Monday, August 13, 2007

Well THAT was fun!

Here you have my only photo from the entire weekend, which I took right before my first class started.  After that, there just wasn't time.  Those teachers work hard!!

What I learned this weekend: 

Three hours is a lot longer than two hours (and it was a good thing my classroom was right across from the bathroom, so I could tell from the increase in traffic when it was time for the break).

Birkenstocks rock (I'm not used to teaching on my feet, but they never got tired!).

Double sided copies would have weighed half as much as single sided copies (a good thing to remember when I have to fly instead of drive).

I need to stick an extra chapstick, toothbrush and toothpaste in my "briefcase" (I was okay until I couldn't find my chapstick on the last day of class -- one of my students took pity on me and loaned me hers -- thank you!).

It was great to have "staff" (unpaid though they may be) to watch my stuff, start swatches, and bring me lunches (thanks for going along, Irene -- it wouldn't have been as easy or as fun without you!), but if this becomes a habit I'm going to have to be a big girl and travel by myself.

When using a flip chart while teaching in a huge room in front of tables and tables of knitters at a time, I need to write/draw much larger than I do when using a piece of notebook paper while teaching in a yarn shop around a single table of knitters (p.s. -- LOVED having a flip chart!).

Those teachers are just knitters.  Those students are just knitters, too.  We all had a lot in common.  There was absolutely nothing for me to be afraid of. 

---------------

So.

What very few people know is that due to various unforeseen circumstances, I didn't receive the materials for the classes I was teaching until Monday and Tuesday of last week.  Apparently Federal Express's idea of "overnight" from Chicago to Lansing involved a week long stay in the Toledo area.  Beth uses very detailed notes in her classes, just like I do, and so I knew that as soon as I had them in my hands, it wouldn't take me long to prepare.  And I teach the same subjects on a regular basis, so it was just a matter of becoming familiar with how her classes were arranged.  I also knew that I would be seeing Beth on Wednesday night to take possession of some of her class samples, but that would be too late to have copies made before the Stitches classes started.

As Wednesday drew nearer and the notes were still lost in Fed Ex land, I filled the time by alternately running around wringing my hands and reading up on the history of the various knitting techniques I would be teaching (history being my weakest subject).  Beth and I finally remembered that the Internet could be used for something besides tracking lost packages, and by the end of Tuesday I had most of her notes in my inbox.  They were fabulous, as I knew they would be, and I spent Wednesday morning at the copy place making 1,712 copies (like I said -- very detailed notes).  I packed the car and left for Chicago at 3:30 that afternoon, and about twenty minutes down the road Son Number Two called to say the package from Fed Ex had arrived.  I turned around and drove back home to pick it up, just in case it had something extra that I would need.

I met with Beth that evening at her home, along with teachers Joan Schrouder and Edie Eckman who were staying overnight before continuing on to Rosemont for the convention.  Beth handed over her samples and answered the questions I had about her notes, and then I was finally, FINALLY, ready.  The next morning (after a sleepless night), with my Volvo station wagon loaded to the max with me and my stuff, my traveling buddy Irene and her stuff, and Joan and Edie and THEIR stuff, off we went to the convention center.

While checking in at the Stitches registration window upon our arrival, I saw a bunch of familiar faces from home and from blogland, which provided a much needed distraction because at that point I was about an hour away from teaching my first class, and I was seriously nervous.  And let me just say right now that I'm going to resist trying to name the names of people I saw and met because I will undoubtedly forget someone and then I'll be sad.  Except I have to mention Jen, who handed me chocolate right off the bat -- yay, Jen!

So my voice may have been a little high pitched during Thursday afternoon's class (Demystifying Gauge), but it went really well and the students were great, and as soon as it was over I realized that I could totally do this thing that I had been nervous about, and I relaxed and had a blast for the rest of the weekend.

There was a buffet for instructors and vendors Thursday evening (free food!), followed by a teacher meeting that turned out to be rather fun.  The teachers seem to enjoy each others' company, and these events are opportunities for them to get caught up with each other.  XRX takes good care of their teachers, who in turn are happy to work for XRX. 

The giant vendor market opened after that, and I went in long enough to walk quickly through to see what was new, but I was exhausted so I went back to my hotel to unpack.  Here's where I'll mention that from both a student's and a teacher's perspective, the convention center in Rosemont is not an ideal place to hold an event like this.  I preferred Pheasant Run in St. Charles, which also involved a lot of walking back and forth but had better food options and lots of comfy couches and cozy areas in which to sit and knit and commune with other knitters.  I think those common areas should be a required feature of knitting conventions.  Next year Stitches Midwest will be in Schaumburg, about ten miles away (home of the giant Ikea) -- we'll see how that compares.

I barely slept that night, but was so psyched about teaching that the adrenaline carried me through both classes (Aran Knitting and Norwegian Knitting).  I thought they went extremely well.  I have to mention that this was the first time I've dealt with being evaluated by the students.  I sort of didn't want to read the evaluations that were left in the classroom for me to turn in, but I knew that I'd be sent something about them eventually by XRX, so I went ahead and peeked at them before handing them over.  The verdict?  Overall, the comments were VERY good.  I'm of the opinion that almost all of the negative comments had more to do with the fact that I wasn't Beth and that I was teaching from someone else's notes than with my teaching abilities, because it had to be obvious that I knew the subjects backwards and forwards and was able to answer everyone's questions (Except for one:  Is a machine sewn steek really a traditional method of sweater construction if the sweaters pre-dated sewing machines?  That was a GREAT question that I'd never wondered about before.  Remember -- history isn't my strong suit.).

Edie (my roommate), Irene and I met up with Teresa and Sara (friends from Lansing) at a yummy Mexican restaurant Friday evening.  I think that was the only non-Stitches activity I had all weekend.  Afterward, Edie and I got to know each other over a couple of glasses of wine in the hotel bar, after which I once again tossed and turned all night.

My pacing was a little off on Saturday morning's class, Fair Isle Knitting, which really bummed me out.  I got through all of the discussion and all but one of the sample knitting pieces, but I would really like to have seen the students doing a little corrugated ribbing before the end of class.  A few stayed afterward to do a few rows, but I know some weren't happy with the omission.  Irene brought me a sandwich so I could stay in the classroom area (although I did have to run to the hotel and back to re-load every day -- I had brought a lot of books and sample sweaters for each class and couldn't carry them in one load), and that was a really good thing because I was able to discover that the homework instructions that had been mailed to the registered students for the afternoon class (Finishing Fair Isle and Norwegian Sweaters) and the homework instructions that had been posted on the website were completely different.  I was able to come up with an alternate plan before class started, and the students seemed fine with the last minute adjustment.

On Saturday evening, the teachers were required to attend the Student Banquet, for which we had been given tickets (more free food!).  It was very nice, although I felt out of place there because I was very conscious of being there as Beth Walker, and not as myself.  The teachers were paraded onto the stage after dinner in alphabetical order.  When they got to the W's, they conferred for a moment out of microphone range and then announced my name, so I joined the others.  I want to mention again, if I didn't already, that the other teachers were very welcoming and many went out of their way to introduce themselves to me.  If (when!) I teach my own classes at one of these events, I'll feel less like an imposter (I hope).  The teachers were given amazingly generous gifts provided by the vendors (Beth will be receiving a portion of my share), and then they lined us up in the lobby for a group photo.  Look for me in next year's flyer!  Back row, black sleeveless dress, terrified smile plastered on my face.

I slept like a log that night, THANK GOODNESS, had a blast teaching Bavarian Knitting Sunday morning, and then got in the car with Irene to head back home.  Before we left, I stopped by the Stitches desk for any last minute instructions, and was told that the overall impression had been very good, with the suggestion that I "make the classes my own".  Assuming that I get the go-ahead to fill in for Beth again at Stitches East, I can definitely do that, since I'll have a wee bit more time to prepare (like two months vs. two days).

Overall, this weekend confirmed for me how much I LOVE teaching.  Many, many students came up to me after class to let me know how much they had learned or how much they had enjoyed the class, or how they were going to apply their new skills.  I haven't always done that with the teachers I've taken classes from, but I'll make a point of doing it from now on, because it made me feel really, really good.

As we crossed the border back into Michigan, I called home with an estimated time of arrival.  Son Number Two told me "we have a surprise for you".  I spent a good portion of the rest of the journey home trying to guess what the surprise might be, and sort of dreading it.  My first choice was that the house would be completely uncluttered (the cleaning people were due at noon today), and my second choice was that the landscaping around the house would be totally re-done (a complete impossibility, but hey -- it certainly would have been a surprise).  When I got home, the first thing I noticed was a giant pile of mulch in the driveway.  Some of the landscaping had indeed been re-done, but there's still a long way to go.  So, yay!  Once inside, it was apparent that the house was no messier than it had been when I left last Wednesday, so there wasn't much more work to be done than usual to get ready for the cleaning people.  So, yay again!  But the surprise?  The dog had been rolling around in the mulch, and . . .

I now have a purple dog. 

Sarah

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

I did the banking, the towels are in the dryer, and I left a note to remind the children to take their vitamins, feed the pets and scoop the litter boxes. 

I'm packed except for my class notes, and I'm very, VERY ready to go.

I'm on my way to get a pedicure (pamper!), then to make copies of the class notes (be prepared!), and then home to load the car.

Then off to pick up my buddy Irene and we'll be on our way to Chicago!  I am SO psyched!!

I am not taking my laptop, because the lovely hotel charges for wi fi, as I recall.  I haven't answered any e-mails in the last few days because I've been busy preparing for Beth's classes, but thank you for all of the lovely words of encouragement and support!!

Mwah!

Sarah

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