Quilt Camp for our youngest grandchild began here this morning. Lynnleigh's been so eager to start her own quilt! At eight, having only just completed the second grade, she's the youngest Quilt Camper that I've had; but, probably, the most enthusiastic by a mile! (
And by no means does that imply that the others haven't been excited, not at all!) Lynnleigh is artistic by nature, she's all about color, value and contrast. Sometimes it's easy to forget that she's eight years old! She knows what she likes. For her pattern we chose a Nine Patch, she's webbing the blocks as she goes. All of her energy and interest in color and design was thwarted, in the beginning, by her reluctance to have a hand at the machine. She's not really sewn on the machine before, that took some time and practice. "I'd prefer to do these by hand" she said. I encouraged her, "I know that you can do this", I assured her. I told her that I would be right here with her, there was nothing to worry about. She was willing, but still a bit timid and doubtful and, I suppose, intimidated by the machine itself.
She started out without thread or bobbin, learning to stitch on paper and how to follow a straight line. She learned how to stop with the needle down, raise the presser foot, and pivot. She was ready to go after that!
From there it was an easy jump from the paper to the fabric and she was on her way!
Block #1, done!
And... how she spent the rest of the afternoon!
She is so proud of her accomplishments after day one; and so is this Nana! For the once-reluctant machinist I have to say that she's the most precise and deliberately conscientious stitcher that seen in quite some time. We kept the sewing sessions short today, had snacks and lunch at the appropriate times and our "breaks" consisted of a rousing game of Uno and story time. She'll be back in the morning for day number two. I hope that she's just as excited as she was today; because I, for one, can not wait!
Life is Good!
