Homemade Holidays

Here is a carry over from Life In A Pink  House I thought would be timely as we get ready to make gifts.

Life in the Pink Tower: Stitch In Time

Embroidery has been a constant in the Pink House ever since Ruth was a preschooler.  It is my favorite "sewing".  One day this week the three girls were stitching together in the living room as I sat and read to them.  After some time someone knocked on the door and the spell was broken but while it lasted it was as if everything else just faded away and we were in a time all our own.  

I picked the kitchen towels up at Ikea and used a washable marker to draw a design.  I have a pen specifically for this task but the lid was left off and so it was dried out.  The younger the child the larger the needle I give them to assist in threading and keeping track of it.  I demonstrate a running stitch, which  I think they would do naturally, and let them go.  This particular day the little ones also wanted to fill in their designs with this stitch.  The biggest complications are pulling the needle off the thread and sewing the piece to their pants or getting another part of the towel caught in a stitch.  The child will learn to self correct this after a few times.  Sometimes frustration will get the best of them and I offer to help or suggest  taking a break.  Most of the time they come back to it that same day, but if not that's okay.  The key to remember is it is the process not the finished product that will bring the most satisfaction.
 My girls (I say girls because that is what I have) began stitching close to 4 years old.  The small pillow pictured above and the cross stitch were both done in their Montessori classroom.  As you can see from the pillow to the blue gingham table cloth Ruth's skill has grown with her.  Some great projects to get ready for sewing with a real needle are lacing beads, a sew and sew, and wooden lacing board.