We thought we'd brighten up the inside a bit with some happy dishtowels. The one on the left is by the big sister (age 9). I'm really happy that she loves to stitch and does not work from patterns. She tends to love rules and order so her just picking up a needle and thread and having a vague sense of what she wants to do and then realizing it is a very fun thing to watch.
Mine is in process on the right with bottom trim and wild paisleys to still come. I also work freeform just seeing what happens as I go.
Here's something from cousin Emma (9 yrs) who chose something a bit more abstract. This is called 'snow storm.'
We also had a birthday in the house this week so the 7 year old whipped up this number which reads, "Happy Birthday Cora." It's a bit tough to read with the super light pink but she made this all on her own- didn't even ask for help threading the needle, which she normally does. I was really impressed with her flower and this is the first I've seen her do lettering. She wanted to work on it as a surprise and then gave it in secret to her newly 3 yr old cousin. After she gave it to her she came to me and showed it to me and said, "I gave it to Cora, but she didn't like it so I think I'll take out the letters and make something else for myself now." This is when I'm so impressed with my littles that it almost makes me want to cry. She was so unattached to her very honest little cousin telling her she didn't want it so just thought of what to do next. There was no lamenting over the past or crying about it or hurt feelings of any sort. Oh, how I wish I could respond that like to my good intentions that aren't received with the reaction I'd hoped for!! This is one of those moments when our children really are our best teachers.
There's been a whole lot of game making going on as well.
The most amusing part of this rainy spell is the two older ones deciding to take ballet online. They were inspired by a recent read of Ballet Shoes by Noel Steatfeild and then watching the movie afterward. They dug up some very old ballet outfits from the dress-up box and downloaded a lesson taught by a rather stuffy elderly British woman. It is good humor to watch these two in action. We will definitely be checking out the other books in this series like Theatre Shoes, Tennis Shoes & Skating Shoes.
The old cliche about our children being our greatest teachers proves to be true so often in my life. The older girls think they are ready to star in swan lake- they are so confident in their very minimal ballet skills and confidently move forward in their training. The little one with her gift-giving rejection that didn't phase her. There is so much for me to learn around here. What have your children taught you this week?
