A Day With the Nieces

My twin nieces are now headed into high school, incredibly. It doesn't seem possible that they could be on the cusp of driver's license permits. However, for all the growing up that's happened when we weren't looking, they still desire a day every now and then in the sewing room with Aunt Jayne. 

Yay!

Mary Jean was supremely interested when I told her I had a stash of yarn, knitting needles and crochet hooks that I would give her. Yes, she has taken to the needle arts, and in particular loves to crochet. She couldn't wait to get her hands on the goodies.

 

I handed over all the stuff, set her back in my little nest of a sewing corner, and she was happy as a clam. She must have had a pattern in mind that she wanted to start, because she was busy and quiet in no time.

That left Anna Rose to decide what her project for the day would be. I threw out a few suggestions, and she decided that a cross-body cell phone bag would be perfect to wear under her marching band uniform this fall. We then selected fabrics and went to work.

She, too, was happy as a clam as she created her bag. There was some re-familiarizing necessary with the sewing machine, but she caught on quickly. We got one bag done so effortlessly that we made a second one for Mary Jean, flip-flopping the lining and the outer materials. 

And that second one was done pretty fast, too, so Anna Rose asked about making a bigger bag - one that might be a back pack or something along that line. I had a file of patterns that I handed to her. She found a couple she liked and we assessed the ease of construction against the available time we had. She ended up selecting a small-ish bag to which we added a strap, again in cross-body fashion, with hardware.

By mid-afternoon, these were our finishes. Three bags from Anna Rose and a very good start on a market bag by Mary Jean.

Believe it or not, the biggest effort of the day was finding a suitable button for the large bag. Their dad, my brother, had been golfing with my DH while we sewed. The guys were back in time for Mark to have a hand in the great button hunt.

From all indications, I think everyone had a satisfying day. I sure did. Mark says that Anna Rose is serious about sewing, so they are shopping for a beginner machine. 

Let me share with you some of the earlier sewing days we have had. We don't get to do it often, but we have made some nifty things, like headbands and pillow cases. We have also had one overnight sewing party.

For a final picture today, let me roll out this one from Easter 2010 when the girls were 2 and a half.  This may be the most adorable picture ever taken of them!

If they want to sew again, I believe they might go for the idea of one of those 3-yard quilts that are so popular right now. They could buy their 3 yards in advance and we could potentially have both quilt tops done in a day, I think. 

Hope you are having a great day! I am removing nearly an entire quilt's worth of quilting stitches. UGH. Yes, I quilted one yesterday only to discover that more than half of my stitches were "eyelashed" on back - an issue with my tension. I have removed most of the offending stitches. Next I will run some test quilting to assure that tension issues are resolved, then reload this quilt and get it done right!

This just goes to show that not everything works perfectly, but if I'm sewing and quilting, I am usually pretty chill about the snafus along the way.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Sewing With Kids

Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to take my machine and some supplies to Mom's, where I met my 10-year-old nieces for a bit of sewing. The plan for the day was to make a flannel pillowcase.

First we drove over to WalMart so they could pick their fabrics. This took longer than actually making them. Too many decisions!! Eventually, each girl selected a main fabric, a cuff fabric and an accent fabric. In actuality, the choices were limited; I'd hate to think how long it would have taken if we'd gone to a proper quilt shop for flannel!!

I followed a Missouri Star Quilt Company video for measurements and sewing directions. For each cut of fabric, I got a bit extra so the girls would have some remnants to play with. They were glad about that.

Here's a photo story of our fun few hours of sewing. They watched while I cut all the fabrics to the correct size, and helped with pinning. They liked the metaphor of rolling up the end into a "burrito" and were glad to help with that part, too.

 

Both girls were quite intent as they stitched, working so very hard to follow the line on the machine to end up with a straight seam. We had a bit of curviness, but mostly, they did great.

Anna Rose unrolls her "burrito."

And she seems very pleased with her work!

Mary Jean works at unrolling her "burrito."

Here is MJ turning her finished pillowcase right side out.

Success! Satisfied smiles and warm, flannel pillowcases.

The girls are progressing quite well with their sewing. We have had 3 or 4 sessions together, and they continue to show improvement. Most of all, they want to learn, which makes all the difference.

I am linking today with Monday Making.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Sewing With Nieces

If anyone thinks kids would have absolutely no interest in sewing, then let me introduce you to Anna Rose and Mary Jean, my soon-to-be 10-year-old nieces. They have appeared here on the blog in a few earlier posts, but it's been awhile. (See them at age 2. Or at age 5. Or at age 7.) On Sunday, we met at my mother's house (Grandma Jeannie, to the grandkids). She set up two card tables in her sunroom, I brought both my machines, some fabric and supplies, and we had a day of sewing. What fun!

About a week ago, I received a text message from them asking to sew with Aunt Jayne. We set a date for the Sunday of Labor Day weekend to meet at Grandma Jeannie's for an afternoon of sewing. That gave me time to shop for colorful, kid-appealing fat quarters at JoAnn Fabrics, which had a great sale going on. I'd determined that we would be making headbands, so I also picked up some elastic.

Anna Rose cutting her fabric.

Mary Jean tried cutting with snipper scissors.

She found that she could cut faster with big shears.

Anna Rose with her blue-green headband.

Mary Jean with her purple polka dot headband.

My cutie-pies look adorable in their new headbands!

Their cousin Emma (my younger daughter) stopped by to help.

I was grateful for Emma's assistance! And the girls adore her!

 After the headbands were completed, they wanted to play in the fabric (I know the feeling!), so I just let them cut and create. Neither girl grew tired or bored, which I half expected as the afternoon wore on; I figured their attention span would at some point be ready for something else, but they remained engaged all afternoon and were actually sad when the time came to put all our stuff away. I am fairly certain we are going to make sewing together a regular activity.

Mary Jean is putting stuffing into a little doll pillow.

She made two pillows. 

Anna Rose wanted to cut shapes and put them on the fabric. I told her this was a real quilty thing called applique. Don't you think she did great?

By late in the afternoon, I wasn't needed to hover over them; they were capable and comfortable using the machines, and were completely engaged in creating little bags or pillows or applique panels. I made 4 more headbands while they created. These can be shared between them or given to friends.

As we headed home after a very long day - we'd gone to an 8am service at Chapel in the Woods, and finished off the day with a cookout at long-time friends, Jim and Shirley's - I remarked to DH that I hoped the day was one the girls would remember long into their old age. Some days from my childhood are seared into my memory; I'd like to think we accomplished that with these dear sweet nieces.

Happy Quilting, Friends!