Wednesday, January 3, 2018

I Think She's Got the Quilting Bug!!!

So remember when I shared how I was helping the amazing Young Women in my church to make Charming Totes . . .Well one of those amazing Young Women is my daughter.  This is her with her Charming Tote (which there happens to be a tutorial for right over here ;)  Jessica (shes 12 yrs old)  has done some sewing and piecing before, but only when I have asked if she wanted to make something or with her grandma, and even then, we needed to kind of stay on her to finish her project.   But I think this experience of making this little Tote might have been just the right project for the Quilting Bug to bite her ;)


As soon as school ended for the Christmas Break she asked if she could finish up the quilt that she had been working on for a friend for the last 2 years.   She added the borders, pressed it all, made a backing and then promptly asked if she could quilt it on the long arm.  


And let me tell you, this girl is a natural on the long arm!!!  She wasn't scared one bit.   I helped her load the quilt and gave her a few suggestions on how she might light to quilt it, and she was off.   I was able to work on my own project as she quilted away and  only came and get me to help her change the bobbin or roll the quilt, which she had down by the end of the quilt ;)  Ya, totally a proud moment for this mama!!!


And the best thing was, she absolutely loved it.  Every time I checked on her she was grinning from ear to ear, excited with what she was doing ;)  Yippee!!!  And I was so glad she wasn't scared, because she picked yellow thread, which blended great in the border, but made a super fun pop in the squares.   And she just rocked it!!!


She quilted loops and stars in the border, and alternated between wavy criss cross lines on an angel and wavy criss cross lines perpendicular on the squares.  I helped her with the name at the bottom, but besides that, she did all the quilting on her own.  And just look at all that awesome texture!!!  I know I am a bit bias, but I think she did amazing :)  What a beautiful and fun finish!!!   And of course, her friend just loved the quilt and it made for a wonderful Christmas Present ;)


And then the day after Christmas, Jessica asked if she could start another project!!!!   The quilting mom in me was so excited, I dropped everything I was doing and ran her down to the quilt room to decide on a project before she could change her mind ;)   She opted for the Neverland fabric that I had and wanted to do another simple patchwork with a border, but she wanted a whole lot more squares.   So I helped her with some cutting and gave her a little bit of instruction  (mostly, it's just like piecing the tote but on a larger scale) and she was on her way.


She laid out the patchwork and played for a few days with the placement.  Then when she got it just the way she liked she collected it all back into rows and started sewing.  She has already sewn up the first 6 rows ;)   And she is doing it completely independently!!!   I am so impressed with how she has just taken off with this!!  She is keeping her project neat and organize (so glad I bought the Good Measure Clothespins Set at Black Friday,  they are perfect for her to keep her rows stacked and together :)   so there is room for us both to sew together and that is a dream come true!!! 


I can see sharing a lot of Jessi's finishes this year because that girl is totally "jump into the deep end of the pool" excited about quilting!!!!  Best Day Ever!!!!   


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20 comments:

  1. So cool! And she did a great job. Like Mother like Daughter!

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  2. Jessica’s tote and quilt are both amazing!!! Can’t wait to see her second finished quilt!!!! I love that she gifted her first quilt!!! Melissa your fabric budget just went through the roof!!! Congratulations on your daughter catching the quilting bug!!!

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  3. She is definitely one talented young lady, beautiful tote and quilt.
    I think kids are more free when quilting and her quilt was a fun one to practice designs on.

    Debbie

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  4. Yeah! Another new quilter and she is doing great!

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  5. That is amazing, how old is your daughter?? I love her longarm quilting abilities! I think she has found the secret, "have no fear".

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  6. Yay! That is so fun for you! I have all boys so no quilting buddies over here!

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  7. Awesome job mom and daughter! That’s great that she did her own quilting. I just finished a top for my 25-year old daughter with that Neverland fabric, can’t wait to see your daughters finish

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  8. Pretty amazing! My daughter never showed much of an interest in piecing quilts, but she’s a whiz with papercrafts! Has a good eye for color and placement, and helps me out a lot.

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  9. Love when kids discover the joys of quilting (or any handcrafted) work at an early age. Beautiful job on the quilting!

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  10. Can’t imagine anything more fun for you! But don’t count your chickens yet! You know how kids are, this could very well be a passing interest! Just saying!

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  11. YOU ARE A BLESSED MOM AND YOUR DAUGHTER EQUALLY BLESS, GOOD LUCK TO YOU BOTH.

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  12. Fantastic!! What a fun thing to see her take off and love doing this: a mom's dream come true!! Hugs, H

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  13. This is awesome! She did such a good job quilting; no wonder you're proud of her! Good job teaching, mother!

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  14. That's fantastic...always great to have a young quilter in the family.
    Fabulous quilting Jessica....

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  15. Proud moment indeed!!! Jessica I love that you are choosing to express your creative side through quilting! Keep going girl! I’ll be watching for your next finish!!

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  16. This is exciting!! So happy for you and for her, to enjoy this new chapter together. Love how she quilted her first quilt - she surely is a natural!

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  17. I know your a surper proud mama, he projects look great, I love her new fabric selection. My 15 year old girl does not want to sew with me however my 5 year old boy is excited to try. I got some books to help me teach him. And Im thinking to maybe start out with some hand sewing, he however wants to go straight to the sewing machine. Naybe we will do a bit if both. Wish me luck.

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  18. I am very proud of your daughter. She just might outshine you one day, Melissa. hahaha She has done some beautiful work, and of course having you, the very best mom, she will continue to have success.

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  19. I'm jealous. My daughter likes the design and picking out fabric but no desire to actually sew. Jessica did a beautiful job and especially her first time. I'm in awe.

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  20. Awesome! My middle child has started sewing and a bit and it's pretty exciting to pass it down to the next generation.

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Thank you so much for your sweet comments. I just love hearing from you!!
Have a Happy Quilting Day :)

Melissa