Quality Time- Sewing with the big girls

My one goal for 2013 is spending more quality time with my children.  The floors I was supposed to vacuum and mop yesterday- they are still dirty (as are the bathrooms).  I’m trying to teach myself to be okay with that.  I could clean 24/7 and barely be caught up, and worse all my work can be undone in 24 hours or less.

Teaching the kids diligence in getting necessary work done is important.  And it’s possible to spend good quality time together while getting the chores done.  However it’s also important to throw the to do list out the window and opt for some fun every once in a while.

While Michael and Rob spent some time together at a monster truck rally the girls and I made baby doll clothes.  I gave them free rein in my pattern and fabric boxes.  When we finished I realized that the only seam ripping I did were on the few seams I sewed!  The girls didn’t need to redo any seams!

Peyton recognized pink scraps from her baby quilt and chose it for the detail fabric on her baby’s dress.  Pey wasn’t able to do much independently, other than fabric picking, but she was happy to sit in my lap and help me guide the fabric through the machine.

Rebekah choose the leftover corduroy from her Annie (Little Einsteins) costume.  Her pattern was quite fussy and detailed.  I worried I would have to sew much of her dress for her, but she sewed most of it independently!  I helped with the collar, pocket, gathering, and velcro attachment.

Miriam chose a straight forward pattern , so she cut out most of her own fabric pieces and sewed all but two seams herself.  I only attached the skirt to bodice for her and sewed the velcro to the bodice.

However, “if you give a mouse a cookie”…now I feel the need to make coordinating clothes so the girls can match their dolls.