A Bunch of Chicks

Remember the chicken that Malia made in her sewing camp? Remember that I said she wanted to make chickens for pretty much everyone she knows? Well, she had this grand plan to sew chickens for everyone who would be attending our girls’ trip to Cedar City. She spent the week before gathering info about favorite colors and crafted a chicken for each of her aunts and cousins who would be attending. She was going to give everyone their chickens when we arrived in Cedar City and the plan was to have at least one chicken in every picture we took on our trip. It was going to be so much fun. And then…Covid happened. She had finished all the chickens by the time we found out we couldn’t go and that was one of the things she was upset about. She had worked so hard, had spent so much time, and now her wonderful plans were spoiled. She still planned to gift her flock, but she felt like it wouldn’t be special anymore. I assured her that it would be. When you put thought, time, and effort into creating something wonderful for the people you love, it is always special. Nonetheless, it was one of her great disappointments.

Today we had lunch at my parents’ house, and we knew that Rachael and her girls would be there, so Malia carefully packed her chickens into a backpack so she could distribute them to those in attendance. When we arrived, we were surprised to see that both Patti and Esther were there too. Yay! The only one who was not present was Sarah, but since she lives in Idaho, that was not at all unexpected. Malia gave out her hens and everyone loved them. While we didn’t get the fun trip part, they were still a special gift that she had created for each of them. 

One random tidbit about all these chickens is that the only planned road trip participant who doesn’t have one is me. I guess that tells you where I fall in Malia’s list of important people. But I’m not offended. Honestly! I think it’s funny. 😂 And I LOVE that she loves her family!

A Passion for Poultry

Remember a few days ago when I said that Malia wants to make chickens for everyone she knows because she loooooves the chicken she sewed in her sewing camp? She started with her cousin Kate, of course, because Kate is one of her most important people. Malia asked me to text my sister Rachael to get a picture of Kate’s favorite chicken (because they keep chickens and consider Kate to be the “chicken whisperer” of the family) as well as that chicken’s name. The yellow Buff Orpington, named Orpy, is Kate’s favorite because it is so fat and fluffy. Malia made a mini Orpy, packed it up very nicely in a gift bag, and gave it to Kate when we had dinner at my parents’ house on Sunday. This evening Rachael sent me a picture.

Kate loooooves the chicken!

Sew What?

Malia is a very opinionated person. Yes, I know we all have our moments, and yes, I also know that with Kevin and I as her parents she was bound to have a strong personality, and yes, I would much rather have her be able to stand up for what she believes in the wacky world in which we live, but sometimes, it makes me a little crazy. For instance, she is a crafty girl. She loves to create things. And I’ve long thought that she would really enjoy adding machine sewing to her list of skills as it would open up a whole new world of creating for her. But does she want to hear that from me? No way. If I suggest it, it is no good. It has to be her idea. Last summer she spent an entire day with my mom learning some basic sewing machine skills and creating a fun tote bag with a million tiny pockets for her LSP (the Littlest Pet Shop toys). She had a great time and was really proud of what she created. But once she got home, she didn’t want anything to do with any encouragement or suggestions that came from me. 

We have a lady who moved in up the street from us last year who runs an in-home business teaching people to sew. She offers a variety of small classes and workshops as well as private lessons. And in the summer, she holds a few sewing camps for kids. They learn some basic sewing machine skills and create a different project each day using the skills they learn. The mother of one of Malia’s friends in the ward asked me a few months back if Malia was interested in attending one of those camps with her daughter. I consulted Malia, and she agreed, but I honestly think it was because it would be time spent with Shar and not for any real excitement about the activity. Nevertheless, agree she did.

Her three days of sewing camp were this week and before they started on Tuesday, her reluctance was showing. She asked about the time when it would be held and when she learned that it would be 2 ½ hours for each of the three days, her response was a somewhat morose, “That’s a long time.” But again, the lure of Shar sent her off to her first day of camp.

Malia came home a changed child. She was bubbling with excitement and was incredibly proud of the projects she had created, especially the chicken. (She did some basic stitch practicing and made a gathered flower and a chicken.) In addition to Shar, one of her friends from school happened to be in the class and the time had flown by. She immediately asked if I would show her how to use my sewing machine and followed that up by asking how much a kids’ sewing machine would be. Her lackadaisical attitude was completely gone, and she was highly enthusiastic about her newfound confidence and skills. 

I was more than just pleased. I was thrilled! Having someone else teach her suddenly made everything exciting and new. And having friends who shared in her enjoyment of the creative process certainly helped. She trotted off to her next two days of camp with anticipation and joy and came home contented with her progress and anxious to do some more sewing. On the second day she created an otter pop holder and a scrunchie. The third and final day of the camp was spent sewing a drawstring backpack. She did a fantastic job, and her response was, “When I look at it, I can’t believe I made it!” It really does look great. I’m so proud of what she has learned in such a short time and I’m hoping her enjoyment of sewing continues. I plan to feed the fire and encourage her however I can.

As for my neighbor, I owe her a big thank you. It was the best $75 I’ve spent all summer. 

Oh, and now Malia wants to make chickens for everyone she knows. She loooooves the chicken. And it is cute. 😂

Quarantine Crafts

Today is day four of Malia’s quarantine. She has been a trooper, keeping herself busy, having a generally good attitude, etc. She has read a lot, drawn a lot of pictures, done some homework, etc. Today my mom sent some Swedish weaving bookmark kits over for her and Malia loved it. She picked up the technique very quickly and had her first bookmark done in about 45 minutes. She often struggles to complete projects, all enthusiasm as she starts then her interest waning before she can see significant progress. That’s one of the great things about Swedish weaving. It moves quickly and a simple project can be completed in a short time. Malia really enjoyed herself and is already making plans for how she can create more things using her newly acquired skills.

 

Seamstress Stress

In Praise of a Spool of Thread

I learned how to sew a long time ago.  My mom started teaching me when I was seven or eight or somewhere around there.  I don’t remember exactly, I just know it was a really long time ago.  In my 30 years of sewing, I’ve done a lot of things and tried a lot of different products.  But I had never used any specialty threads (they come in metallic, iridescent, shimmery colors, all kinds of cool stuff), just the normal kind in an enormous rainbow of colors.

Right now I’m sewing Halloween costumes.  Yes, I know it is only August, but 1) it is actually pretty normal for me to be sewing Halloween costumes in August (Kev saw a t-shirt once that said “I have CDO-it’s like OCD only in the right order.” It is a pretty apt description of me.) and 2) I want to get them done before baby gets here so I’m not trying to create Yoda ears out of fabric and fleece in the midst of the exhaustion and sleep deprivation of those first weeks.  And Nathan’s costume has some lovely silver braid on it.  Seven and a half yards of lovely silver braid to be exact.  This is the stuff that I would normally sew on by hand so that it looks fabulous (Yes, I know this is a Halloween costume for an 8 year old.  But it can still be well made and look great!), but I have neither the time nor the energy to sew 7 yards of braid onto a wizard robe.  And yet my OCD won’t let me just slap the stuff on with the glue gun.  I have some great craft glue that is washable and dryable so it would work well, but it is so stinky that with my current super charged nose I just barely managed to make it through the few minutes it took to glue braid to the wired brim of the hat.  There is no way I could stand smelling it long enough to glue the remaining seven yards.  Besides, even glue would be a huge hassle since I’ve got seven freaking yards of trim to attach.

But while I was at the fabric store over the weekend, I happened to notice that one of the more readily available brands of specialty threads was on sale for 50% off the regular price.  So I picked up a spool of invisible thread.  And I am in love.  It is a bit more fickle than regular thread (It is harder to thread the needle of the sewing machine and it breaks more easily.  However, I loosened the tension on my machine a bit and that problem went away.)  but it is totally worth it.  In mere minutes I zigzagged all seven yards onto the robe and the best part is that it looks like I spent hours and hours painstakingly stitching it on so that the stitches are impossible to see.  The only proof that it is machine stitched is the gray thread I used in the bobbin.  It is seriously awesome!  

So while the invisible thread is not suitable for every task, I’m sold on using it to attach decorative trims.  And I think I might have to come up with some projects that will give me an excuse to try out some other specialty threads as well…