The other night all four of us were gathered around the dining room table, post dinner. Hubby was using his stupid new contraption to roll up the change from the piggy banks. (Hello college fund!) The girls were enthralled with his efforts and the contraption. To keep my hands busy I pulled out a quilt that needed some hand stitching. Suddenly, what I was doing was far more interesting to The Monster.

Sadly, my tiny little #8 needle and the need for small stitches made it difficult for her to actually be of help. So I promised her that we would go on a special shopping trip the next day and gather supplies for her to start sewing.

Last night we sat down on the couch and started sewing. I bought a medium sized hoop, some plain white cotton with a loose weave, and some large (but very real) needles. I also let her pick out a few colours of basic embroidery floss. Really I just wanted her to get the idea of pulling a needle through fabric while still getting a chance to see her results.

My little girl was in heaven. We discussed the need to push the needle through front to back and back to front. And how we had to pull the thread all the way through. To make it easier on both of us I doubled up the thread and tied a solid knot. I did not want to be constantly rethreading a needle! Besides, this was about process, not results.

After Smilosaurus unravelled the remaining embroidery floss and sucked the spools of thread I had also purchased she decided she wanted to learn sewing as well. So she climbed up next to me and tried her hand at needle pulling thread. Enthralled and impatient.

I should mention that this was actually my first time embroidering. Seriously, I've never done it before. This is despite the fact that my Baba was one of the most impressive cross-stitchers I've ever encountered. I worked on a little piece that had The Monster's name on it. And honestly, I could really get behind this kind of hand work. Look out!

This was the end result. I moved the fabric in the hoop a few times because The Monster complained that the fabric was dirty whenever we switched colours. That is, she wanted a fresh slate. Then she got irritated with me watching over her so I let her at it. That's when she forgot the front to back, back to front lesson. But isn't it perfect?