Crafty Manolo

Sometimes we give and receive lessons in the oddest ways. I think I was about sixteen when I heard one of my brothers giving his friend a lesson in waltzing… over the phone. That’s not something one would normally expect to be able to pick up without some sort of visual or active demonstration, but it did work. I know. I danced with the friend and he did just fine. Not that I’m the best waltzer in the world, but I’d done the dance more than my partner had!

And so it is with craft works. Sometimes you meet up with someone, start talking, and discover you know how to do a craft that person wants to learn. Suddenly, despite the fact that neither of you has the necessary tools or the correct surface or any of the materials… you just start the lesson anyway.

In trying to explain bobbin lace to the uninitiated, I’ve drawn diagrams (which do point out my desperate need for a good basic drawing class!), manipulated straws at restaurant tables, and even once showed some basic technique by taking a bit of my own hair (still on my head) and using that to show the movements of the threads. It was one of the few times in  my life I’ve been so grateful to have uncurlable hair. It showed the movements pretty clearly.

So how about you? Have you ever demonstrated or taught technique in a really unconventional way? In a really strange place?

Tell me all about it!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 21st, 2012 at 1:39 pm by Twistie and is filed under Crafts Classes, Quickie Question. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.