It started with a charm pack of constellations that I got at sew south and have been saving. I knew I wanted to use it for a small quilt, I just needed a pattern that wouldn't need much more. Enter the modern disappearing 9 patch quilt. I actually had a couple of options for her to choose from and that is what she picked, so we used the charm pack plus a few extras, and some gray that I had enough of. I let her lay out all the 9 patches and help sew them together (sitting on my lap guiding them though) and then she did the layout of blocks after that. I did the cutting and ironing, but she picked out the back (a soft, light lawn fabric from my grandmother), helped baste, helped decide on quilting and then quilt it, pick binding, and sew the binding on. As a side note, it was a little hard for my inner control freak not to move things around or suggest alternates, but I am glad I managed it and let this design be hers.
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It was actually a pretty long process since she got bored pretty easily so it sat around a lot between steps, but she is so proud and happy to have this little quilt to play with. At this point, I try to let her help when I can and she is interested and we will probably consider getting her a small machine in the fairly near future if she wants one. We'll see. In any case, happy weekend everyone!
It looks great! Good for her (and you for guiding her)!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter's first foray into quiltmaking was probably around 4 as well. She sat down at my sewing machine one day and said "let's do this." So I pulled out a basket of 2" strips and got her to hand me the strips she wanted me to work with. She has a lovely pink and cream log cabin quilt as a result.
ReplyDeleteThe picking and pairing of fabrics still continues. At 7, she hasn't mastered sewing straight, so piecing isn't in her skill set yet. (So your 4-year-old is doing really well!) Currently she's working on a flannel rag quilt--so forgiving. She's stitching across the patches to anchor the layers and I put them together in rows. It doesn't matter if her stitching isn't straight for this project. But it gets her used to the controlling fabric running through the machine. I can't wait for the day she's ready for her first sewing machine (Hello Kitty)!
I don't know how I missed this post- I love it! It put a smile on my face. What a fun mother-daughter project. That would of taken a lot of patience on your part, so well done.
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