Some of you may remember that back at the beginning of the year, I set out to teach a few of my older kiddos how to embroider. Embroidering has really been a hit with the kids. Three of the kids decided that they wanted to do embroidery projects to sell at the silent auction at our school’s big event this week–the International Festival and Silent Auction. I was so very proud of them!
My third and fourth grade girls embroidered tea cups on tea towels. My seventh grade boy (remember “The Cell”?) and I designed a “Science is Fun!” wall hanging. None of these projects went off without a hitch, and we were definitely scrambling at the last minute to get them done (Miss Val may have only gotten two and a half hours of sleep the night before the auction!), but they turned out amazing. And they were definitely hits at the auction. So, without further ado, here are the final products:
Tea towels from my third-grade girl:
Tea towels from my fourth-grade girl:
And last, but not least, “Science is Fun!”
That weekend I worked to design these patterns. I knew the kids were eager to get started, but I wanted to have them practice a bit before they jumped right into their designs. So, I traced a bunch of circles on muslin and brought those in for the kids to get started on. I expected there to be some disappointment that they couldn’t just get started on their designs, but I explained that it would take me a few days to get them all traced. To my surprise, there was no disappointment. They were just so excited to get started.
When the older kids finished their circles, I taught them how to make some French knots, and then I got busy doing a project with some of the younger kids. Next thing I know, three of my stitchers were adding to their circles. Some traced other images onto the fabric; others just did freehand embroidery. Each day, they proudly added aspects to their work. After a week of practice embroidery, we had three very different practice circles: a monogramed “M” with stars and hearts; a monongramed “L” with a name, a heart, and a star; and a cell. I was amazed, inspired, and proud all at the same time. And I wasn’t the only one!
Here I had hoped to, down the road, teach them that embroidery was limitless–they could embroider whatever they were inspired to embroider. But, they didn’t need to be told; they did it all on their own. While I love all of these amazing first embroidery projects, I do have to admit that “The Cell” is my favorite (I know…I’m not supposed to have favorites!). Its stitcher gave it to our science teacher, who I’m sure will treasure it always. After all, she inspired a young stitcher to turn a circle into a cell. Oh, what a piece of fabric, some pearl cotton, and a circle can inspire!