He sews too!

It seems this school holidays is the time to teach little boys to sew. I have one bored 5yr old here, who is desperate to learn new things (thank goodness he becomes a SCHOOL kid next week), and who for the last few months of kindy was grizzling "I don't want to go, it's boring, we always do the same stuff and it's too easy!". Keeping him entertained and stimulated has been a bit tricky lately but we know if we don't give him new things to do, his behaviour goes out the window.

He has always taken an interest in sewing (although sewing for him usually consits of sitting on my lap pressing the start/stop button on my "picture machine" (aka embroidery machine) or sitting on my lap pressing the scissors button when I am sewing (when I ask him too of course). He is amazed by how those machines just do their thing and loves to just watch the needle going up and down. When he was littler, I just could not sew when he was awake for fear of him wanting to "help" and making things take 100 times longer. Madelyn on the other hand isn't quite as fussed, and loses interest very quickly when she realises that she is only allowed to touch buttons when I say she can.

So on Sunday, as I finished off Madelyn's liuttle top and skirt set, he asked me to teach him to sew. Not press a couple of buttons, SEW! I had a quick think, and remebered Lotta is always in need of new toys as she is super playful and loses evertything under couches within 5 minutes (yes this new toy is temporarily missing too!) and remembered making one with Nanna when I was about 10 or 12. When Maddy went down for her nap, we set to work. I cut out a little denim scrap (from the skirt) and some polar fleece, layed them on top of each other and helped him sew around the edge. He couldn't quite reach the pedal and see the machine, without hanging on the edge of the desk, so he had a turn at both the feeding and the pedalling. He liked the feeding best, but is a little heavy handed and stopped it moving a few times. Lotta doesn't care and in fact the tiny stitches that resulted just make it stronger.


Knowing Lotta's love for bells and rattles, I took over and made the little elastic strip and hand stitched a bell to it, to stitch into one end, and while we were at it, I let Austy snip off a bit of selvedge from the polar fleece for another "dangly". Austy stuffed it, then I handstitched it close (completely forgetting the satchels of catnip I have in my sewing draw specifically for projects like these- arghhh!). Watching the delight in Austin's face as he handed her the new toy and she started playing straight away was priceless. It is her new favourite toy, which made the project even more thrilling for him. I see more sewing in his future despite the fact that his mean old Dad says sewing is for girls. I mean, seriously, how is it okay for ME to be a mechanical engineer, but not okay for his son to sew? As far as I am concerned, I will teach him, what ever he wants to learn (as long as I have the skills to do so.) Which reminds me, I had best get onto the hunt for a piano teacher, as he can't wait to learn that either and my ability in that area is nowhere near my sewing skills!