A New Driver at the Wheel

Last October, when I brought my new sewing machine home, I sat the girls down and gave them a good long lecture about never, ever, ever touching Mamma's sewing machine. My machine cost more than my car. I value it! I pointed out each part and reiterated that it should not be touched. Ever. Never ever. Please and thank you.

So what am I doing now, nine months later? Letting my 5 1/2 year old sew on it. I am still not sure this is a good idea, but I am excited about teaching her to sew (like I really know anything myself!) and an opportunity has shown itself. She has a summer project to do before she starts Kindergarten in August. She has to choose one of the books she's (we've) read this summer and do some sort of project related to it and present it to the class on the first day of school. We borrowed The Quilt Story by Tony Johnston from her preschool room and it gave me the idea to get her started on a sewing project. Actually, the book and this quilt gave me the idea. So we've gone through all my scraps, gathered up the ones she likes and we're attempting a log cabin type of pattern. We've completed one block, but when I look at it now, it's clear that I was doing too much of the driving, or at least steering, so I've stepped back and she's doing it on her own. I think she'd like more instant gratification, but I'm trying to encourage her to go beyond one 8" block. Now, when I try and "steer", she tells me she can do it herself. Granted, she's still driving my car, so I'm not going far when she's at the wheel!



The stack behind the sewing machine is my pile of pinwheels for the winter quilts I'm hoping to get done by the time it gets cold. I just counted and I'm up to 43 if I recall correctly. I'm trying to resist the temptation to lay them out and see how far along I am. I did that at about 20 pinwheels and asked Jim if he thought that would cover half a twin bed. I was hopeful. My hopes were dashed. Next time I want to actually have enough to feel like I'm a good part of the way there. So no more typing and back to sewing.