There is a cool cloud cover today, enough “cool” for a sweater…but it came off immediately. There was work to do. When three year old Ellie saw me sewing, she exclaimed she wanted to sew too. Off she went to pick out her favorite Fat Quarter in the store. When told she needed a second one, another smile and giggles of cooperation!
Are you surprised she would pick pink?
Ellie and I lining up the fabric, she is an expert
at knowing what buttons to push….especially mine!
The fabric is going through nice and straight, it’s step one
with the Quilt in a Day method.
Obviously, there is a long way to go on this “quilt in a day”…
Ellie was off to play with the dogs after this was sewn together.
It is such fun to teach Ellie to sew. Do you get that opportunity too? Send me any hints you might have, let’s continue the quilting “bug” in the next generation.
Use your own books! They are great! My girls all qult, My grands all sew, one of the boys is autistic, He picks fabric and a layout, I cut, he sews. He won a blue ribbon at our County fair at age 9! When he is here we sew together.
Next to youngest (10) grand boy ‘hides’ in my sewing room, putting together small scrap pieces. He is learning a lot about color, and is more than will ing to get on the floor to pin after a couple of lessons in how to do it.
They both like my ‘push button’ machine better than the ‘pedal’ one.
Daughter and Granddaughter Emilie took one of the classes offered at your CA store. Em started cutting at 12 on vacation here, we made her mother a Log Cabin in a Day, she has gone on to Irish Chain…
I can’t offer much in the way of tips, just encourage them, let them choose patters colors, layouts. Let tem do what they are capable of, supervise and applaud!
A box of Barbie dolls tucked away somewhere with a bed for Barbie. They make a great size for the miniature quilts and perfect for first time quilters. This gives a great interaction of a reward when the 15 or 20 minutes attention span at that young age of quilting is gone. (Could also use a bigger doll or favorite doll for a bigger quilt size.) The other thing I use is a foldable flannel board just for them. Where they can see the fabric blocks arranged and notice the work that was done the day of their visit. Easily stores away because it is foldable. Hope this helps. Good luck.
Looks like she has a good eye for color. What a doll.
Eleanor,
This is adorable. My children both love to quilt and my four year old son may actually be more skilled than his 6 year old sister. My only tip rings true for a lot of situations: Ask them what they like, let them choose color, patterns, projects. You know what you love whether you’re four or forty – and often it doesn’t change much over the years! Give children ownership.
I have had the pleasure of teaching a friends daughter to sew and was able to get her a sewing machine for her 12th birthday……..she’s great, she knows what she wants to make and figures it out herself, shes made clothes for her teddies etc and now she feels ready to start to quilting and I have to teach her……and last week my 19 year old daughter made her first quilt, the top is all pieced and we have sandwiched it ready for quilting, next week when we both have some more time we are going to start quilting…..I am thrilled shes finally tackled a 60 inch square quilt, shes made a couple of very small projects and I wasn’t sure her attention span would hold out for the big quilt but I learned to go at her pace…….think thats the only tip I could offer you, go at their pace…..I am a bit of a power sewer and can work at it all day but my daughter doesn’t have the same stamina, go at their pace, encourage continuosly and watch the bug bite……they’ll be hooked in no time (as long as it doesn’t feel like work)
Your granddaughter reminds me of my dear granddaughter, Eleanor,7. She loves to sew with me. Next week she will be visiting me in Maine and I plan to start her on a strip quilt. Up until recently her favorite color was pink and she would only wear dresses…but recently she announced that blue and orange are also her favorites (perhaps because those are UVAs colors (her Mom and Dad’s alma mater)) and that she will now wear shorts and shirts. They grow up too fast!! BTW I am making my first quilt ever…your barn quilt…wish me luck!