This is something I have been waiting for, for a very long time.  Well, at least 5 years.  This was a BIG happy mom moment! My daughter, Zoe, asked me to help her make a quilt! She had asked maybe once or twice before, but it was always a fleeting moment and not a true request. We were at a quilt meeting where friends were showing off their quilts. She had whispered in my ear that she wanted to make a quilt. So the next night we started. I cut the fabric, but she did the rest! I first asked her to pick out three colors.  Yellow her favorite was the first choice. Then she added orange, my favorite. And red, her daddy’s favorite. So we pulled out the fabric bins and she started choosing. After I cut 16 squares for her, she went straight to the design wall.  She has seen me and her Grandma use them and knew it was the next step.  She created a layout she liked, switched it around a bit, and then was ready to sew.

I cut what I thought would be a good starter size for her, a 5″ block.  And I was just right on the size.  The 5″ block fit her hand perfectly, allowed for not too many blocks to deal with, and created a perfect size quilt for her.  She did great with the piecing, having only a slight wobble.  Her seams turned really well.  She was a little bored repeating the same action, when we got to the fourth row. So we took a break and came back to the rows later that night. She was very happy to see the quilt top come together.

She was excited about the quilting, but we took a few days before going over to Grandma’s to quilt. This added a little more excitement instead of doing it just the next day. I loaded the quilt on the frame for her, tacking down all sides.  My starting with the 5″ block worked really well, she was able to quilt half of it in one roll.  We brought out her kitchen stool so she could reach the handles. Again, she has seen Grandma and I quilt before, but here was her first turn at it.  And boy did she run it!  A few times I had to tell her to slow down, she even skipped a few stitches since she just dragged it across so quickly. Without any help, she started quilting all over the place and while I watched I realized she was even  quilting shapes.  She quilted some circles and a big heart. When she had quilted the second half I told her that I would take it off for her.  I was getting ready to help her down when she decided to start quilting just a little bit in the corner. She was doing tight little curves and from afar I couldn’t figure out what she was doing.  I went over closer and realized she was quilting her name in the corner! Such a little proud quilter and artist, adding her name to the front.  It was the sweetest little moment! And at the next quilt meeting she was super excited to show off what she made! Her first quilt at 5 years old, I am positive there will be more to come!