When Little Man (now 5-1/2) told me he wanted rainbow scraps, I pulled these to jump start the process.
(He initially wanted to make a quilt but due to his short visit we had agreed to make a fun placemat for him to take home.)
When we made our way to the studio Saturday evening, he quickly told me "Mee Mah, I don't want to make a placemat. I want to make a quilt. Mommy and Daddy have their quilts and now I want to make one of my own."
So the making of the next Camp Sefton Quilt began . . .
He pinned the first few long strips on the design wall then hopped down and ran to my other studio room. A few minutes later he came back with three of the ROYGBIV yardage options I had pulled.
Excited, he told me "this one is Daddy's favorite color [blue] and this one is Mommy's favorite color [purple] and this one is my favorite color [pink]" before explaining in detail how he wanted me to cut the yardage.
We ended up adding in all of the yardage colors but stopped at this point since he was tired after his busy day.
Sunday morning we talked more about what he wanted for his new quilt and came up with the idea to make three rows using the larger pieces. With my sturdy step stool, he was able to raise the top row higher so all three rows fit within his reach.
After much rearranging and pinning, he decided this was what he wanted.
The agreed upon plan is to sew lots of short scrappy pieces together to make strata (a new word he learned on this visit) that we can use between the rows and between the single fabric sections.
Because the weather was perfect for playing outside and he was only here for one night, his attention span was shorter than his 3 week stay last winter. But we have a plan in place and I have a pretty clear idea of what he wants so it's all good.
The trays are filled with short pieces ready to be sewn together and I already know I'll need to re-visit the crumb and resource boxes because more strips and strata will be needed to make this quilt "as big and Mommy's and Daddy's quilts so I can sleep under it."
Since he attends a bilingual preschool, I asked him how to say "quilt" in Spanish. He knew blanket but we had to look up "quilt" using my Spanish-English dictionary (la colcha).
Before he ran off to go to the park/playground with Dee Dah, we agreed on his new quilt's name - La Colcha de Muchos Colores (the quilt of many colors).
(And I've already asked his parents if I can borrow him for part of a Saturday/Sunday once I get the strata sections sewn so he can help with the next part of the design process.)
To be continued.
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“I think [when] making [a movie or a record] the best things happen by accident – and those end up being the magic. Every time I’ve followed my gut it’s been better than when I’ve tried to do what I was supposed to do.”
Zooey Deschanel
15 comments:
Where's the pink? What's his favorite color?? I think this is a great la colcha.
Love your budding quilter. Those kids love the machinery as well as an end project. My g'grandson decided he wanted to sew, with the sewing machine at age 7 or so, and he did an outstanding job sitting in my lap. After sewing a bit, he noted that his project wasn't looking as "neat" as he expected, so we spoke about the purpose of the iron. In his efforts to iron his project (heavy iron!) he slightly burned a spot on his hand. When he exited the studio to proudly show off his project to his folks, he claimed, "I learned a valuable experience." 8-))))
He is such a sweetie! You must be thrilled that he is so excited making his own quilt and knowing what colors he wants...what fun...
hugs, Julierose
Oops the placemats grew...... Looks good....
I feel the same way about placemats- I would rather have a quilt for the work and effect. So much fun! My grandkids are 10 and 12 and can't get interested in playing with the fabric on the wall anymore. Who would not love all those colors?
You are so patient. Now it is his turn to be patient and not expect it to be done in a day.
What a great design he has so far! Very vivid and colorful. Kids are so fearless! This will be a great quilt-- and a great memory.
you have created a monster!!! a Quilt Monster!!! I LOVE it!!!!
That expression on his face says it all!
How wondrous!
Just think how happy he will be laying underneath his quilt. Maybe this will be the quilt he takes to college with him! Thank you for sharing this visit with us. He’s precious! I love how he seems very decisive about what he wants and likes.
Oh the memories you are making as well as quilts!
This is so heartening to read, he will having "creating" and "making" with fabric and color as a go-to sanctuary and source of fun and fulfillment for the rest of his life. Teaching kids to "make" is SO important, and our overworked school and teachers don't have the time for it anymore ... hopefully your grandson will teach other men and boys during his lifetime that it is so satisfying, and such a source of personal contentment, to make quilts and textile items ... he certainly has a great eye for balancing the "weight" of colors ... look what a great job he did with the colors in his quilt, very diverse, and yet a very comfortable visual distribution. He's a natural... you can see your gift for color in his, that's got to be such a joy!
LOVE that kid's color sense, Julie!!!
I love that he knows exactly what he likes and wants. Great confidence. But I agree, what did happen to his favorite color, pink?
Smart young man - he knew what he wanted and had a willing assistant! Looking forward to seeing HIS quilt!
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