Rewards of Teaching

I teach a once a week quilting class at my church.  It has been a little frustrating as the women who have been attending have been rather uncommitted.  They show up sporadically, wander in and out and complain if I tell them what to do.  This all changed this summer.  I had four younger girls who wanted to sew so I told them "sure." As the ladies would show up I would tell them "You can take the summer off if you want." And one by one they did.  The church secretary told me a couple of them were in the office one day and one said something to the effect that she got mad when I told her what to do.  The secretary's 8 year old daughter, who is one that has been sewing this summer, piped up and told the lady "Hey, that is what she's supposed to do, she's the teacher."  I probably sound like an orge but I'm really not. I've been extremely patient for the last six years. Only one of the ladies had ever sewn before but they all acted like they already knew everything.  It's hard to teach someone who already knows everything. I've never seen folks so easily distracted.  Anyway I'm not going into the dynamics of all that comes into play with these ladies. I'll just say this is not the only area in life with which they struggle. 

Ah, but the girls....wow! What success we had this summer.  Each one of these girls finished projects.  They each made several pot holders, learning the process of piecing, designing and putting a "quilt" together on a small project. Learned to iron, too.  We did bunches of crazy patch pin cushions and experimented with the decorative stitches on the new machine. What a great fun day that was. We did more in two monthes than all the "grown-ups" did in six years. What a joy it is to have teachable students.  Alas, school has started and the only student that remains is the above mentioned 8 year old who is home-schooled and is allowed to come to sew if all her school work is up to par.  She loves to sew so it has been a good motivating tool for her school work.   She follows direction and is very correctable. She has finished her first quilt. It took her only two weeks! Here's the picture. Notice how well her seams meet.  She has a good eye for detail and for color. It was so fun to see her pick up the chain of pairs from the back of the machine and have her marvel at how much she had gotten done in a short amount of time.  Delight for her was in every step completed.  Delight for me was hearing her repeat a phrase I use when we were picking fabric for her next quilt... "Let's audition them."  (she already has four projects in mind for the future based on people she loves). She gets the whole premise of quilting on a level I've not seen in many.  She started out wanting to make this for her mother's friend who is expecting a baby.  When she finished it, she held it close and smiled a tiny precious smile. "I might keep it."  Didn't we all have that feeling with our first quilt?  I am blessed.  I am hoping that this child will lead the ladies back in with a bit of an attitude change.