Posts Tagged ‘making doll quilts’

My girls went on a sleepover to their Nan’s house over the Spring Break last week.  While they were there they had a little quilting lesson… and took full advantage of her wonderful 30’s fabric collection.

One Dresden Plate quilt and one hexagon for their 1930’s dolls- very time period appropriate I’d say.

The hexagon quilt isn’t exactly all 30’s replica fabrics, there’s lots of Lecein Old New in there too.  But it feels like a 30’s creation. Lily is now working on the hexagons for a quilt for Kit.  That means this little quilt has been worked on by her Nan, her mom, her sister and now Lily, of course.

Emma has been enamored with and asking to make a Dresden plate for at least a year now, so she was thrilled to be able to make one at her sleepover.  My mom tells me that she picked and laid out all the fabrics and did all the machine piecing by herself, with only a little guidance and only one seam that needed to be ripped and resewn.

Emma called me once she had finishing piecing her Dresden plate to ask, “Should I machine applique my quilt… or do it by hand?

“What do you want to do?” I asked.

“On the machine.”

“What does Nan think you should do?”  I asked.  Already knowing the answer.

“She said it will be much nicer if I hand stitched it.  I told her it will take forever.   But she said I need to enjoy the journey.”

Yes I know.  She’s given me that same advice a time or two.

“It’s your quilt Emma.  And your choice.  But Nan is right, it will look much nicer hand appliqued.”

So Emma is stitching by hand and doing a lovely job.  She does look wistfully over at the sewing machine occasionally. But I really hope she does learn to enjoy the journey.  What perfect advice, especially in our instant gratification world.  Because how much of our lives are taken up with slow progress or mundane everyday tasks?   There’s so much more joy to be had, even in an ordinary day, when we learn to enjoy the journey.