Kids can quilt, so can you!

Having a mother as a quilter gives my children an opportunity to catch the quilting bug early.  My oldest daughter started with a needle and thread when she was four.  Now she is almost 10, and she enjoys spending time with me quilting.  Now, my 6 year old is getting started and I am pretty excited to share my love of quilting with them.

Of course, with little ones, allowing for a number of mistakes is always a great thing.  Really, anyone starting something new needs to feel like they are doing okay.  It's great to give instruction, let them do it, and praise what they did well.  Praise goes a long way. Everyone loves to be praised.  I sure do!

I have a number of quilting books to review for Martingale publishing, and as part of the

review process I wanted to try out some of these quilt designs....and there is no better way to do it than to use my children in the process.  This way I can see how well these books translate to beginners.

Madeline chose a pattern from this book.  She chose a simple design that will work great for her.  Today we started with piecing the strips together.  I have to say, even though the book clearly shows that this is a large quilt, I was rather shocked to be cutting 3 1/2 inch strips, and 9 1/2" blocks. I am so used to using smaller cuts of fabric that this was a little bit of a shock. Of course, I got over it.

We sized the quilt down, and have been working on it this afternoon.  I am loving this time I get to spend with her.

My little Lizard wanted to make a quilt of her own.  She has a love of all things pretty, and also enjoys looking at and cutting my fabric.  Lizard chose a pattern from the book Take 5.

Is it okay to be amazed at the ability of your children?  I say yes, my Lizard sewed a pretty great 1/4" seam.  Impressive.

Do you know how to quilt?  If so, go teach someone you love to quilt!

Do you want to learn to quilt?  Grab a loved one who knows how, and start today....or head on over to my house, we can make a party of it!