My twins and I are making a stained glass quilt. It involves paper piecing, which means the lines on the paper are your sewing guides. It enables accuracy without careful attention to seam allowance. I have pieced the majority of the blocks and then the three of us rip off the paper while we watch a rerun of White
Collar.
The other day Hope made a suggestion.
"If you backstitch the edges, not the center of the square, but where it meets the outer seam, it will rip more easily without undoing the stitches."
She was right of course.
Garment sewers backstitch. Quilters don't as much. I could go into theories about it or you can take my word for it. But in this case, the seam was getting the extra
tug from ripping away the paper, and it took thread with it.
The next day when I started a block I remembered her idea and followed through. What delighted me was that my twelve year old understood both the problem and the solution. I would wager fifty bucks that any girl in their class would not have known as much. Probably you didn't either, although I am not offering cash if you did. Since they have grown up around Berninas and batik and walking feet they know
the tricks for creating a quilt. I like that.
One of the hopes I have for marriage education is that children will be around the problems and solutions inherent in relationships. One time my son casually mentioned his girlfriend's love language, as if all college students have a first edition Chapman book by their bed for easy reference.
Maybe one day they will.
