A Table Runner 4 Years in the Making

My last finish for 2021 was 4 years in the making and I'm so glad I completed and gifted it! 

 

Back in 2017, we visited my sister-in-law's house for the week of Thanksgiving. 6 adults and 9 kids and basically a "free" week to have some fun. I don't live near any of my nieces and nephews, so my chances to be the "fun project aunt" aren't frequent. I came prepared, with supplies to decorate cookies and make some applique quilt blocks. 

Here's the workstation (aka kitchen island) for our quilting activity. I had a lot of fused fabric scraps in solid colors, and I gave each kid a scissors and a white background square. The kids' ages ranged from approximately 3 to 11. 

Here are all the kids with their finished blocks. It was fun to see how creative they got; especially the older kids who had a little more scissors skills. 

Then the blocks sat for four years. This week, I decided to turn them into a table runner for my sister-in-law (4 of the kids pictured are hers; 3 are mine). I surrounded each block with a solid-colored frame, varying the thick section to add interest and make the runner a little wider (the blocks were originally only 6-1/2" square). 

And the finished runner:

We met up with family this week for a belated Christmas, and I was able to give my sister-in-law the runner in person. Here she is with the runner and all 7 kids who made a block. Such a fun gift! 

Sewing with Kids

 My earliest sewing memories involve sewing Cabbage Patch Kid clothes with my mom. :) She (and therefore I) didn't get into quilting until later. When I was a kid, I had free rein to use her sewing machine and to use her stash, and I really enjoyed experimenting. Here's a pic of the earliest finished project I have. It's not a doll quilt; I used it to cover up the digital numbers on my alarm clock. :)

So when I had kids, I knew I wanted to introduce them to one of my favorite hobbies. I have three boys, and if I had a nickel for every time someone asked if I wished I'd had a girl, so I could teach them to sew, I'd have my own longarm. Guess what? Boys can sew too, and like it. 

In fact, I blame then for how messy my sewing studio always is. Which is only half accurate. I started between 4 and 5 years old with each of them, when they expressed interest. We started with improv piecing because 1/4" seam allowances don't matter. Much easier that way! It's fun watching their ideas, and also occasionally frustrating, because they believe anything is possible, and I need to balance not crushing that idea with also pulling them back to what's feasible. 

Here's a photo of the quilt my older two boys made for my dad. They made all the blocks except for two, and then I assembled it and machine quilted it. It's both awesome and hurts the eyes all at the same time. 

They've also gone through a Minecraft block phase, zip pouches, pillows, felt softies, and most recently, my Strippy Improv Holiday blocks. 

I may need to invest in a third sewing machine if they keep this up! :)

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Sew a Softie!

A while back, I heard about the Sew a Softie Kid Ambassador program (thank you, Trixi!) and signed up my middle son, Jojo. While all three of my boys like to sew, he's the one with the most interest (and the most patience). Basically, the program encourages kids to teach another kid (or kids) how to sew during the month of July, starting with something easy, like a small stuffed object. You can find out more here (including tons of tutorials!).

Well, July flew by, and suddenly it was July 30th and time to get rolling before August started. After much debate on what types of softies to make with our neighborhood friends, we I narrowed it down to a simple monster shape, with pre-sewed arms and legs. The kids had a great time! 

We started with trapezoid body pieces, little arms and legs that I sewed and my boys turned right side out, and white and black fabric with fusible web for eyeballs. 

Our sewing group (minus TJ, my 11-year-old, who had zoomed ahead and was already sewing!). Two seven year olds and two five year olds. Translated: lots of mom help! :) 
We decided to hold our sewing camp outside because - coronavirus.

Jojo walked them through the process of assembling a monster.

Pinning on the arms and legs.

Stuffing the monsters!

Adding eyeballs. As the morning went on, the kids got more creative: Smiles, teeth, yarn hair, swords (of course!), and berets for their monsters.

The moms helped a bit the newbies a bit with the actual sewing.

Jojo sharing some sewing tips.

And the finished monsters!

All the kids with their creatures. Don't mind the crazy amount of weeds in my garden.

Monsters in the hosta! A sure sign of success? Every kid asked to make a second monster after we took these photos. Round 2 was just as fun.