First Stitches

    This kiddo sewed on the machine for the first time!  

On the nights that her dad takes her to karate and her sister doesn't need to be anywhere, I try to hurry through the dishes and dinner clean up so I can spend some time in the sewing room. When she gets home, she knows where to find me, and comes upstairs right away.  Of course I'm always happy to see her and hear her karate stories.  But, I will admit, sometimes I get a bit grumpy at the intrusion into my space and time.  This might have been one of those nights.

She has a way of picking up, and inspecting every item on my table, and nothing ever gets put back where it belongs.  Feeling crowded and suddenly disorganized, and realizing that my goal for the night was not going to be met,  I could have shooed her away when she asked about my leader/ender that was under my presser foot.   But I explained its purpose, and she asked if she could sew it the rest of the way.  Somehow, I stifled a sigh and said, "sure."  

But then she decided she was too scared to sew on my fabric and began to dig in the felt bucket, instead.   She used my "big scissors" to cut some rectangles, and then, of course, we had to change the thread in the machine to something that "matched better".  

She is an avid art-maker and crafter and has hand sewn many many times. So she has a good sense of how things go together and what works or doesn't .   But, unlike her sister, she's never asked to, or shown an interest in using the machine before.  After some quick instructions, she was off and running!  I was pretty impressed with how she handled the machine.  She knew, from watching me sew, to drop the needle by turning the hand wheel and to start out slow.  She had good control and sewed very straight seams!   So much fun to see her try!  

 I might be in trouble, though, because as she headed out the sewing room door  she informed me "It's not done yet!" And she's already asked about the "fancy stitches" on the machine.

I have no doubt that if she decides to take up sewing she will excell at it.  This girl does everything in a big way.  In fact, at age 10, she is just one week away from testing for her black belt.  She begged for karate classes when she was 6, and has never missed a class or complained about going.  She practices at home and takes on leadership roles within the karate school.  It's amazing how much she has grown in her confidence and self discipline.  And her kicks are amazing  I can't wait to watch her earn that belt! 

Sometimes I lose a bit of sewing time to her questions and stories, her explorations and "Can we play a game before bed?"   But its all worth it.  And, I might just have another sewing partner in the house!!

And, because she's awfully darn cute...

I'm linking up to Sew Cute Tuesday at Blossom Heart Quilts!