Friday afternoon at my shop I taught a two hour class for ten students and their instructors, from a college costume design course in Oklahoma City. That’s a whole lot of people to try and teach how to cut and skive in a very short time, but they all finished their projects. Each of them made two little patches — one with an overlaid flower and inlaid leaves, and one with an inlaid steer head. I didn’t get pictures because I was too busy, but they all seemed happy when they left. The instructors asked how often I taught classes like this and I had to admit that I do not ever and they must have asked me on a day when I was feeling unusually agreeable.

I’ve attached a photo of the two projects, done by me. I was getting ready to make mine before the class to show as examples, when I realized that both pieces were so simple it would be better to demonstrate them instead. That way, instead of explaining cutting and skiving in words, I could actually show them the techniques as I made the pieces.

I can’t also teach sewing skills in a class that brief so I sewed everyone’s project. I often do all the sewing in a class like that and sewing twenty inlay projects as quickly as I possibly can while they all stand in line waiting is stressful. I tend to imagine that everyone is impatiently waiting, which no one seemed to be. One of them even said they were enjoying watching me sew really fast. They asked if it made me nervous or less accurate to talk or answer questions while sewing, and that was an amusing thought. Sewing is like breathing to me and my brain doesn’t have to be fully engaged with it.

LOL, I just realized that yesterday I was watching a musician sing while beautifully playing a guitar and that looks incredibly difficult to me. But I can sing (or talk) and sew something complex at the same time and it’s easy.