Jillian’s Spinning: Sample Questions

A table full of swatches

When you take a spinning class what kind of swatches do you like to see?

I feel like samples are the backbone of my classes when I teach. I tend to cram a lot of things into my classes  yet want people to spin at their own pace, so I have samples that show what will or might happen when using the techniques we learn in class, in case a spinner doesn’t get there during the class time. I take my samples all the way through the knitting of a swatch because lots of ah-ha moments happen there.

I  like to have some samples that push beyond what we are doing in class, for example if we are doing a color technique with only 2-plys in class, I’ll bring samples that show what happens when you use the same technique with a 3-ply. Is that helpful or confusing?

Sometimes I’ll bring samples from articles I’ve recently had published on similar topics, so my students can see them in person.

I learn so much from looking and touching samples, but I’m wondering when does it get overwhelming?

I’m in the midst of making some new samples for new classes and new samples for old classes and I would love your input. What kinds of samples make a class better? What samples should I just leave at home?