I did something today that I said I’d never do. I quilted. Yep, you read that right. (Aunt Kat—pick your chin up off the floor!) I quilted. Here’s how it happened:
Mom and I were hanging out in her well-stocked quilting room. I was browsing the shelves, looking for fabrics for dresses, inspiration, gifts, etc. It’s better than Hancock’s. Really. Anyway, from the sounds I hear down the hall, it appears the children need to spend a little time away from one another. I call the Big Girl into the sewing room.
Me: If you were going to match 4 fabrics for a quilt, what would you pick?
Her (With her eyes as big as saucers scouring the shelves.): Can I pick?
Me: Yep.
…about 5 mintues later…
Momo: Look at these. (As she holds up a baggie of 4 inch squares all in pink.)
Her: Oh yea!!!!!
Me: Well pick four and lay them out as a square and I’ll show you how to sew them together.
Then the discussion turns to “place them right sides together”…
and “this is your presser foot, you lower it gently”…
I’m sure the casual observer would have also heard “don’t tug on the fabric”, “pay attention and line your fabric up”, and “don’t put your foot anywhere near that gas pedal” uttered plenty during that time…
Well, of course, one 4-patch is never enough, so let’s make 3 more. Do you know how many ways you can combine 16 squares (when you have 32 choices???)
After she finishes sewing her blocks together, her Momo puts the pieced piece with some batting and she quilts!!! Nothing fancy, just stitch in the ditch, but great for a beginner. She did a fabulous job.
Well…while all this is going on…the Little Man comes in the house. I thought Popo and his daddy were watching him, but I heard some commotion about a crowbar getting dropped on his toes…I don’t know. Anyway, in the true spirit of “anything you can do, I can do better”, I hear “Can I do it too?” So here we go again…
Did you see the sheer joy on that kids face? He was so proud of himself—until he found out she did 4 squares. Guess what. He got to sew 3 more squares. He laid out each one, “steered” the fabric and pressed the gas peddle each time. But then he wanted it quilted. That’s right, quilted. Since Mom was working on the binding on the BG’s quilt, I had to quilt. It wasn’t as painful as I’d feared—but don’t look to closely! Mom put the binding on his quilt also. (When you see his finished project, you need to remember he laid it out by himself, without our input. I was impressed.)
All in all, it was a great day. The spontaneous sewing lessons went well. My kids listened!!! We found out their attention spans last until the bindings! Here are their finished projects. Aren’t they great!
Cool! I thought yall were going to see a turtle and instead you quilt???? Tell them I am proud of them.
Actually they did both.
WOW!! I had to go back and check whose blog link I clicked on to be sure I was reading right!! Tell BG and LM, "FANTASTIC JOB!!"
And tell Momo I am so pleased she let you all in her stash. Now she will have a reason to go buy more… 3 more quilters in the family.
Aunt Kat
Never….. but through the eyes of babes….
Unc D
great story; great day for the three of you; one to remember!
Great job! Very impressive!
I love this story–such serendipity!
Thanks for sharing it:)
Gorgeous. When I retire… I am going to elarn to quilt. Right now, I just admire from afar.
Their Great Grandmother LZ would have been proud….
UND