the lesson

Today I was working on a stitchery project & miss Allyson came in and announced she was ready to learn! AHA! When she's ready, you drop everything & do it, because in an instant her little preteen mind can do a total 180. So I pulled out the idea books & she settled on a dog, which she promptly traced on a piece of muslin. Of course, first she had to explore all of my marking pens. The purple one that disappears on its own held a special fascination. "How long would it take to disappear?" Gosh, I never timed it before! So we did.... and it was only a matter of minutes (watching purple ink disappear is somewhat akin to watching paint dry. I don't recommend it for entertainment).

We decided perhaps some lines and circles to practice her stitches would be a good prelude to attempting the dog. Soon, the lined & circled muslin was hooped & ready... the needle was threaded with pink embroidery floss & Mom had knotted the thread (the threading she did herself, but somehow those darned little knots are a problem!). We worked hard on learning the stem stitch & by dinner she had completed a line, a circle, and her name! Very nice. Perhaps tomorrow she will stitch the dog..... or not. One never knows with Ally! Every day is a surprise.

And so, she can now add embroidery to her ever growing resume of skills.