Sew-In at Home With Nathan and Sayley: Sewing Their First Holiday Square
Welcome back to the Sew-In with Nathan and Sayley! The Sew-In started while Nathan and Sayley were spending countless hours at home due to the COVID pandemic. While these are quite uncertain times, I believe that learning and family time keeps the children grounded. The "sewing" days are my favorite as we spend hours talking, laughing, learning, and sewing. So many memories are being made, as well as skills that will last a lifetime! Thanks for tuning in to the Sew-In with Nathan and Sayley.
Sew-In Family: Nathan (11), Sayley (8), Mom (Ashley, The Featherweight Shop Marketing Director)
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These two cuties are hard at work, creating their very first quilt, the Cinnaberry by Moda Quilt Kit. You can catch up on their progress here!
Nathan and Sayley hard at work!
In last month's post, the kids tirelessly worked on sewing, cutting, pinning, and ironing the squares from the quilt kit. They were astonished to see how these little patterns turned into something entirely different once they were pieced together! After we spent the day sewing away, they counted up the squares and found they were a few short. Today, they are making up the difference, piecing together the blocks, and sewing their first quilt block! How exciting!
Essential Supplies This Month:
1. Seam Ripper
2. Featherweight Accurate Seam Guide
4. Iron
7. Ruler
8. Cutting Mat
First up, we needed to recount our squares to make sure we were sewing the correct amount.
After our recount, we needed to sew four more large squares, making 16 smaller squares. As we were cutting, sewing, and pinning away, Nathan busted up laughing and held up one of the cut squares. We had sewed it inside out! Time for a learning lesson. We sure can undo what has been done with a little bit of effort, and a seam ripper!
Sayley sewing along the dotted lines of the Cake Mix pattern papers... These are great for kids learning to sew and quilt!
Sayley is concentrating so hard!
Great job, little girl.
Nathan wanted a turn as well. He loves to sew along the dotted lines too!
Watch out for those pins!
Time to iron (Sayley loves this part!)
More cutting!
Whoops...that is not supposed to look like that!
I showed Nathan how to use the seam ripper to take out a seam by aligning the seam ripper against the seam, and gently pulling out each stitch. He was assigned this job and did fantastically.
I am demonstrating how to remove the seam using the seam ripper; such a useful tool!
Nathan hard a work, removing the seams.
Although Sayley is interested in the seam ripper, she is quite happy removing the paper!
She is making quick work of taking that paper off!
I was showing Sayley how to sew the square back together after the seam had been removed, and when she opened it up, I put the wrong side on again! We were having so much fun, and not paying enough attention to the task at hand, that we ended up making the same mistake twice! We laughed so hard. Let's just say, the kids are now experts at using the seam ripper!
After the seams were corrected and the squares complete, the kids went to town on piecing the blocks. They had a wonderful time!
These kids are having a blast, following the pattern putting the blocks together!
I had to include this photo; she looked so serene...
Wow! Nathan and Sayley have accomplished so much already! Fantastic job, kiddos!
Nathan and Sayely wanted to double up on the block styles and loved seeing how they differed. It was so sweet to see them complementing each other. It was a moment I will treasure for years to come.
Time for a "sugar" break ~ we have had a few of these today!
Such a delicious treat!
After we laid out several blocks together, we picked one to sew and headed to Gemma, the Featherweight! Nathan is up first, sewing together one row of squares. He was a little befuddled, wanting to know if it was ok to sew without the paper on the fabric. (Nathan is too cute for words sometimes!) I told him it was completely fine and he would do a fantastic job. We have the Featherweight Accurate Seam Guide to help the kids keep those seams even and straight! When they were working on their first projects, I noticed they had a hard time keeping the seams even and were asking for help on how to accomplish this. The Seam Guide is such an amazing tool, especially when the kids are just learning the fundamentals. It gives that extra boost of confidence!
The best tool to boost confidence, the Featherweight Accurate Seam Guide has helped out so much in teaching the kids to sew even seams!
Nathan is doing amazing sewing WITHOUT paper!
Sayley is doing what sisters do!
Nathan did beautifully! His seams are straight and even, and his row of squares looks excellent. Amazing job, honey!
Sayley was ready to go and was so excited. She had her pieces and sewed away. She went nice and slow, getting used to using the Seam Guide as well. She had a hard time sewing over one of the seams, worrying that the machine was not going to make it. I told her not to worry; Featherweights are workhorses! She is adorable (she did not want to hurt her Gemma.) As with Nathan, she did a beautiful job!
Joking time is over for her; she is all seriousness when she is sewing!
Beautiful blocks, honey!
Fun side note, both the kids LOVE to use the Featherweight Thread Cutterz. They get so excited when they finish sewing and get to do a quick "snip!"
As they both completed their rows, it was time to sew them all together. They took turns and completed the block! Although we did one of the rows backward according to the pattern, I did not have the kids redo their work this time. This is the first block they have ever completed, and I am so incredibly proud of them. This is one for the books and is perfect in every sense of the word. Great job, kids. I love you so much!
Cleaning up loose threads. According to Sayley, this is a "good job to have."
Gorgeous! About to sew together!
Although one of the rows went awry, it turned out beautiful, and I could not be more proud of my two children!
We ironed the square to let it "shine", and they imagined how it will look in the finished quilt. By this point, as Sayley put it, she is "pooped." We packed up the supplies and called it a day. A wonderful day it was!
Tonight, we are spending time in the garage while the kids paint their shelves they are building. Sayley is painting hers a bright pink, while Nathan has a beautiful stain on his. These kiddos sure are getting their time in on crafts today! They went to sleep all tuckered out, with big smiles on their faces.