Workshop Etiquette

In June of 2008, I was invited to the Cream City Guild in the Greater Milwaukee Area.   I had a wonderful time –including the time spent during the tornado. They had put together a set of guidelines to pass out to all their members attending the classes. They graciously agreed to let me share them here.

As a general rule of thumb, these guidelines also apply to public workshop. Here are some guidelines for students who are brand new to rug hooking workshops:

1. Ask around about the camp before you arrive and after you get there. Many camps have traditions that are not on the schedules. You don’t want to miss something special like an informal evening hook-in.
2. What is the venue like? Will you be doing a lot of walking? You may need a spare pair of shoes and an umbrella.

Some special guidelines for workshops I am teaching:

1. I will send out a letter if the director provides a class roster.  Tell me about your project so I can do some pre-planning.  This may be as simple as pulling reference pictures or bringing a similar rug I hooked.  It may affect how I pack wool.  If you have not decided, that is OK.  Just let me know that you heard from me so I know your contact information is correct.
2. If you would like a color plan, there is no extra charge because you are buying all the wool for your project from me.  If you would rather wait until class, we can do that.  Just remember that my time must be evenly divided among ALL the students when the class starts.  We may not be able to color plan your entire rug.
3. I can custom dye any color you need, just give me ample time.  I often get just one day a month to hit the dye pots.  If you wait too long I could be out of town or not have another dye session scheduled before I teach your workshop.
4. And finally, I teach more than one workshop.  Please include the name of the camp you are attending in all your communication.  Put your name and camp on everything you send me.