Once the first quilt top was sewn together, I moved the sections for the second quilt to the design wall by my sewing machine so I could ponder what would make it better.
(done while Little Man was at school on 1/27 and 1/28)
I rotated the large center section 180 degrees and inserted two additional "really long strips" to break up the two darkest verticals.
The squirrels were removed and a full length column of Little Man's combinations was added on the left. Not to worry, the squirrels will be used to make a pillow cover as my own keepsake of our adventures.
Other existing segments were sliced and diced to fit into the remaining spaces.
And when Little Man came home from school Friday afternoon, he gave the new layout an enthusiastic two-thumbs-up. (shown here after being sewn together)
After dinner we talked about names for the quilts and ultimately settled on Isabela and Mirabel, two characters from the Encanto movie.
As an aside, Little Man did a fantastic job of keeping the floors in my rooms thread-free. Who knew a hand vac could be so much fun!
On Saturday 1/29 after he helped me unpack the new "giant" roll of batting and load it onto its storage rod, we created a "quilt sandwich."
He found that term positively hilarious and rolling the top, back, and batting onto pool noodles was even funnier.
He learned all about pin basting to hold the layers together and did a very thorough job of securing Pinmoors onto the sharp ends of the pins.
He and Stuffie (and the green exercise ball) supervised me finishing the final rows of pin basting - while goofing around on the frequently moved stretching table. That's the top for Mirabel behind him.
(He and Mommy used hand weights at home so he used mine to demonstrate some of their exercises. I explained how mine are used to keep the quilt sandwich from sliding off onto the floor - which, of course, he found "okay but silly.")
When we finished pin basting, it was time to wind bobbins for Max. What a perfect opportunity to practice his fledgling math skills. (2 bobbins plus 3 bobbins equals 5 bobbins!)
And finally it was time to start free motion quilting Isabela.
Little Man sat beside me and handled the pins/pinmoors as they were removed, sorting and counting as he worked.
While I quilted, he was busy on the other side of the room.
He was adamant that I could NOT throw away all the colorful scrappy trimmings because "they could be used for something" so we came up with this idea.
Tiny scraps plus lots of tape on colorful paper safely tucked inside insertable plastic pages = his "super special scrapbook."
And once the scrapbook was finished, he brought one of his puzzles upstairs and worked on it while I kept quilting.
The studio was filled with SO much fun . . .
* * *
I'll be back with Part 4 of 6 on Monday.
Quiltdivajulie
-----------------------------------------------“The very best gift... is that anyone can experience those unexpected twinkles of joy that make a magical moment. At these moments, you feel true, deep joy because of a great new insight, a beautiful prospect, or a glimpse into the radiance of another soul. They are the magic moments when life seems better than you ever realized.”
Richard M. Eyre
11 comments:
I just love these posts, Julie! What perfect partners you and Little Man are! Can't wait to see the next posts for these two quilts and what Little Man creates next!
What a sweet series this is, and what a great time you must have had. And a literal scrapbook! The quilts look great so far. I think he inherited his grandmother's sense of color!
LOVE Little Man's "super special SCRAPbook", Julie!! I've been thinking of using some of my own scraps in a similar way. He's such a good studio helper, too! (The Joyful Quilter @ work.)
I'm really enjoying your posts with Little Man. You have turned so many ordinary things into fun activities for him. We just had our first grandchild last fall and your posts are giving me a glimpse into my future with him.
I'm a bit envious! DS was about 7 when I got my Viking Quilt Designer machine. He was interested enough to run it through all the decorative stitches, and rootle through my stash and piece together some squares. After that - nope, no way, he would have nothing to do with it except picking out a fabric to make a bedspread for his room.
I hope Little Man doesn't get his interest in making quilts squashed as being "for girls" by his class mates (or un-enlightened adults!) as he gets older.
The 2 quilts are going to be so unique. I'm sure he will remember the making for a long time as he sees the quilts being used.
How delightful! What special memories you both will treasure from your time together! Thank you for sharing this with us.
One of the best uses of fabric I've ever seen!
Wonderful time spent together sharing your love and creativity.
What a lovely adventure the two of you are having making these quilts. He has a good eye, so you have already trained him well. :-)
Oh Julie!!! Such special time together! I am enjoying reading about your quilting time with Little Man. I do not yet have any grands and I am so ready.
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