MO, in Sept! Wish we could get together and have a real face to face quilting bee!

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Jean: Can we move St Charles just a wee bit closer to Ava?

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Originally Posted by CrazyMtnLady

so sorry you had such a horrible experience. If the quilt class was offered through the shop, please let the owners know how the instructor was. If they don't know they can't change it.




Jean: Can we move St Charles just a wee bit closer to Ava?

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Let's have a quilt retreat at the monastary. I've heard it is a wonderful place to de-stress! A lot of my friends go down there to pray, reflect, and just relax. They tell me that you can do your own type of retreat, and the monks are very supportive! We could try relaxing with our sewing machines! That would probably be a first!

Well Jean since you are becoming retired soon.... why don't you just hop on that little project..... and get back to us.....

I hope you let the owners of the store know how the class went. I think you should ask for at least part of the cost of the class to be refunded. If you don't let the owners know, they will rehire them for another class. I have never had a class before. I started out watching PBS shows 25 years ago, and Internet videos once they became available. I am not certain I like the Crafsy classes. I haven't taken one that I had to pay for, but I have done their BOM. I think the main reason I haven't taken anything is that they don't offer anything that I don't already know. The exception is machine quilting, but I don't do that, and I don't have a fancy machine for fancy stitches.

Oh what a total bummer. I would certainly let the owners know. Thankfully they are kind, but should be aware of this woman's demeanor. Shrew! The only five letter word I can think of that would be permissable to say in public.

Aw shoot! I'm so sorry this was such a negative experience! I remember you talking about this class when you signed up and I thought what an awesome thing. That's just not right. I would let the owners know without a doubt.

Wouldn't it be so wonderful if (in a perfect world) we all lived closer to each other (AND MSQC) so we really could get together and learn from each other?

Sorry, you had such a lousy day. I agree with Sandy.....let the shop know about your bad experience.....they may not be aware of how the teacher was behaving. If they keep that up they will run all the members of the classes away, then probably lose business in their store. Maybe the class was so small because others have already had that teacher and did not come back. It must have been very irritating!

That sucks! I didn't really care for the 'in person' class I took either. I always find it slow and irritating! (Guess I'm antisocial too! lol!) and I hate doing anything in front of other people! I do like (and prefer) the Craftsy classes (including Jenny's of course!) and they work well for me - I've learned a lot, including the 'finishing'.

What a horrible experience for you. You must tell the owners (will the other lady support you?) I would ask for my money back and give them the reference they deserve - can't be good for the business to have tutors like that!

I was very apprehensive on my first class but it was brilliant and I made lots of new friends too.

Videos and YouTube demos are great but you can't beat one-to-one tuition when you are new to all this - it should put you on the right path and then you can work at your own pace with on-line help.

COMPLAIN!!! That's terrible!!! You need to let them know how you were treated and what a waste of money the class was. I would tell them that they should NOT allow her to teach classes for them. Maybe it will save some unsuspecting students from ending up in the same plight as you. I'm amazed you sat there and allowed her to treat you that way. I would've gotten up, asked to speak to the management and then demanded my money back!

Shirley,

I'm so sorry your class was a flop! I know what you mean about wasting your time, money and gas! I took a class where the instructor used almost all our time teaching a newbie how to use her rotary cutter. The newbie should not have even been in that class which was for making Feathered Star blocks! I was perturbed and made the owner of the shop aware of how our whole class was wasted and she gave me a $25 gift card and refunded my class money. I have to drive 2 1/2 hours to take classes. Don't give up on all classes, though....there are some wonderful teachers out there who keep everyone on task.

What a shame you had such a disappointing first class, i agree with the others you need to tell the owners what the classes are like, I am sure they would appreciate your honesty, they would not like to lose business or their reputation because of the bad service by employees. I go to a class every week and I have learnt a lot, i have also learnt from Jenny and others on youtube but it is not quite the same as having an experienced teacher giving you instruction.

OK....after sleeping on it, I have made up my mind. I am calling the shop tomorrow and telling them what happened in that class. This makes me not want to try another class...anywhere.

The class was 25.00 and 10.00 for the pattern. Then I spend $200 on fabric (not including the back fabric and batting). I told DH that I will practice the pattern on scraps and when I feel that I can make it then I'll make the quilt. So I spent $250 or more (class cost, supplies and gas).

I did a Yahoo review on the class.

Thanks everyone for all your input, I really appreciate it!

You should let the people that hire her know how bad it was, or even ask for your money back! The store would probably be disappointed to hear it. Unfortunately I have run into some snotty teachers too. I took one class and she was nice enough to me,but rude to one of the ladies who was slower. Good thing most quilters aren't like this!

I too had a horrible experience with a class. The classes were held in an old hotel, Hotel Blessing-built in 1907, and I believe we used the original tables, they were wobbly like you would not believe. There was not enough room for all 5 of us in one room so she picked me and another lady and said" go find an empty room". We were on our own! I did not go to the second part of the class and they went out of business a few month's later.

I was thinking about this when I got up this morning and do believe that they probably have had problems with this instructor in the past and word had gotten out - otherwise she probably would have had more than two people sign up for this session.

Our local JoAnns does not do classes - it's a very small store. The closest one that does is about 45-50 minutes from me. DD signed one of the girls up for a 'learn to sew' quilt for kids one time. They didn't have enough girls sign up so the class was cancelled and no one bothered to tell DD until she drove down there and asked where the class was being held.

Those people have no business trying to teach!!

Here is a photo of the quilt we were to work on....we were supposed to make 2 blocks and got a part block of each finished. I'm not even sure how to put the leaves together. So when I have some time, I'll get the pattern out and practice and I WILL make this quilt.

Attachment 26593

You should definitely let the shop owner know about her unprofessional behavior. As for your lunch, you are an adult and can take a break or eat lunch whenever you like. She doesn't have to like it. You are paying her so you are the boss the way I see it. I'm sorry you had a bad experience. At my LQS, classes are a joy. Everybody is always helpful and relaxed. If the shop owner knows about her, then maybe they won't use her anymore. If you do sign up for another class, be sure to ask who is doing it. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by buckeyequilter

Here is a photo of the quilt we were to work on....we were supposed to make 2 blocks and got a part block of each finished. I'm not even sure how to put the leaves together. So when I have some time, I'll get the pattern out and practice and I WILL make this quilt.

Attachment 26593

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That is an very pretty pattern. Maybe you could find a tutorial online somewhere to help with that pattern. Keep working on it........it will be great! :)

That's a gorgeous quilt! I love log cabin blocks and the leaves are such a pretty design! I hope you can figure out how to make the quilt. It's a keeper!

That quilt is worth doing some research on making those leaves! I know you'll be able to find some kind of help on the internet. I'm sure I've seen leaves like that before. Could they be paper pieced? Good luck with the project Shirley and make sure you post your progress.

There are some wonderful quilt shops in NW Ohio run by Mennonites and Amish. They would be terribly upset if that was going on in their stores, so you definitely need to let them know!
If you are near Marion, Ohio - there is a wonderful (but pricey) shop that gives great lessons called "the Good Housewives" , they specialize in civil war reproduction fabrics and patterns.
And in Upper Sandusky, Ohio - Sew Nice - not a huge selection of fabrics but great classes!
These 2 are not mennonite or amish, but the owners often give and/or supervise the lessons and they are awesome!

I decided to buy three Craftsy classes. Two by Jenny (of course!) and one about machine quilting.
I love these classes. They have helped me heaps......

I failed sewing at school and so have a fear of sewing teachers in a classroom situation lol

I had taken a quilt class in August.....things didn't work out too well.....here's an update:

I called the shop and spoke to the owner's daughter a while back. She said she would have her mom call me.....well about 2 weeks later the owner called. She knows all about how that teacher treats people. She said she would reschedule the class with another instructor and that has been about 2 weeks ago - haven't heard any more. I have learned to make the blocks....so I don't think I'm even going to waste my time. I will not do any more business with them.

There is a small quilt shop that I found about 15 minutes from me and they are now getting my business. I love going there and the people are really nice. They are expanding too - more fabric for me to "ooh and ahh" over :) She also does classes so I might check to see what she's offering.