GIGI'S SEASONINGS
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog

Sharing your Hobby with your Grands

3/2/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Have you shared your beloved hobby with your grandchildren?
I have to some extent...such as it is. I do a dab of writing and I like to scrapbook. But my niece Lisa shares a hobby with her granddaughters that I am so in awe--Lisa quilts and she's passed down the skill to her granddaughters. How wonderful! Here, I'll let her tell you in her own words:

From Lisa~

It began with a promise to help their Girl Scout troop get sewing badges. Once they had a taste, every visit became...."Memo, can we sew?"

True quilters are "fabriholics." The first time I took the girls to my fabric closet, they said in unison, "Ooooohhhh, FAB-RIC". It was then that I knew they were quilters at heart. 

Any day spent quilting is a good day!
One yard of fabric, like one cookie, is never enough.


​My girls would come to spend the weekend. Their short attention span meant I could only get one or two seams out of them before they would run off to see what Poppa was doing. I definitely didn't want to force them to stay and sew, but I did encourage them to finish each block before moving on to something else. While they learned to quilt, I used the sewing as an opportunity to teach them about other terms as I showed them my quilting rulers. I explained about triangles, angles, and squares that made up each block. I let them choose their own fabrics to express their own personalities. In time, I even let them pick which block they wanted to make. I admit I got frustrated with them a time or two and pressured them to stay and finish a block rather than running off to play with Poppa. I also admit I might have been critical of their sewing, or fussed when they didn't listen to me. 

I tried to remember that it really didn't matter how it looked. if it was really bad, I could fix it for them. Or--even leave it, so that they could look back at it later in life and see their own first mistakes. I looked for the middle ground--instill in them a desire to do quality work, but not be so hard on them that they would begin to hate sewing. I also learned that it was less frustrating to split them up and work with them one-on-one. One would spend time with Poppa while the other sewed, and then switch out. 

At the beginning, I had to prepare everything in advance, so they wouldn't have to wait while I cut and ironed fabrics. If things weren't ready, I knew I would lose their attention. Later, they were capable of doing much for themselves. Eventually, they ironed for themselves, and yes...from time, to time, someone got burned. 

​
Picture
​And so it went, one block at a time, we constructed the quilt and the memories.
At the end of each weekend, they would hang their blocks on the design wall, and take a picture to memorialize and share the event. When we finally had enough blocks, we put them on the design wall, locked down the layout and took a picture. 

One weekend I took the girls with me to an organized quilt retreat and with the help of my friends Gaye and Joyce, we cut sashing and handed it to the girls to sew together until the tops were finished. Attention spans were longer by then, and they actually stayed focused on the project long enough to finish. 

However, quilt retreats are notorious for all the soft drinks and candy for the taking. One of my granddaughters slipped away and found the dark chocolate and Dr. Pepper. I remember she tossed and turned that night for hours....finally flopping over and saying in frustration, "I could play all night." I laughed and told her it was the caffeine and sugar and she should probably stay away from those things in the evenings because she was obviously sensitive to them just like her Memo.
Picture
Working in my studio.
Picture
On the long arm. . .
Once the quilts were finished, we entered them in a quilt show, It was amazing how proud they were of their quilts, standing by them during the show to tell people about them. That was a fun day. Now that they have finished their first quilts, they don't seem anxious to start another. I won't push them. In time, they will come back and say, "Memo, can we sew?"
Picture
It's SHOW TIME!
Picture
That smile says it all.
Picture
A job well done!
Picture
A proud Memo!
Picture

To quilt is human, to finish divine.

​
Picture
A family stitched together with love seldom unravels. Memo, daughter Kelly, and granddaughters.
Picture
The trip back home...with visions of quilts dancing in their heads.

​Blessed are the children of the piecemakers....for they shall inherit the quilts!
​
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Retired school teacher and now full time grandmother sharing ideas and looking for new ones about grandparenting!

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017

    Categories

    All
    Ancestor Stories
    Back To School
    Carepackages
    Charity Work
    Christmas
    Costume Box
    Crafts
    Fun Boxes
    Games For The Grands
    Hobbies
    Making Books
    Mindfulness For Kids
    Nature Walk
    Reading Connections
    Road Trips
    Scrapbooking
    Sharing Your Hobby
    Tea Parties

    RSS Feed


© 2020 Gigi's Seasonings blog

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog