When it came time to actually make the pillow, I gave him a stack of Island Batik scraps to choose from. I used stash builder strips, which are 5" by width of fabric, though most of mine are no longer the full width of fabric. These bigger pieces are great for the accuquilt dies. He picked out four fabric for the wings (2 per butterfly) and two for the butterfly body. I used Island Batik solid white for the background. I fused heatnbond to the fabrics and he enthusiastically cranked the machine. I wish I had gotten a picture!
I let him choose the thread and he was picky, he rejected my matching thread suggestion for a contrasting Aurifil thread. He also had fun picking out stitches from the decorative options on my machine. He switched stitches more often than I would have, but I wanted it to be his project. And ultimately, it gives it a fun crazy quilt look.
Once the butterflies were stitched, I gave him the option of quilting the sides or making a it into a pillow as-is. Not one to delay gratification, he chose to skip the quilting so we could get the pillow made faster. He was delighted to find out that I poke the corners with a chopstick!
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| It was his idea to do a posed shot with friends! |
The fabrics in this project were given to me by Island Batik through their ambassador program, though this was not an ambassador challenge.
What a fun project with your son!!! He did a great job styling the photos, too!
ReplyDeleteAs you and I talked about before, so fun to involve the young ones in the projects and encourage them to be makers:)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nancy and Vicki - instilling the fun of crafting/sewing in the young is such a good thing. He did a great job!
ReplyDeleteHello Emily! I love your butterfly pillow. I've had fun making projects for and with my sons, too. They do love turning that Accuquilt crank. Have a fabulous day!
ReplyDeleteAlways fun to get your kids involved in the creative process!!! With all the different stitches, maybe it's time for him to try a small crazy quilt?? Love the butterflies!!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful. I love when my son would do that with me. One tip for the young ones, the machine is operated easily with the hand, more than the foot, especially young boys. I sewed with John's Grade 1 class, and there was one boy who was so fascinated by it. I still remember his joy at watching and helping with the little quilts we made.
ReplyDeleteVery pretty butterfly pillows. Your little guy has great color sense, he picked out a great color combo. It can be hard to let them have their way on those things. I made one quilt where I let the SIT decide what fabrics went where, it was hard as I didn't think certain colors should be next to each other. But it looked great when it was finished. Hope you have more Mom/son projects this year.
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