Just because you haven't heard from me in the last couple days doesn't mean I haven't been quilting. Just the opposite, I will have quite a bit to show you for the next couple of days.
I had a fun day Saturday with my 8-year-old granddaughter, Emily. She was born with congenital cataracts and then developed glaucoma. After several major operations at the age of 3-months and multiple (so many I've lost count) procedures at UCSF medical center in San Francisco with a world-renown specialist, Emily can see well enough to make yo-yo's! She can even use a sewing machine to make hour-glass units. There was a time we never thought this would be possible.
I started making a quilt out of Kim Diehl's latest book call Simple Graces. I own every book Kim has written. I love her style and her sense of grace in her quilts.
Emily and I spent the afternoon upstairs in my quilting room playing with Grammy's toys. She went right to work selecting the nine fabrics she needed for each block. She didn't need any assistance at all in selecting her fabrics. In fact, she did a better job than I did! She would tell me what colors we didn't have and what we needed to include.
She always selected the fabric for her center yo-yo first and worked from there. She had an excellent eye for color and I saw this quilt for the first time through Emily's eyes. She added a spark to it that wasn't there before. My blocks were drab and hers were vibrant and beautiful!
She counted each stitch and knew exactly when she had completed the whole circle. It was a day well-spent and one of those days that she is going to remember when she is my age.
One day, this will be Emily's quilt. She wants to work on it every time she comes to Grammy's house. I could see the passion she had while she worked. I could hear the desire in her voice to come over everyday after school and make more yo-yo's. Another life-long quilter is in the making!
Spend the day with a child and you'll will be surprised just how much they can teach YOU.
As always,
Lynn
Yo-yo's is such a wonderful project to do with little ones! The girls love making them too. I just love that quilt. My friend just started making it too! It's going to be beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to spend the day. Reminds me of teaching my C to quilt. Can't wait to see it once it's done. Emily, you go girl. You're doing a wonderful job.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful post! It sounds like you both had a great day. She will treasure this quilt and remember the time you spent with her. Can't wait to see more!
ReplyDeleteI envy you your day with your lovely granddaughter. Such sweet memories you are making together.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that Emily can see - and that she has such a great eye for color! I think she'll definitely follow along in Grammy's footsteps! I have Kim's new book and all the others,too! I am dying to make the cover quilt from the new book and let's see....about 2 dozen or more other quilts from her books ;>)
ReplyDeleteCheers!
What wonderful memories you are making together. Her colour-sense looks great, perhaps I could borrow her for a while?
ReplyDeleteI have spent time with two of my granddaughters teaching them how to sew. It was such an enjoyable time.
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