The Stitches Are Flying

A staff at the group home told me last night that she could not believe coming into work the Saturday before how she found the kids up doing their needlework and craft projects could make them so calm and quiet. Then she told me that she would pay money to see our newest resident (a hyper teenage male) sitting doing needlework. This may be my newest challenge, but I think it will have to wait until a certain girl departs the home in a couple of weeks as she is keeping drama alive and well.



The 13 year old boy created the above embroidery piece and I turned it into a tote bag for his 10 year old sister. She is very pleased with it. Now I have to finish her 12 year old sister's project, but I am undecided as to whether a tote bag or a pillow will be the finished product. Tote bags take a little bit longer and more planning to finish.



I made my very first apron for a staff member that was moving to California. The 17 year old girl resident did the giraffe because Shannon loves them and then asked her what she wanted it turned into. An apron was the reply and me being a "Mary Poppins" type person had to rise to the occasion and try to fulfill the request. All in all, I was pleased and will probably do some more exploring on aprons in the future. One thing I did not included on this piece was pockets as time just didn't allow it.



The 13 year old boy resident said his youngest sister liked fairies and princess things. I found this picture online and made it into a pattern for him to embroidery. Wanting to do something different, she was made a draw string purse with a rounded bottom. There are things I would like to do different if I ever attempt another similar design.



This last piece is from the 17 year old girl resident. She has a very up and down relationship with her mother. I did find it very interesting though that when she wanted to start stitching to make something, her mother was the first person on her mind. A big smile came on her face the morning she got up and found her mom's pillow sitting on the table for her to have.

They are wearing me out. Forcing projects to come faster and faster for them. I ended up doing 4 patterns on fabric for each of them with an under the sea theme. This is giving me a break, but I was shown last night that these are mostly completed and today is a new week. Now one wants jungle theme animals to stitch and the other I have talked into making something really pretty for his grandmother as a peace offering to get him back in her good graces and maybe back home sooner.

I also made a smaller floral door knob hanger out of felt for a girl in the home that has a much lower cognition level but wants to be doing projects like the others. I had her work on stitching some on the little item just for decorations. Wish I had remembered to take a picture -- maybe another time. I also was able to purchase her some $1 items that required double sided sticky dots with sequins and plastics gems to be put on preprinted colorful pictures. She was spell bound and determined to keep on working.

These kids are thriving on a sense of accomplishment and on the communication they are getting that is positive while working on their projects and then when finished. I hope it will last long enough for them to remember that feeling and use it to their advantage in the future.

PS: We do get them out of the house on a daily basis with weather permitting -- yesterday we went to a local park and flew my huge frisbee, played with my big bouncy ball and let them climb on the play equipment. Plus, they got to play on a slip and slide the home purchased for them. -- Got to keep them active and busy!!!

Aprons

I don't think our kids know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath,because she only had a few,it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.


It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.


From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.


When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.


Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow,

bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.


From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.


In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.


When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.


When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner..


It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ' old-time apron' that served so many purposes.


Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Now her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.


They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron!