FESTIVAL TEACHER PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

LOCATIONS & TIMES:

All classes, lectures, forums, and samplers will be held on the 3rd floor of the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. Open Studios will be on the show floor. 

• Regular classes will begin at either 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. (with three-hour morning sessions either 8-11 AM or 9 AM-Noon), three-hour afternoon classes will be 2-5 PM, and Monday/Friday evening classes will be 6-9 PM. 
• Longarm classes will be 8 AM-Noon, 1-5 PM or 2-6 PM, and Monday/Friday evening classes will be 6-9 PM. 
• Limited four-hour, seven-hour, and two-day classes will be scheduled accordingly. 
• Lectures are 50-minutes. 
• Machine Quilting Forums are Wednesday, November 1 and Thursday, November 2, 9 AM-Noon. Creative Variety Forum is Thursday, November 2, 2-5 PM. 
• Samplers are Friday, November 3 and Saturday, November 4, 10 AM-Noon. 
• Open Studios runs from Thursday, November 2-Saturday, November 4, 10 AM-6 PM and Sunday, November 5, 10 AM-2 PM in 2-hour increments. 

CLASSES AND LECTURES: 

• Consider offering classes which present new, innovative techniques and approaches to quiltmaking or those offering basic techniques and methods, especially those which emphasize improving skills or easier ways to work. 

• Both project and process classes are popular at Festival. 
• Six-hour classes need to be planned so that the afternoon is not just a “working” lab but features specific instruction. A class which can be taught as effectively in three hours should be offered as a three-hour class, even if the project will not be finished. 

FORUMS AND SAMPLERS: 

• Forums are formatted to allow 6 featured artists to present introductions on a stage in front of the entire audience. Then will follow with breakout sessions when groups rotate to visit each presenter for approximately 20 minutes each. Presenter repeats breakout presentation six times. 
• Forum stage setup includes a head table, LCD projector, screen, podium, and podium mic. Forum coordinators will contact those accepted for more details about AV connection needs and presentation types on stage. 
• Forum breakout presentations are at individual stations and may be a combination of live and pre-recorded videos. Individual stations are provided with two tables, two chairs, and other requested supplies available on proposal form. No projectors are provided for this portion of the event. 
• Samplers are formatted to allow 25-30 teachers at individual stations to present their topics simultaneously as students come and go at their own pace. Presentations should be short and are repeated to fill the two-hours. No projectors are provided for this event. 
• Forum and Sampler presenters may sell books or products at their station only if they have a helper to handle the transactions. The presenter’s job is to teach. 

FEE STRUCTURE: 

• Regular classroom teachers, sewing machine classroom teachers, and stationary longarm teachers will be paid $20 per student for three-hour classes and $40 per student for six-hour classes as indicated on the signed class roster (less refunds) and 100% of materials fees (less refunds). 
• Longarm classroom teachers will be paid $10/hr per student (2 students per machine) or $20/hr per student (1 student per machine). 
• The materials fee should reflect no more than retail value of items supplied to students. 
• Teachers pay their own expenses with the exception of complimentary tickets for selected Festival events. 
• Teachers will be paid 100% of their negotiated contracted fee for a lecture. 
• Payroll checks are mailed within 45 days of the end of Festival. 

LONGARM MACHINES: 

• Framed longarm machines will be provided for this show. 
• There will also be a stationary sit-down longarm machine classroom. 

• You may request the brand of machine you prefer, knowing that some machines are requested more often than others. If your first choice is not available and you do not give us a second choice, it’s possible that you will be reassigned or that we cannot accept the class you offer because of unavailable machines. 
• Please keep in mind that all longarm classes are hands-on classes and should be balanced 50/50 between lecture and practice time on the machines. 

SEWING MACHINES: 

• Several of the major machine companies graciously provide machines for classroom use. You may request the brand of machine you prefer, knowing that some machines are requested more often than others. If your first choice is not available and you do not give us a second choice, it’s possible that you will be reassigned or that we cannot accept the class you offer because of unavailable machines. 
• Machines for teacher use for classroom demonstration purposes may be requested by including that information in the “Sewing or Longarm Machine Required for Teacher” blank on the class proposal form. Requests made at a later date cannot be guaranteed. 
• NOTE: You must arrange for sewing machines for a Sampler or Forum presentation directly with the sewing machine companies. Send email to jillb@quilts.com requesting sewing machine company contact information:

SERGER & EMBROIDERY MACHINES: 

• We plan to offer one classroom of serger machines. 
• We plan to offer one or more classrooms of embroidery machines. 

POLICY FOR SEWING/SERGER/EMBROIDERY MACHINE USAGE: 

You may request a classroom equipped with sewing, serger, or embroidery machines ONLY if you plan on using them for the majority of class time. A class that features design work in the morning and hands-on sewing in the afternoon will need to be scheduled in two different rooms to allow other teachers/students to make use of the limited number of machines we are able to provide. It requires a great deal of resources on the part of the machine companies to pack/ship/monitor/service these machines and we must be certain they are used to the fullest extent possible. We can schedule the classroom without machines as yours for the day, while you are using the sewing machine classroom. 

IRONS: 

The facilities will allow only 2 regular full-size irons or 1 regular full-size iron and 5 Clover Wedge irons or 10 Clover Wedge irons in a room at the same time because of the electricity they require. In some cases, additional irons can be set out in the hallway. If we have to bring extra electricity into a room for iron use, we will need to assess a usage fee to the students. Do not ask or allow students to bring/use personal irons of any kind. Quilts, Inc. will provide all irons. 

AUDIO-VISUAL EQUIPMENT: 

Please plan to use a visual presentation ONLY if you have your own projector and are TOTALLY self-sufficient in the setup/operation of your laptop/iPad/projector and all communications between the two. If using your projector, please indicate the connection needed for communication between devices. Most are HDMI. 

CLASSROOM AID: 

A student who has paid to be in your class will be serving as classroom helper in return for a Classroom Aid Pin from International Quilt Festival. They will check roll in class, help with set up, pass out handouts, and be available for limited needs during class. They have no further duties or responsibilities (or authority) but can contact Festival Staff in the Education Office for further assistance. Please do not ask any Classroom Aid to handle money or sales for your class. Do not collect money from your students for the materials fee you listed on your proposal. All materials fees are collected at the time of enrollment. 

REFUNDS: 

International Quilt Festival is very strict about class refunds. We do not grant them without personal investigation, nor without good and just cause. However, refunds are granted for emergencies or for serious dissatisfaction with a class that has produced multiple complaints. In such an instance, we reserve the right to delete the person(s) from the class list and from the teacher’s payment schedule. If a refund is granted, the teacher will receive information on the reason for the refund. 

CANCELLED CLASS POLICY: 

We do not cancel classes due to low enrollment. Instead, you will be paid for a minimum of six (6) students, even if actual enrollment is fewer than that. Should the class grow to six or more students with on-site enrollments, you will then be paid in accordance with our normal procedures based on actual attendance. Either way, you will be paid your materials fee for the actual number of students enrolled. 

CLASS SELECTION: 

• Each proposal is carefully reviewed, as are the scheduling preferences you specify within the Wantlist form. Limitations of space, time, and sewing machines will prevent us from accepting all submissions, but we encourage you to submit a variety of topics. We look forward to showcasing both new talent and returning talent. 
• The International Quilt Festival classes and lectures are selected after we have reviewed all proposals received. Criteria for selection include anticipated appeal of classes, recommendations of other teachers, enrollment, student evaluations from past years, completeness of proposals, and variety of curriculum. 

• If you are not selected for this year’s faculty, please keep us posted on your new classes and/or publications for future consideration. 

BEFORE YOU PROPOSE: 

Each type of event requires a different proposal form. Please gather necessary information before beginning so that you may submit complete proposals. 

You will begin with the Wantlist to capture your contact information, biography, upload a HIGH RES jpeg format headshot, and then allow you to specify scheduling preferences. Please fill out only ONE Wantlist. Once this is complete, you may proceed to the other proposal forms. 

Class Proposal Form allows you to describe your proposed class(es), specify teaching supplies needed, classification options, student supplies needed, and to upload one (required) or two class visuals. 

• Please be sure class visuals are HIGH RES jpeg format or they will be blurry in publication. Help us present the best possible images! (No tiff files, please.) 
• Student Supply Needs will be submitted as either a PDF (including the name of the class and the teacher’s name) or as a link to your website. DO NOT include sewing machines or irons on your supply lists. PDF supply lists may state what you are providing for the materials fee. 
• Class proposals are one class per submission. Submit as many as you like. 
• Classes to be repeated from 2022 will require new submissions. 

Lecture Proposal Form allows you to describe your proposed lecture(s) and list your lecture fee for up to eight (8) lecture proposals per submission. 

Forum Proposal Form allows you to specify your needs for up to six (6) forum proposals per submission. Be sure to have your REQUIRED black & white, one-page, one-sided handout ready to upload with your proposal. Handouts should contain your name and contact information, SHOULD BE INSTRUCTIVE, and should not be blatant advertisements. 

Sampler Proposal Form allows you to specify your needs for up to four (4) sampler proposals per submission. Be sure to have your REQUIRED black & white, one-page, one-sided handout ready to upload with your proposal. Handouts should contain your name and contact information, SHOULD BE INSTRUCTIVE, and should not be blatant advertisements. 

Open Studios Form allows you to offer 4 session titles. These can be repeated if your schedule allows. Here, you do not have the option to go from Open Studios proposal to other types of proposals due to the later submission deadline of Open Studios. 

Review your proposal carefully before you submit! You cannot access the proposal for changes after it has been submitted. You may use the save and resume button at the bottom of each form at any time if you find that you are not ready to submit. Once you have submitted your proposal, you will receive an immediate confirmation e-mail containing all the information you entered. If you do not receive a confirmation email, your submission was not complete. 

If you have any questions, please contact Jill Benge at jillb@quilts.com. If you have technical questions about the on-line system or need to make changes to your proposal after submission, contact Barbara Cline at barbarac@quilts.com.