We are expecting a new baby in the family and I thought it would be fun for the older sister and older cousin to make something special for him, so we made a baby quilt. Here is the result of our efforts:

The girls are 4 1/2 and 6, so I had to think of ways they could be involved without expecting too much for their ages. To avoid any worries about rotary cutters, I cut an assortment of bright 5″squares before they arrived at my house.

Their task was to arrange the squares on my design wall, organizing the colors and patterns in a way that pleased them. They also got a little lesson on scattering colors and patterns, but I had to let go of my usual perfectionist tendencies, so it was a lesson for me as well. When that was done, we sewed the squares together. The girls took turns sitting on my lap and guiding the squares through the machine. I put the machine on the slowest speed, and controlled the foot pedal. They are old enough to understand the danger of the needle so they were quite careful.

I was very aware of their short attention spans, so when they grew bored, I let them play and I finished up by sewing the rows together. Later I layered, machine quilted, and bound the quilt.

They are quite proud of their finished project and excited to give it to the baby. I hope they have found sewing fun, and hopefully we will do many projects together in the future.

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