This is a story of a class that I’ve taken twice in my quilting life. And before I tell you this story, I want to begin with a quote from Maya Angelou. There is never a situation in life that you can’t find wisdom in Maya’s words…and this might just be my favorite quote from her.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.”

This story begins as I am taking one of my first quilting classes (on the old clunker machine), and I was signed up at a show for a nationally known teacher. Her work is extraordinary, and she is truly a gifted artist and very talented person. No, I’m not naming her - there’s no need.

Any proficiency I’ve ever had in quilting does not come naturally to me. It’s come through doing the work, putting the time in, and learning the craft - just like it will with you. . I struggled with the first assignment - stippling. It’s supposed to be a basic skill - it was the first assignment. . I was working through it, and the teacher came down the row to assess my progress, which was minimal. Her words were - That’s ok, not everyone can stipple - and she moved to the next student in the row. Not a single syllable as to what was causing the issue, or a suggestion to try something.

I felt unworthy of her attention. Those words caused frustration, anger, jealousy - and massive amounts of self doubt as to what I was trying to do. Those words rattled around in my brain for years - far longer than I should ever have let them. That’s on me. But as I moved into the teaching phase of my quilting life, I was determined to encourage my students, no matter where on their journey they are.

If we met today, you would quickly find that I turn situations like this into challenges - and I love a challenge.

I mentioned that I have taken that class twice…actually, I’ve taken several machine quilting classes since then. I found a second teacher who was encouraging, analytical, enthusiastic - and who takes the time to explain things to me so I can understand them. She turns my ‘I can’t do this’ into ‘No, you won’t do this’…. and I have learned that she’s usually right.

OK, she’s always right. She’s also the teacher that I mirror when working with students. Love you, Sally

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