a little help

two-thirds the way there on this little fall nine patch, which i'm calling "farmer oak's flocks." since the companion quilt is "bathsheba," the single girl quilt, named after the heroine in "far from the madding crowd," this one made me think it should have something to do with farmer oak, maybe it's his sheep in their pens.

my oldest daughter and grandchildren were visiting the other day when my grandson suddenly said, "oh, granna, we need to sew!" so we did. he helped me put together another couple of rows of these nine patch blocks. this time he ran the pedal until we got to the parts that needed pinning and he was all about the pins. he likes the glass head pins, which i don't like to use for patchwork because they don't lie flat. i'm not sure how these ones even ended up in my pincushion, but he always manages to find them and wants to use them. i indulge him. whenever i sew with him, everything slows down to his pace and preferences so that he enjoys the process.

there was an alligator involved, too.

and then a little sister.

i let them practice sticking pins in a section of patchwork while i was seam ripping a row i'd put on backards, they had a grand time. when d5 saw that i was letting the kiddos pin things, she freaked out, but granna knew better. they were supervised and they did just fine. that's how kids learn - you show them how to do things properly, watch them do it, and let them do it themselves. being the youngest, she doesn't always realize how capable children are at an early age, which is ironic for such an independent gal. her older sister laughed at her saying she'd been the least supervised of them all, she just doesn't remember.

the grandchildren weren't much help with most of the real pinning, but they were enthusiastic about being involved, which is what counts to me. the more i let them practice like this, the better their motor skills will get and the more they'll actually be of help later on. they especially liked using the magnetic pin wristlet d5 gave me for christmas a few years ago. gadgets are fun!

 that's the next two rows put together with just two more left to go.