Monthly Musing ~ The Confidence of Knowledge

My colour theme for this month got overshadowed slightly by it's inspiration of the Tui bird and how confident (some may say overconfident) they are.

Confidence comes from knowledge.  When you've researched, learnt, investigated, trialled and tested a subject then you feel much more confident in it and in yourself.

Confidence for me also comes from imparting knowledge.  I really love teaching, especially guiding people through learning to sew their first bra.  Those moments where you share in the pleasure and thrill of when a student 'get's it!' This gives me confidence in my own ability.

 This must be my concentration face...teaching bra making at Miss Maude in Greytown

A memorable moment from a past class was after each step that I demonstrated, one of the students would always comment something like, 'Oh Gosh! Ohh, I'm not sure I can do that!  Guess I'll give it a try.' Then would return from the sewing machine, practically skipping and with a big smile to proudly show me that she had executed the task (and perfectly I'll add.)

I'm currently teaching a young woman how to face paint.  This has been a fun experience for me to see her talents grow under my tuition.  A rewarding one too and it is turning out to be a useful task for me to break down the designs I use and analyse exactly why I do what I do to create each one.  Sometimes when you've been doing something for a long time it is so easy to get stuck in the rhythm of just producing automatically.  Having that opportunity to stop and think has also improved my painting. 

Mid November I'll be flying off to Rotorua to teach a learn to sew underwire bras class at Cottage Flair.  I'm really looking forward to this occasion to engage with fellow sewists and get bra making!  We will be working on the Harriet Bra by Cloth Habit and breaking this down into easy steps.  Bookings are through Cottage Flair; I'm not sure how many spaces are left but if you are located near Rotorua and want to join in our fun and informative weekend then you can contact Cottage Flair to enquire. 

What gives you confidence?