Passing It On!

What a delight it has been to discover that my great-niece is interested in learning to quilt. A while ago, I had bought a little Janome My Style 100 sewing machine and realized it was ideal for starting on a young person on their sewing adventure. Angela has always shown an interest in my quilting and now, at the age of 12, she was primed and ready to go. So this weekend, we set it up her little machine and, in one morning, she quickly became adept at winding and setting in her bobbin, threading her machine and needle and pulling up the bobbin thread. Angela amazed me with her patience with learning about the parts of her machine and its care and practicing the technical aspects of getting her machine set up.

Of course, she was anxious to get sewing. She spent the rest of the morning practicing her straight and reverse stitching while controlling the foot peddle for speed. She made samples of all the stitches possible on her machine and some stop start designs to practice turning a corner. Then she did an experiment on her own. She is a natural.

After a refreshing swim, she was anxious to get back to the sewing and wanted to make “something” so she went though my “stash” and picked out a kitten panel and complementary fabrics.  She decided on her border panel and went to work. We did stop for supper, but Angela was determined to get back to finishing her pieced small quilt top. This is her result.

I don’t think my first efforts were this good. We layered her piece and now I wait for her next weekend visit when she can quilt her piece. Of course, she already has ideas about that!