For the 2nd day of the Retreat, I was a little
concerned that we might not get the 3rd project done as I still had
the pincushion for the Etui to show how to do.
So the night before the 2nd day, I sent everyone
a whatsapp to ask them to try to make it by 8.30am or latest by 8.45am so that
we can have a head start on the 3rd project, giving me some extra
time to show them how to do the pincushion.
Everyone was very cooperative when everyone arrived early or
on time. It being a Saturday, traffic was light and we were also able to park
right in front of the Meeting Center, instead of having to drop off our things
first and then parking our car quite a distance from the place.
As soon as everyone finished setting up their sewing
machines, it was full concentration from the word go.
Our 3rd project was the choice project of either
the Dresden Plate Block Quilt or the Reversible Bag.
I had prepared myself for
a challenging day as I would be teaching 2 projects at the same time.
But I was surprised how things moved on smoothly with no
hiccups at all!
Everyone was being very cooperative, focused and eager to get the 3rd
project going.
Only Sally and Margaret opted for the Dresden Plate Quilt
Block, while Paul, Idah, Oyah, Suseela and Radha chose the Reversible Bag as
their 3rd project for the Retreat.
Even though the Dresden Plate Quilt Block looked
complicated, but it was far easier than the Reversible bag. It only required
sewing of only one circle, while the rest were just straight sewing.
The Reversible Bag, on the other hand, had curves at almost
every stage of the sewing!
But that did not deter Radha from completing her
bag! She was determined to complete it!
She could surely win the Determination Award if ever there
was one!
She told us that her sister was impressed with her the day
before when she brought home a completed Lotus Bag.
I told Radha that her
sister is going to be even more surprised when she brings home a completed Reversible Bag at the end of the 2nd day!
BTW, Radha, thanks for your compliments and vote of confidence
when you said that you’d join my class again should I run another sewing class!
I’ll be looking forward to have you in my class again!
Twenty minutes before we stopped to break for lunch, I showed everyone
how to make the pincushion for the Etui Sewing Box. That got everyone eager to
finish off their pincushion before lunch so that it can be showcased after
lunch during our Mini NNC 9th Anniversary celebration.
So eager was everyone that we finally only stopped for lunch at 1.30pm! LOL!
I had such great hardworking students! I’ll have this set of
students in my class anytime!
After lunch, we set up the classroom into a Show Gallery of
sorts as we showcased all the completed projects.
In my excitement to see all the completed projects, I forgot
to snap a close-up of each individual projects, but remembered to snap a photo
of everyone with their projects.
These individual close-ups came from the participants
themselves which they sent to me by whatsapp. Thanks, everyone!
Only Suseela’s close-up photo of her project is missing.
|
A very pleased Suseela |
A salute to Radha, who, despite not having a sewing machine of her own, managed to complete 2 bags besides the Etui!
Idah with her
Black and white set of finished projects!
Idah was well coordinated with her finished pieces when she also wore black and white on the last day of the Retreat.
Was that planned or a coincidence, Idah?
Margaret made changes to her set of Dresden Plate Quilt Block to suit her choice of colours, and I think it turned out great!
I just
love the combination of blue and red!
Zawiyah or Oyah with her completed projects
I think Oyah's last minute decision to change the threads for the Reversible Bag was a good one as it
highlighted the gold threads in the fabric.
Paul with his completed projects.
The reverse side of Paul's Reversible bag is a
camouflage fabric which was bought specially from Penang.
Unfortunately I forgot to ask Paul to reverse the bag after taking this photo, but you can see the fabric here in this photo of Paul working on the Reversible bag.
Sally with her completed projects.
If I am doing a set for myself, I think I'll do in this combination! I just love all the
shades of PINK in all the projects!
Great work, everyone!
Overall, I think the Retreat was a success.
Having a small group is a huge plus, in my opinion.
Even though, initially I was targeting for 20 participants,
but when I couldn’t get the number I was targeting for, I decided that maybe it
was a blessing in disguise after all.
I think 10 would have been a good number, but I am glad that
we ended up having only 9, even though eventually only 7 turned up.
In fact, I think even if we had we had all 9 turn up, it
would have been just the right number of students to teach a craft class. It
gave me the opportunity to give more focus on each participant.
Another plus point was that we were among people we are
familiar with. We were among families.
Margaret, Sally, Radha, Paul and I are all NNC members who
we are all very close to.
Then there was Suseela, Radha’s SIL – a family
member.
Zuraidah and Zawiyah are my cousin-in-laws who I am also close to.
So having people we all know before and are close to helps a
lot. For one thing, they are more forgiving, like the first day when, despite
my meticulous planning, *blush* I still missed out the poly fiber fill for the
pincushion for the Etui Sewing Box!
I think a total stranger might not be as forgiving, and
would probably go onto FB and start complaining as soon as he or she could get
online! LOL!
Despite my relatively strict (was I really strict? *wink*)
way of teaching, every participant was very cooperative and did not give me
much problems.
In fact, they gave me no problems at all, except for one naughty
participant who we still love her just the same no matter how nakal she is *wink*, and
one star student who just couldn’t wait for the others to get done! LOL! *wink*
But, like Paul said, star students make life very easy for
the teachers because then you can focus on the others, and a naughty student
makes class less boring. LOL! *wink*
But I think I was not actually strict, but more of wanting
to show the correct way of doing things, and not cincai macai, because I wanted
to make sure that everyone learns the correct way first before they start
making their own changes to suit the way they do things.
Suseela took a tailoring class before so she’s had some
basic sewing skills, which also makes teaching her a breeze.
I was initially worried when Radha told me that she was not
so looking forward to making the bags because of the sewing involved. But I
must salute her for her dedication!
Despite not having her own sewing machine (she shared a sewing machine with Suseela and Paul), she did managed to complete both bags and the Etui Sewing Box! Tabik spring gitu!
I am very happy to have cousin-in-laws Zuraidah (Idah)
and
Zawiyah (Oyah) join the Retreat, both an expert in their fields.
Idah takes
awesome photos with her professional camera, while I have always admired Oyah’s
painting works.
So to be able to share my knowledge and introduce them to
another type of craft was a great honour. Thanks for your support, Idah and Oyah!
Paul is an exemplary student.
He is a teacher himself and
knows the stress of teaching students who are lazy or would not listen to the
teacher, so he gave me no problems at all! I’ll have him in my class any time!
*wink*
I think everyone had fun! I had fun teaching. I had a great
class to teach!
This Retreat, hopefully will be the first of many more
Retreats and Craft Classes to come in the future!
It will be more challenging
with different projects to teach over the years as the participants will be
expecting different kinds of projects each year, but I hope I’ll always be up
to the challenge, with support from friends!
Thanks, everyone, for joining the Retreat! It was a great
honour to have you all in my class!
I think everyone went home happy and satisfied.
I hope that
you will use the knowledge learned over the 2 days to make more similar
projects.
Should any of you need a refresher course, just let me know.
I am just a whatsapp away!
NNC 9th Anniversary Mini Celebration coming up! (Part 4 of 4)