Blessedly Cooler

I had a great class in Missoula yesterday with four students. Robin went with me so she could learn more about her new machine and have it adjusted while I was teaching. The store owners are (understandably) frustrated that they can’t get people to sign up for classes. The store offers classes, customers indicate interest, but then the class ends up being canceled because no one commits. And then customers complain that the store isn’t offering enough classes.

We have the same problem up here. I gave up offering classes at the quilt store north of town because I scheduled half a dozen classes in 2023 and had ONE student. The quilt store where I teach regularly has—over the years—built up such a following that, as a teacher, it is hard for me to get onto the calendar sometimes due to the number of classes already scheduled. That didn’t happen accidentally, though.

All I can do is continue to offer classes at the store in Missoula and hope enough people sign up that the class doesn’t get canceled. And then hope that those customers rave about the class to other customers and the enthusiasm and interest builds. I can sympathize with the store owners’ frustration, though.

In other teaching news, the class coordinator for Sew Expo e-mailed teachers and said she would welcome a few more class proposals. The deadline is August 1. I’ve already submitted half a dozen proposals, but I may submit a few more.

After class ended, Robin and I went in search of lunch. We scored a parking spot right in front of The Confident Stitch downtown, and one of our favorite restaurants is a few blocks away. We went back to The Confident Stitch (of course), where I found a pretty remnant of cotton/modal fabric that will make a nice Déclic top. On the way out of town, we stopped at Vicki’s Down Under where Robin bought fabric for one of her projects and I picked up another piece of woven rayon for a top. (They are in the dryer at the moment, so no photos yet.)

About an hour south of us, on the way home from Missoula, is a small quilt store that is rapidly outgrowing its space. We stopped there, too, and I picked up some Tim Holtz yardage from his “Abandoned” line, including this print that I love love love:

I was home by 6 pm. A cold front did come through last night. Missoula got hammered with a strong thunderstorm and the airport clocked an 81 mph wind gust. I’m glad that weather waited until we left town. Our high today is only supposed to be 79F, which sounds wonderful after two weeks of 90+F temperatures.

I’m going to get a few things done around here this morning, stop at Thursday sewing for a bit, then run into town. My new-to-me Bernina 880 is supposed to be ready to pick up at the store.