Miss K's Mermaid--post 4

Doodling quilting designs

Miss K had a sew date with me mid August. She had planned to arrive at 7:30 in the morning. She talked her mom into coming earlier. . .I don't know whether the "special" French toast that she requested for breakfast, or making progress on her mermaid quilt was what drew her to arriving earlier! Our plan was to work for a couple of hours. Actually, we turned our two hour block of time into five hours!

We started the session ditch quilting the blue background. It was a challenge for her to pull and push the fabric while keeping the stitching in the ditch. I told her that it is a challenge for me too which she thought was funny since I have made so many quilts! I thought our next step would be to quilt water like filler stitches in the blue background around the mermaid. I pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil and asked her to draw lines to represent water. She looked at me like I was crazy.

Two finished fish

I showed her some lines that could be water in some of my finished quilts. I drew some lines on a paper as an example. She drew some lines; but, she wasn't excited about those filler stitches. I tried to think of another approach to this section of the quilt that would meet with her approval.

Checking to ensure there are no tucks on the back

Miss K came up with her own solution. She told me that she wanted to stitch three fish in the background around the mermaid using gold thread for a little pop! I had to chuckle at her use of gold and pop in the same sentence. At seven years old, she knows what she wants! She drew a fish on a piece of paper. We talked about what made a good motif for quilting. She made an adjustment so the lines connected. Then we both traced the image with our finger so our brain would remember how to stitch it. I asked her how big she wanted each one and where she planned to place it. I also asked which direction the fish head would be. I'm glad I asked because she had a definite plan of where each fish would be!

Written reminders posted

She liked stitching the three fish so much that she "found" places for two more! Sometimes, she outlined the fish an extra time so it would be "more brilliant!" As she stitched, she talked about her quilt story. . .that the fish were visiting the mermaid and that a party would be involved. After she finished quilting the fish, we talked about quilting the outer border.

She was adamant that the print of the fabric remain intact. I sure thought that she would have used a variety of threads and followed the pattern in the fabric. Her solution was to use the monofilament thread and quilt lines around the border that were spaced the width of the pressure foot. I introduced her to the walking foot and she was intrigued with how it moved!

She stitched with the mantra "slow and steady wins the race." Every five inches, she would stop and check to be sure the border was smooth and that there were no tucks on the back.

Left to do list

Next time we are together, our plan is to stitch the edge of the outer border and then work on quilting the blue background. She asked what steps were remaining because she is so into having a finish! We talked about the binding the label, adding the beads and the hair.

When we finished stitching for the day, she carefully placed her project on the design wall. I went to the kitchen to make her lunch. We took her home after lunch.  When I came home, I looked at her project. I found her notes carefully pinned near her work. I applaud her plan!

Her "Left To Do" list contained:
Do the Border
Label
Sleeve (She calls it the hanging thing)
Waves
Hair
She even included a box to check when she finished. I especially liked the celebration she drew at the bottom of the page. Her planning and organization skills remind me so much of her mama! For me, next time can't come soon enough!

Thank you Carol H. for reading and sharing your comments with our friend Gail G. I thought of you the whole time I was writing this post!