Last spring break my 3 GC and I made little quilts for the local Humane Society. The H.S. gave me the measurements and we made 16 quilts for the dog/cat cages.

Photos can be seen at
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2581453400040927248SNrPYw

We used the birth method. It was a wonderful project and taught them so much.

Since I posted my questions in July my granddaughters, aged 9 and 11 have really taken off. The 11 year old has completed a Dick and Jane quilt from a kit I purchased in Paducah and has informed me that she is giving it to her mother for Christmas. She is now in the process of making a quilt for her father from some Curious George material we purchased on EBay. The 9 year old has decided to go with making a skirt but promises me she is close to wanting to start a quilt. I guess the answer to my question is to follow their lead and have a good time doing it.

My granddaughter Anna, now 8, started sitting on my lap at 4 and sewing.
We made a quilt together when she was 4. She is making a quilt now that she is bigger. I cut, she sews. I am learning too, how to teach her. She loves my Janome 6600P and unless we are working on a specific project I have one rule - no rules! She is showing promise of great color selection and color layout. I buy her baggies of precut squares to do whatever she wants with.

My daughter's boyfriend's little girl (age 7) would come over to my house and she always wanted to make a quilt block. First she started out making a block of whatever I happened to be working on, then she started looking thru my books and choosing blocks. Over the course of about a year, she made about 20 or so blocks. I did the cutting, and her accuracy got pretty good when I drew on the seam line (along with speed control on the machine, which she learned to set lower herself). We worked together putting the blocks together, and I quilted it for her. We submitted it to the NJ State Quilt Show, under the youth catagory, and she won 3rd place! She had fun, I had fun teaching her, and now she has bragging rights. She is working on her next quilt now. Most kids are very interested in sewing (must be the machine) and they love fabrics, especially if they have a scrap box to play with.
Linda in NJ

About 1-1/2 years ago, I scanned and printed pictures from a flower fairy coloring book onto muslin and backed them with freezer paper for a friend's daughter's 7 year old birthday party. The guests each colored one page (block) and put their names on the page they did.

Finally, last week Ana (the little girl who is now 8-1/2 years old) came over and she picked out some fabric from my stash for sashing between the fairy blocks. I cut the strips, but Ana did all the sewing. It was her first time actually using a sewing machine and she did an excellent job.

I would definitely use a seam guide -- they have some out now that are about 1/2 inch wide, about 6 inches long, and about 1/4 thick. You attach them to the bed of the machine with double-stick tape. It really helps them sew straight seams -- well most of the time. I did notice that Ana had a tendency to swing wide towards the end of the seam. But she really loves what is coming together.

The individual block and sashing went together rather quickly. When we sewed the sashing to an entire row -- well that's when it got hairy. I ended up standing behind her and holding the excess so she could concentrate on the sewing.

Joan

My 6 year old identifies himself as a quilter, and is another Ricky Tims wanna-be! I found that he gets the most excited when he has freedom to pursue his inspiration. Making a blanket for cats at the SPCA out of leftover fleece scraps, or using fat quarters from my stash he has a vision for- once he got gung-ho about making a purse after seeing an episode of Simply Quilts, and designed and sewed it just the way he wanted. He couldn't be more proud of his work!

There are times I "butt-in" with my know-how about how to, say, applique or whatever he's inspired to do, but he reminds me that it's HIS project and he wants to do it like THIS. Humbles me quick, I'll tell ya. I am thoroughly enjoying his enthusiasm!

Lisa (and Jeremy)

One suggestion I have is to just let them focus on the sewing part. When I pre-cut all the pieces for my 9 yr. old daughter, got the machine threaded and ready to go, she jumped in with a lot more enthusiasm than my earlier attempts. Gotta remember that short attention span and the need to see quick results to keep interest alive.

My 9-yr-old George is great at the machine, the one thing I did was have DH stick a small block on the back of the foot pedal to act as a "speed regulator" so he couldn't go all out! I haven't pushed "quilting rules" at him, and he's having a great time experimenting... The more he enjoys it, the more he does, and I have a great quilting partner!

Working with kids is the best! I found that out when I wrote my book - start quilting with kids. On my site http://www.alexandersonquilts.com is a pod cast (one of the newest ones) addressing this issue. I spoke about the experience and gave tips and hints. Originally Ricky and I discussed a forum for kids on this site, but I voted no. Perhaps it is the over pertective mom in me, but internet safety issues kept coming to mind.

There is a book for children (ages 7 and up) called The Best of Sewing Machine Fun (ISBN number is 1571202544). You should be able to see reviews of the book on the web. You might find the followup book, Sewing Fun for Kids: Patchwork, Gifts, and More! (ISBN number 1571204105) at your local quilt shop.

patcollie wrote:

Last week I worked with my little sister (age 11) to make a baby quilt for our newest baby sister (due in September). She had never sewn at all before. What I did first was turn her loose with a simple quilt design software and let her design the quilt herself. We used the Quilt Design Wizard. I was there to gently nudge her in the direction of simple blocks but over all she came up with the design - a three tone rail fence in pink, blue, and yellow gingham with raw edge applique angels and sayings fussy cut from a fabric I had in my stash. I started out to teach her to use my old sewing machine, but in the end we knew we had limited time together (one week) so I handled construction for the most part while she did the pressing. She also determined the layout for the fussy cut peices and fused those herself. I did the machine quilting and put the binding on myself after she went home. I'll post a picture as soon as I get a chance.

As for advise here goes. I have taught my daughters some basic hand peicing, and for anyone under the age of 9 or 10 I think this is the way to go for safety's sake. Just teach them to sew on the line. Older kids though I definately would go with the machine. Give them some fabric and just let them get used to sewing around on it. Once they get the idea of just sewing set them up with a quarter inch foot, mark the quarter inch on the machine with a layer of tape or post it notes, and have them try puttig together strips. Madison was getting pretty good at using the machine by the end of the week. Just be REALLY patient and understand that Rome was not built in a day. They will get it eventually.

Hi Florence - I don't have chaps, I don't 'work' on a ranch, nor do I herd cattle. But, that is just part of a cowboy's necessity when they are a working cowboy. My hat keeps the sun out of my face and acts as an umbrella when i need one. - Tell that boy of yours to follow his dreams - no matter what!

My son George's goal is to become Ricky Tims! It's caused him to actually sit at the piano and work out tunes, and he wears his cowboy hat at all times! (Ricky, do you have chaps? George seems to think that's part of the outift too... ) Plus he wants to move to Colorado!

I would appreciate learning more about projects geared to the NEW and young quilter/sewer. Ages 7 or 8 and up. I am trying to get my grandchildren involved in sewing and would love some project ideas or a website to go to for more information. After all the newbie today is the Ricky or Alex of tomorrow.