18 August, 2011

Little Feet, Pins and Needles (Wrap-Up)


Thank-you for coming along with me on the Little Feet, Pins, and Needles series. It sounds like this series struck a chord with many. Whether it was the reminder to slow down with our kidlets around or new ways with old toys or inspiration for time to spend with the grandkids. I'm glad I was able to inspire and maybe even educate.

Part 1 - This post was about space planning and coordination. It includes safety tips as well as notes on adjusting our attitudes going in to creative time and space with little ones around.

Part 2 - This post was designed to inspire play with your kiddos. Games and treats to bring out creative tendencies and perhaps, just perhaps, direct them towards fabric a little bit.

Part 3 - This post was about ways to get your little ones sewing with you. Not necessarily making quilts right away, but getting them involved in your own projects. It is a bridge to them sewing their own projects.

This entire series was about tackling your quilt, or any sewing, projects when you've got toddlers, preschoolers, and even infants around. It is about still creating when you're in the thick of those days before most kids will curl up with a book, bike around the neighbourhood, or disappear with their own projects.

I want to share with you one last tip. Read with your kids. There is a plethora of childrens' books out there about quilting, but there are many more that feature quilts. My friend Barb has her own Once Upon a Quilt Children's Book list as a quilter and former bookstore employee.

Sure, you've got quilts littered around your house, covering every soft surface. Or maybe you make them and give them away all the time. But the best use is always a snuggle and what better thing to do that snuggle and read together.

Image above snapped from The Ticky-Tacky Doll by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Harvey Stevenson

3 comments:

elle said...

Thanks for this, Cheryl. I'm working on my space and I got some neat things for the kiddies. But reading is definitely tops!

Christina Lane | The Sometimes Crafter said...

Not that long ago, I bought the Bernstein Bear's book "Mama Gets a Job" and it's about Mama Bear opening her own quilt shop. I had forgotten totally about it until I stumbled upon it at the bookstore. I was so excited to be able to share one of my favorite books growing up with Brice. We just love the Bernstein Bears book, so he's always game to read it. Brice, just this week, has taken to wanting to iron with me. He has a little tin iron my mom picked up at an antique store awhile back. One day I was ironing and he says "I have an iron, too!" and ran and got it. Now every time i'm in the sewing room he asks if he can iron. I dug out some discarded blocks just for him to iron on when i'm not ironing. Now we're on the lookout for his own ironing board...

Suzanne said...

Whoa! That is a super and extremely extensive list of reads. Thank you for the link and the entire series. It resonated profoundly with me.