StitchAlongs on TalkTemari      

        One of the group activities on TalkTemari, both educational and fun, are StitchAlongs. They may be stitch or method tutorials, sometimes it's a group effort to figure out a design, other times a leader will walk the group through stitching a particular design. It can happen because of someone requesting help on a topic, or someone has offered to lead one (if you have a request or suggestion, or want to volunteer to lead one, email me at gttemari21@gmail.com and we'll schedule it, so that things can be coordinated without falling over each other). You DO NOT need to be experienced in teaching, be JTA certified, or be a computer wiz. You just need to be willing to share and give back to the TT community a little bit - this is how it all came about, how we all learned, and why there is so much knowledge offered on TemariKai.com.

        StitchAlongs happen via serial posts on the list so everyone can stitch along, working as we go, posting questions as needed. This is not just writing up a pattern and posting it, then turning everyone loose on it.  It's actually working step by step through the subject, slowly and together, on TalkTemari. Some SAs are geared to everyone, some are beginner tutorials, others are for more advanced stitchers. The subject line of the posts is always "StitchAlong" so you can ignore those posts if you are not participating.  Some people choose not to actually stitch, but do "listen and watch" as it goes. After the project is done, we have open discussion for those that have suggestions, thoughts, etc.. After completion, the project is then usually posted to the Patterns index here on TemariKai.com.

How StitchAlongs work:   Any given StitchAlong has one leader. There is no formal sign up, but there may be a poll to be sure that there is interest. After a general intro, the leader will post the materials list, any prerequisite skills, and the starting date.  There will be a post every few days (or when enough people signal that they are ready to move on) on the list, along with info/diagrams/photos in the Albums and/or Files sections of TalkTemari Yahoo. In between the posts, whatever questions you have, ask away on the StitchAlong project "thread" (no pun intended, that's the word for the chain of messages on the same topic) and upload photos of questions in your work to the folder set up in the Album  section of TT Yahoo. Each person is helped along, as needed, as things move along. It's taken at a somewhat slow pace in that a new step post comes every few days, so that everyone has a chance to keep up.

These are the guidelines we follow:

1) The leader is the only leader during the project, so as to avoid "information overload" and confusion. That's not to say that the leader's ideas are the only ones for the project or technique, but during the project there needs to be some order maintained. The leader (only) answers questions during the project - this keeps things from spinning out of control. After everyone is finished then we have "open call" for anyone else on TT to add their thoughts to the info pool on the topic/design.

2) Don't jump ahead, even if you know or think you know what is coming next, as the steps are presented. By that we mean don't post questions ahead of where the project is, and please don't post photos of your work ahead of where things are. No one can stop you from chugging away if that is what you want to do (although we've had some people get caught thinking they knew what was to come... and guess what...) but please don't confuse or inhibit the other folks working the project by going public ahead of everyone else.

3) If you are going to stitch, you need to be ready to start when the project starts (there will be plenty of notice - usually at least a week). Joining in and asking questions to catch up after the fact only confuses and sidetracks those that are working along, and consequently will not be addressed. If you miss the start, you can work on your own to catch up if you want, but please don't post old questions once the project has moved on. If you need help please wait for the general discussion and the final pattern directions to be posted to Temarikai.com.

4) Participate by REPLYING to the TalkTemari post about the step being worked on. It will have a subject line of something like "StitchAlong Project Post 1 dd/mm/yy" ; DO NOT start a new message thread on your own. This keeps things together and organized, allows the leader to keep track of things (otherwise your question may not get answered), keeps the SA posts from distracting those that are not stitching along, and allows for the project info to be compiled for later posting on TemariKai.com. Conversely - please keep the SA discussion threads limited to the SA project. If you want to talk about a related issue, then DO start another discussion line.

5) Be honest with yourself regarding the prerequisite skills (if there are any) and skill level. While some SAs are directed at teaching skills and methods, others are designs that may require prior knowledge of certain skills. SAs are not tutorials for those pre-req skills. If a particular SA is beyond your current abilities, then be patient and one will come along that is more suitable. There are a lot of people on TalkTemari, ranging from very beginners to master stitchers and through the course of the year every effort is made to target everyone, but it can't all happen at the same time. Questions about the prerequisite skills and experience needed for the project are not going to be answered or handled during the SA. If you are shaky with prerequisites but want to try anyway, ok;  but, if things go wonky then please acknowledge that you are out of step because of not being ready for the skill level. Therefore, this isn't the discussion you'll want to be posting in, or if you do you'll need to understand if the leader says "I'm sorry, that's one of the prerequisites needed and we're not covering that in this project".

It is very important to understand this for several reasons: 1) so that you don't become frustrated at the art as a whole by trying to stitch something way beyond the skill level you are on at the time;  2) so that you don't think that a given stitchalong leader is mean, nasty, rude, ignoring them, putting anyone down (insert whatever negative you want here), because questions about the stitches and skills that were listed as "what you need to know before you start" are not being addressed during the project. It's not fair to the leader and we want everyone to understand ahead of time that this is the way the project works. There are indeed StitchAlongs that address the very basics and every question is taken; 3) so that the other people that are stitching on pace become frustrated and delayed in continuing the design.

6) Please remember and respect that the content posted for a StitchAlong, including but not limited to the list posts, any images & files, etc., are the creative and intellectual property of the person leading the project and under copyright. Just as all content on TemariKai.com (of which TalkTemari is the adjunct discussion group), you may download/save/print one copy for your personal use only. They may not be republished, distributed, reproduced, or used for profit (including for-profit teaching) without permission of the author (leader). Refer to the Copyright Basics and Selling your Work pages in the Resources Section of Temarikai.com.

        We're always looking for folks willing to lead a StitchAlong - and it can be from something quite basic to a more challenging project. I'm happy to discuss what's needed (not much) and offer help to anyone wishing to to give it a try. It's a great way to give back to the TK/TT community, especially if this is where you are gaining most of your learning and experience. It will also help you learn to be a teacher/leader. Drop me a note at gttemari21@gmail.com and I'll be glad to answer questions, help if needed, and get things set up with you.