Sew What?… and Then Take the High Chair with You!

My little sister Tonya was born when I was 12 years old – she was like having a live doll to play with. We took her with us to many places when she was but a baby. Most of those places did not have a high chair – with its tray to hold her in. To resolve that problem Mom placed her in a regular chair then took a large dish towel, wrapped it around her and tied her in. I am sure people still do this. Recently my daughter took a trip to Reno with her husband and kids. She was sure that most of the places they would be going to there would not have a high chair. In preparation for the trip she asked me to sew up something that would hold her eight month old baby in a chair. Searching the Internet I located a cute, portable fabric travel high chair. I found the pattern easy to follow – in fact it took just me an hour to make one from start to finish.  Here is the link for the pattern: http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2009/11/fabric-travel-high-chair.html [caption id="attachment_811" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Here is how the cloth chair appears when laid out"][/caption] The below photo shows my beautiful granddaughter in the one I made. Both child and mother loved it. It saw a lot of use on their trip. This fabric high chair design holds and supports a child in almost any chair. They can be used at home as well. [caption id="attachment_812" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="The supportive and cute portable cloth chair in use!"][/caption] Happy Sewing, JoLene

Be sure to visit my website: http://jolenesews.com/

Sew When?... A Coming of Age Tale

What is the 'right age' at which a child can be taught to sew? Well, that is a very good question that has been asked of me many times.  I teach children students to sew using the award winning, 'Kids Can Sew' program and curriculum. This successful sewing program for children enables those as young as six years old to sew. In my experiences seven years of age seems to be the magic age where they are more than ready to learn the vanishing art of sewing.  I've found that the 'right age' is child dependent – as it is based on a particular child's hand-eye coordination, as well as their dexterity level. I am sharing this 'right age' question as I recently I started teaching four kindergartners (all are five years old!). I've discovered when you empower kids to do things that they and others think they shouldn't be able to do… you will be pleasantly surprised how well they perform. I am teaching these kindergartners a little differently than my older kids. I have them sew a simple project each week – and they just love it. They are so cute!!!... and they say the darnedest things. I want to share this cute picture of these five year olds and their first finished project. [caption id="attachment_804" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="5 year olds can Sew!"][/caption] One of their Moms shared this: "The class was AMAZING! The girls got their materials, pinned their cloth, sat down, turned on their machines and got to work. They knew exactly what to do and were totally focused. I was so proud of them all. And they were very proud of their bags." [caption id="attachment_805" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Fabric fun for 5 year olds yields cute bags"][/caption]  My point being that… if these five year olds can learn to sew, you and your child can too!  Happy Sewing, JoLene

Be sure to visit my website: http://jolenesews.com/