Busy pillow making Saturday with some new friends!

I met with a 4-H group last Saturday so they could get some sewing experience making the Topsy Turvy Pillow. It was a busy and fun class! There were lots of parents to help, which was nice since there were twelve girls. They really helped keep things moving along.

It was funny watching them turn them inside out and try to work the pillow inside...but lots of happy faces when they got it to work.

It's fun working with kids. They are so eager and ready to learn. Thanks for a fun day, girls!

It's All About the Kids! Day 5 and a giveaway!

Welcome to Day 5 of SewCalGal's  It's All About The Kids Blog Event!  Lots of inspiration for kids and a few giveaways too. Head over to SewCalGal's to see the full list of blogs participating.

Did you sew as a child? I did... my mom started teaching me to embroider and sew at a young age. She guided my sister and me as we embroidered pot holders as gifts for family and later on as we learned to make clothing for ourselves. She made most of our clothes, so we fell into it naturally. There has never been a time in my life that I haven't sewed.

Because I enjoy it so much, I think it's important to make sewing available for kids. I spend some time every summer holding Kids Camps in our local fabric store. I think I have as much fun as the kids, though I have to keep moving to keep up with them!

Over the past few years, the kids have made pillows, kleenex covers, pajama pants, quilts, and bags. Most of the time I design a pattern for the classes, so I have control over the difficulty of the project.

Kids are open to trying new things and really have fun. Even when they are having problems, they stay focused when they are really interested. As we all know, there is something very satisfying about making a project on your own and they feel it too. They don't fear making mistakes as much as adults and are very creative with their fabric choices.

These pictures are from last summer's camps. I taught two different sessions, the Topsy Turvy Pillow and the Carry-All Bag. The Kleenex covers were a bonus project for the Pillow girls, as they finished early.

When I use purchased patterns for the classes I try to stick with the Learn to Sew section of the pattern catalog....the kids used the Simplicity pattern 2164 last summer to make these cute bags. I chose it for its simple structure and purchased webbing for handles.

Here are some tips if you want to help your child begin to sew.

Pick out a project that is simple enough for a child. If they are overwhelmed, it won't be fun and they won't want to finish.

Take breaks. They have lots of energy, but it is hard to stay focused on most projects for more than a couple of hours.

Don't be too picky. If it holds together and there are no holes in the seams, it is ok, even if the seams aren't perfectly straight. You can guide them to try harder but don't discourage them by making them take out every seam. If it seems too hard they won't want to do it.

Help when needed. Even sewers with some experience need help occasionally, so don't worry that if you help with a tricky seam or  turn handles right side out that they aren't making it themselves.

You can see from these pictures that they were very happy to have a finished project that they could use after these classes. Were they all perfect? They were in their eyes!

To help in the celebration of kids and crafts/sewing, Fat Quarter Shop  has donated a $25 gift certificate! They really do know how to celebrate.  Enter using the Rafflecopter below. You have until Monday to enter and win this wonderful prize! What would you  buy? They have so many beautiful fabrics, it would be hard to choose, but it will be fun to try!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for joining me for this blogging event. I hope you are inspired to start a new project soon with your budding crafter/sewer.I'd love to hear about it when you do!

Topsy Turvy

I had a very quilty weekend! I spent Saturday on a shop hop with a group of friends. We went to the Missouri Star Quilt Co. as well as several other shops in the area. It was great fun. If you haven't been to MSQC, it is a massive amount of fabric in one place. They have 3 store fronts now, and are working on a fourth. Their main store is packed to the brim so they are specializing in these other stores. One has only solids and blenders, one has seasonal. The new one will feature all of their reproduction prints. Everyone in all the shops was friendly and helpful. Since I recently used a lot of my batik stash....I replenished with a few new ones.

Yesterday,  I worked on getting the Topsy Turvy Pillow made and all the paperwork for class ready. I will be teaching this in June as a Kid's Camp, but adults may take it as well if they wish. I used the two fabrics from the Carry-All Bag on it...they will look nice hanging on display together. I love those marching elephants.

I had loaded a quilt on the frame last week, but didn't find time to work on it, so after I got everything organized for the kids class, I started quilting it. I'm happy to report that I got it finished. No pics yet, but soon!
Happy Monday!