Jill teaches on Craftsy

I hope you will check out my Craftsy class when it opens.  Until then (likely on June 22, but I’ll let you know!) you might like to enter the drawing for the class here.

What Jill Teaches on Craftsy

Everything happens so quickly on the internet, that I thought I would take the time today to fill you in on how it happened that I am soon to be a Craftsy Instructor. It started in January and although I eventually ended up on an accelerated pace to get my class ready for taping, it still doesn’t happen overnight!

I spoke to an Acquisitions Editor from Craftsy at TNNA in Phoenix. We followed up via email to set up a phone call and we finally talked at the end of the month. Everyone is busy and coordinating schedules is always the hardest part. We spoke about possibilities of what it might make sense for me to teach on Craftsy and I sent off an initial proposal for a class we both agreed had a lot of possibility.

We got initial buy-in on the concept shortly thereafter and because scheduling is so difficult, the next step was to set the dates (April 29 to May 1) I would be in Denver to teach the class. We set the dates, and we began fleshing out the class. This is a collaborative effort because Craftsy knows how and what works on their platform, and I know what I can effectively teach. There was some back and forth to flesh out the concepts and to make sure we were moving in tandem.  All of this was accomplished in a month.

I got word from the acquisitions editor that the class was green lit on March 20. Yes, regardless of our confidence in the class, Craftsy must decide that this is the class for them. Once the class is green-lit, it becomes very real! I mean just that they are now using words like “green lit” feels a little different than my usual teaching gigs.

Creating the Class that Jill Teaches on Craftsy

We’ve written the structure of the class and now comes the knitty-gritty of actual content, both written and physical. I am sent contracts and other documents. On March 20 I am moved to the care and feeding of a Content Editor who will help me write up my class concept and content while I am writing the class materials. More scheduling and we talk on March 25. She helps me get yarn for my class project. Yarn arrives on Friday, March 27. In the meantime I have found a local knitter to knit a “fancy sample” from Sheepspot Ramboulliet Worsted, custom-dyed for me! This will be going on while I am making the class sample and doing the step-outs.

Step-outs are the pieces that the instructor picks up on camera that are ready to work or show whatever it is that the instructor is teaching. I can no longer recall how many swatches and sample pieces I made, but I think it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 swatches. I also knit the project.

I am also now talking to my producer/director. We’re talking about the structure of the class and how it will be taped, and I am also creating charts in Illustrator for each of the stitch patterns (14) in two versions plus some charts we ended up not using. I am quite busy. I have two other projects with knitters that often need my attention, I am still doing my regular teaching gig at FIDM, and knitting samples and step-outs. I am writing and editing the pattern for the class.

Somehow this all comes together before I get on the plane on April 28. I have one week of out-right panic, but somehow I get everything nearly completed and maintain my sanity. Despite the short time-line to completion, Craftsy made everything work and I had a wonderful time in Denver. Everything was well planned, thoughtful, fun, and done with a great deal of care. I had a great time and hope to do another class for Cratsy.

Soon you will see what Jill Teaches on Craftsy!