Sew much work

Rachel has been making Valentines like crazy. There are seven of them sitting on my desk—little cards that she folded, and then drew skiwampus (but beautiful) hearts and carefully penned the names of her little friends onto. Today we made a special card for Grandma—and our plan was to add it to the pile on my desk, but Rachel was so proud of it (and Grandma was so available) that Rachel delivered it today. 

Inside it says, "You tug at my heart strings!"

Rachel sewed the heart herself even though, in her words, "sewing's not really [her] thing." 

She has those little sewing toys—you know, the cards with the holes punched in them that come with shoelaces so that you can practice "sewing?" They frustrate her to no end. She ends up going all over the place and creating huge knots instead of making a nice "seam."

Today I told her that sewing takes a lot of patience and concentration—it's not something you can just do. You actually have to focus.

Once I'd clarified that Hermione Granger enjoyed sewing (elf hats...) Rachel decided she'd give it a try.

We printed off a template and I poked the holes for Rachel and sat her down with a blunt-ended tapestry needle and some embroidery thread and set her to work. It took a while for her to get the pattern down (up and down, up and down, front and back, front and back) and she kept wanting to skip holes when the only rule of making the heart was that she had to choose a spot that was "next door" to the hole she just came through. By the time she was finished with the heart she seemed to actually be getting it.

 

 
 

When she finished, though, and I asked her if she wanted to make another one she said, "Not today. I'm just feeling a little sick is all. I don't really feel like doing a lot of work today and sewing is kind of like working so I think I'll just take a rest."

She won't be going to school tomorrow so perhaps I'll see if she'd like to make another card tomorrow. She needs something to keep her occupied...