Teaching

For the last 8 weeks I've been teaching a beginner's class in tatting at the local (well it's not so local, it's on the other side of town) seniors centre. It's a 2 hour class and for the first class some of the ladies thought it was just a social gathering. Sorry folks, I'm getting paid to teach and that's what I'm going to do. After some initial grumbling about, I'm too old for this, and nobody told me I'd have to think, we got down to tatting.

Day one we did chains in 2 colours of thread. Day 2 we started the beginner pattern flower bookmark in the sidebar. It's still mostly chains. Most of them came back the next week with a creditable bookmark and I started them on a small beaded zipper pull. It was just 4 rings with beads and they had it half done in class, but most of them failed to finish it. So I went back to a plain ring and chain edging. They got the flip down so that they're tatting OK, it's the joins that seem to be causing them grief.

I want to get them to the point of knowing rings, chains, split rings, split chains and beads so that by Christmas they can do this:

Sorry for the crappy picture, it wouldn't stop spinning. We did the beaded snowflake in class. It's just ring and chain with 3 beads in the centre of the chain to make a point. Most of them got it. One of the ladies really got into it, finished one snowflake and made another on her own.

Last week I showed them this ball without the middle band of split rings. I showed them that it was just 2 snowflakes laced together. They were quite impressed and it gave them something to work toward. When I pushed the middle band on the ball it really wowed them and gave them the desire to get split rings. I think the idea that they already had the skills to make it really helped give them the incentive to keep going.

Next week I'm going to get them to finish the second snowflake, although for some of them it may be just the one. We only have 4 more classes and I want them to know that they CAN tat on their own. Some are really trying to learn, but others, I think, just want the company.

They've asked if I'm going to do another class for the winter session. I've agreed to it although they may not run the class unless there are more people signed up for it. Most of the ladies want to come back for more so I guess we'll see.