With all of my recuperating time from my accident and now with summer coming to an end really quick (the kids start back to school next week!) I did not get to my usual sewing classes for all the granddaughters. But I decided that I would do a class with my oldest granddaughter because she is now old enough to do most of it on her own! Eight years old is a great time to start your little ones sewing, because they are so excited about it and they are getting the coordination that is needed to run the foot pedal and guide the fabric at the same time!
This pattern is called “Turning Twenty“, but we only did twelve blocks! It is a perfect size for a lap quilt for her!
When we decided to make this quilt, I took her to JoAnn’s and let her pick out 12 fat quarters of fabric. I told her that she could do any colors that she liked. I knew for sure that there would be pink in there, but I love the other colors that she chose to go with the pink! She said that they are the colors of the Monster High dolls and the each color reminds her of a different doll!
Her mom helped me cut out all of the blocks because I am still having a bit of time using my rotary cutter, and this is one quilt that you can cut 4 fat quarters at the same time and I knew that I would never be able to go through all of those layers! Thank goodness for moms, right?
She went right to town on this quilt and was loving every minute of it! She kept telling me that she LOVED sewing and how much fun she was having! She did ALL
of the sewing on this quilt. I did all of the pinning and the pressing.
She had all twelve of the blocks sewn together on the first day! I was very impressed with how straight her seams were! We only had to unpick a few times, but that is okay because we wanted to get it just right for when we started assembling all of those blocks! The next day when she came to my house, we laid it all out and she sewed it all together! Look at how all the corners match up perfectly! She did such a great job! (this quilt is sideways, because they weren’t tall enough to hold it up right side!) Now all she has to do is to put a border all away around the edges. We will do that at the next sewing class, then I will quilt it and bind it with the zebra print. When we were deciding to make a quilt the first question she asked was “Can I have a minky back?” So we will have to go find a fun minky to put on the back of this!
We also decided that it was time to start a sewing kit. So we got some of the basics and she can now have them for other projects. She is so excited about sewing right now, that I think we are going to have to find another project to keep the enthusiasm going! :)
Little brother had to get in the picture too! Do you think that it is about time for school to start?
Do you have someone that wants to learn how to sew? This is a great project if they have some of the basic skills down already. It is just straight lines and simple blocks. When it came time to sew the blocks together she got a little nervous because I told her she had to sew over the pins that were at the corners. But after the first one she was a pro and was able to sew the entire quilt top together! I love this bonding time together and that she loves to do some of the same things that I do! Life is Good! :)
Thanks for visiting today!
Have a great Weekend!
So pretty, Rita!! Loving the colors in this quilt!
Your sweet granddaughter has created such a special treasure and you have a special treasure in sharing your talent and love with her! Her quilt is just beautiful! You can tell her that I’m a Grammy as well and to this day I cannot sew as well as her! :-) I love making memories with my granddaughters as well but in different ways! Grand-parenting is just the BEST isn’t it! God’s blessings to you both!
Wow what a talented young lady. The quilt looks wonderful and I love the fabric.
Ali xx
Ali, thanks for taking the time to write a comment. I love hearing from you. I think that my granddaughter did a great job in picking her fabric also! I think that I might have a very young quilter on my hands! Wouldn’t that be great! :)
What wonderful memories you are creating! It’s wonderful that you are teaching your granddaughter such an important skill. I learned how to sew in 4-H when I was young and am so glad I did. Thanks for sharing this story.
Vickie, thank you for your sweet comment. It is wonderful to make these memories, and I am thrilled that my granddaughter loves to sew so much! I can see more projects in the future!
I would love to learn to sew. My mother tried to teach me when I was a kid but I just wouldn’t listen. Now, I really wish I had learned.
Susan Hirst | http://www.jmsewvac.com/ClassDescriptionsPhotos.html
You can still learn! There are tons of beginning projects out there in blog land or you could take a fun sewing class at a fabric store near you. There are so many fun sewing projects to make! Give it a try again…you just might like it! :)
I just love your site and look forward to all of your darling projects. I would like to make a fat quarter quilt for my grandson’s birthday. When you do the actual quilting, can you do it on the sewing machine?
Thanks for the Turning 20 with your granddaughter. Mine is going to be 9 this summer and this will make the perfect first project for her. Your experiences and comments will help me organize this for her. Thanks again. Love this quilt!
Eleanor, This is such a fun quilt for a beginner. I love that you are teaching your granddaughter the art of quilt making! It is becoming a lost art and I love for these youngsters to get excited about it and develop a love for sewing! Good luck with your project! Rita
I was looking for some ideas on the Turning Twenty pattern and your page came up…just wanted to tell you that I am teaching this as a “My first quilt” camp to some of my cousins children (and grandchildren!) Last summer they wanted to quilt, but I told them they had to “learn to walk before they could run” so I did a beginners sewing camp. They made magic pillowcases and drawstring backpacks…they had so much fun and even went home and made more! I even have one cousin sewing on an antique TREADLE machine! I love it even more because they live in the house that my great-grandfather built and our father’s were born in (totally remodeled, of course.) We are strong believers in carrying out family traditions and legacies. So far I’m the only family member who quilts, so they all looked at me when the girls started wanting to try it. I appreciate this in that it gives me the confidence that I’m not starting them on a project above their skill set. This pattern appealed to me because there won’t be a lot of seam nesting…only when putting the blocks together, and it doesn’t look like it will have a huge effect on the outcome if they don’t get it just right. Did they quilt their own? I’m going to baste for them by going ahead with some SITD, then let them go back and do some cross-hatch in the squared and maybe some shadow quilting in the rectangles. We start in two days on Monday…wish us luck!
Michelle, How fun!!!! This is the perfect quilt to start with. Big blocks and not a lot of matching. I love teaching kids to sew, they are so eager to learn and it is truly a dying art! Good luck with your projects! I have let my oldest granddaughters quilt with my quilting machine (with a lot of supervision, of course!) Good luck, I’m sure you will do teriffic!
Just a report on their first day…they LOVED it and didn’t want to stop sewing! We had planned to work from 11::00 until 2:00, but most of them didn’t leave until after 3! I have EIGHT kids and I’m VERY fortunate to have three ladies from my guild assisting me. I did the beginners sewing with seven kids alone, but I could never attempt this level of teaching without lots of help! Oh, and most of them took a turn using my Singer Featherweight (with my supervision!) They fell in love with her…just goes to show what “old-fashioned” little gals they are. They adored the pattern…making it as scrappy as they can, just like Grandma’s old quilts!
Michelle, Thank you so much for sharing! I loved hearing about your fun sewing days with your grandchildren. You are making memories they will never forget! Love it!
Hi she’s so talented. I love the colors. Can you tell me the measurements of each strip and the block. Would love to try this with my granddaughter. Thank you.