I've created a quilt monster!

 Marley has been sewing with me quite a bit. She made face masks for her family, handkerchiefs for her Poppa, and a pair of shorts for herself. Two days ago she decided that it's time to make another quilt. 

This is probably the third design attempt

I had an idea. I'd keep her busy with small pieces. We decided on 2½" X 6" patches. Well, that didn't work. Firstly, I won't let her use the rotary cutter, so I had lots of pieces to cut. 

A few changes

Next, she was supposed to take some time at the design wall. Apparently she's a natural. I'd make a suggestion and show her what I meant, she'd rip pieces down and put them back up in a flash. A few suggestions brought her to a design she loved. 

Rows sewn together. Hmm, more pieces.

She sews relatively fast. I encourage her to slow down to improve her accuracy, but she was too excited. I decided to let her enjoy the process. We'll work on ¼" seams on the next one. Hopefully, she'll be able to contain her excitement. I think the trick is to let her make another right away. Let the "I'm making a quilt" joy become something she's used to. Otherwise, I'll have to work really hard and be fussy. I'll let you know how this plan works. 

Yay! Ready to sew strips together!

I'd much prefer if I didn't fuss. I want us to have fun. Plus, it's wonderful that she's so excited about sewing and quilting. She was responsible for all of the designing, sewing and pressing. To encourage freedom in designing, I let her make decisions but also show her options that she hadn't considered. One example, I flipped every other row so that the colors played differently. We talked about how just little changes can make big differences. 

All done!

I also require that she do the math. May as well get those practical lessons in there, too. It occurred to me that I could loan her a quilting book to encourage some reading. Then it occurred to me that I'm a teacher nerd. Oh well! C'est la vie! I do miss teaching and Marley is an enthusiastic student. 

Looks good this way, too!

We're a good pair, the two of us. And it's fabulous to have a sewing buddy. Plus, she does the mundane chores, like fold fabric and put it away!