let the sewing begin!

Such an exciting day!  Emma and I had our first sewing session together!

We took a few minutes to get familiar with her sewing machine.  She had sewn a bit on it before this, but was glad for a refresher course.  We adjusted the tension to get a nice stitch on both sides of her fabric, and then she sewed several rows of stitching to get comfortable with guiding the fabric through.  For an 8-year old girl, sewing can be an intimidating process, but she was so willing to get right at it.  

She happened to have a UFO (unfinished object) in the form of a doll quilt she had started previously, but was not able to finish.  This worked out really well, because she already had the squares cut for the one remaining row.  Emma laid them out in an order she liked, and stitched them together.  Once the row was completed and ironed, she attached it to the other two rows.

I helped her with another pressing to keep it nice and neat, then we added a backing to it.  I cut the backing, and she did the stitching and pulled it right side out.  Another pressing, and I helped her stitch the opening closed.   She and her mom liked the idea of a tie quilt, so I showed her how to tie it off with embroidery floss, though we could have used yarn.  I left her with the homework assignment of finishing  the tying off and making the bed for her doll!

Great job Emma.  I enjoyed our lesson.  I see great things ahead.  :)

In other news, Halloween has now come and gone.  Here are three of my favorite little trick-or-treaters.