Completed Quilt

It's finished! Allie's 1st quilt. We gave it to our neighbor this afternoon.
What a proud moment for me to see my daughter's thoughtful gift being
received by our neighbor for their newborn.










Allie's idea for the label to add a cute duckie patch.

Introduction

I'm a working mom, I've been an art consultant for 12 years and held many other jobs prior to that. But I've been sewing since I was a young girl. My grandmother taught me embroidery and my mother taught me to sew on a machine when I was 12. The first thing I bought when I graduated from college was a new sewing machine, not a microwave!

I've made clothes, curtains, slipcovers, pillows and quilts. With a young daughter who has a keen interest in learning to sew and make crafts, I have been challenged to find appropriate craft projects for her that are worthwhile. She spends a lot of time and wants to give the projects as gifts to grandparents and friends. But not everyone wants a cute gift made from paper plates and pipe cleaners.

Our first project, two years ago, was kitchen towels with appliques. She thought about each family's kitchen, selected a towel that would coordinate and then a design that would be meaningful to each recipient. A cardinal for her grandmother that loves birds, teacup for the grandmother that loves tea, rooster for the family with the rooster collection etc. She drew simple designs and we traced them on Wonder-under. She helped iron the fabrics to the towels and then sewed around the designs on the machine to help hold them on better. The best part was seeing all our family members faces when they realized she'd created something unique and special for them It was a great Christmas.

Since that time, I've tried to help Allie with other craft skills. Knowing that these skills start basic and then build to more complicated projects. After she finished the quilt top, she used the same skills: taking squares, matching right sides, pinning and sewing in rows and created her own pillow. I was at work when she made this one afternoon. I am very proud of her and look forward to another winter at the dining room table with dueling sewing machines each of us sewing to our heart's content.

Allie's 1st Quilt, Mom's 1st Post

Our neighbor recently had a baby. Allie wanted to make a quilt for them. Her sewing skills are pretty good for her age. We gave her a sewing machine for Christmas two years ago. And she knows how to use it on her own. She creates many beautiful pictures out of fabrics. I helped her with the basic skills: design, piecing, pressing etc. and she's created the quilt on her own. Today we have to make the binding and then it's complete!