Teaching the next generation

This past weekend, while I was embroidering & tweeting* & watching my boys valiantly loose to the Atlanta Falcons (Yes, I am a Seattle Seahawks fan... long story), I was also attempting to teach my daughter & nephew how to embroider.

Zachary, or as Fiona calls him "Z", has been embroidering for a little over a month. He has at least one finished piece, a Moshling named Scamp, which he proudly showed his Home & Careers teacher.

Zachary started embroidering after tracing the image in pencil

Saturday he started a new project with the embroidery supplies I gave him for Christmas. This one involved crayon tinting & fabric markers. He is doing well.

Crayons and fabric markers add vibrant color

Fiona has some coordination issues, but she seems eager to try, which I am always in support of. She has been embroidering a little bit every other night this week. She chose a simple stick figure drawing from the Internet. She then traced it on a bit of cotton, wrote the words on with fabric marker & crayon tinted the shoes, faces, hair & clothes. ( I wielded the power of the iron on both projects.)

Fiona concentrating on her stitches

When teaching embroidery, especially to kids, I find it is better to let them pick out an image they are interested in, instead of some kit. Let their personalities shine through & they may surprise you!


BTW, if you want to follow me on Twitter- @aprilsongstress