ROSIE

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July 27, 2025 Meeting Rosie

Celebrating my 81^st birthday, our family had gone out for a special birthday brunch. Following brunch we proceeded down to Transfer Beach Park for the Artist Vendor Day. It was during our walk-about that we met 8 year old Rosie and her Grandmother, Jeanene. While talking with them I discovered Rosie loved to sew.

Mid August 2025 – A gift from Rosie

A couple of weeks later my son brought me a gift in a brown paper bag. The gift was a neck and hand warmers made by Rosie. What a thoughtful gift from my new little friend. I was thrilled to receive such a gift from this sweet young lady.

Early September 2025 – A gift to Rosie

Weeks later I made arrangements to meet Rosie and her Grandmother again down at Transfer Beach. It was a lovely day and we enjoyed our visit chatting about sewing during which time Rosie told me she had made a skirt for herself. I suggested that she should enter her project into the yearly Exhibition, in Nanaimo. At the end of our visit I gifted Rosie a small yellow, white and gray quilt I had made. Rosie wrapped herself in the wee quilt and was so excited with her gift she expressed a desire to learn to quilt.

Mid September 2025 – Enlightenment – The dawning of an idea

At our Fibre Art Convention in mid September 2025, it was recommended that each member try to attract a younger person to join the Fibre Art Network. Soon after that I read that the Canadian Quilting magazine had an article about the “Youth Challenge” and members mentoring young sewers. Sometime in the following days I put the two ideas together and thought again about little Rosie and her love of sewing. I wrote to CQA and requested the chosen fabrics for the Youth Challenge. One week later the package arrived. I was beside myself with excitement. Would Rosie still be interested? I am still so excited – again I couldn’t get to sleep.

November 30, 2025, First – “Play Time” with my new friend

Rosie’s Grandma Jeanene and I picked a day to have Rosie visit my home, see some quilts, and talk about quilting, particularly about a “Road Trip”. Rosie opened the CQA fabric package, and became thoughtful. We discussed the “Road Trip Youth Challenge” and Rosie was very eager to partake. We had tea and cookies, I brought out my design book and had Rosie close her eyes and picture her road trip. I wrote down what she was seeing:  a yellow hippy van, piled with suitcases, mountains, a road, blue sky, sunshine, and a mouse. What was closest, what was farthest away? How different items in the distance and up close seemed to be in size.

   

The three of us climbed up to my studio. Rosie’s eyes gleamed as she looked at my room, the ribbons and my “stash”. She was encouraged to find fabrics that would work for her yellow hippy van, mountains, sun and road and so on. She chose green that looked like mountains, green for grass, yellow for her van, gray for her road; she even saw some yellow ribbon to use on her road.  It amazed me that Rosie picked up on the fact that she was letting the fabrics do much of the work for her. Mountains had trees, ground cover had grass, and the road was grey.   Rosie has a great sense of what she wants and doesn’t want. Rosie and Grandma Jeanene drove away happy and excited. I couldn’t contain my excitement either, so much so I couldn’t get to sleep that night planning how to make the process easy for my enthusiastic young quilter.

December 30^, 2025 – Second Play Date –  (approximately 2:30-4:15)

It wasn’t until after Christmas we were able to get together once again. After tea and cookies we discussed:  the size her project would be, rulers and rotary cutter safety features. Rosie used a regular sized iron for the first time as well as the rotary cutter. She never forgot to cover the blade before setting it down. She sized up the sky fabric, cut the mountains, drew a road on the back of the road fabric and cut it out. She then cut out 3 rectangles for her hippy vans. Rosie ironed some “Heat and Bond” onto the back of flower fabric, and onto the “Moose” fabric. We discussed her stitching the fabrics in place when she got home. Grandma may have to draw lines on the various fabric pieces for Rosie to follow to attach the sky, mountains, grass and road onto the base fabric. Again that evening the problem for me was getting to sleep – I was just so excited.

January 10, 2026 – Third Play Date (approximately 10:00- 1:30)

Let’s see what Rosie did at home after our 2^nd visit? She had spent time carefully cutting out small flowers for her hippy vans. Rosie had plans for her moose and cut them out in rectangles.  She then cautiously cut out the license plate fabric. She now knew what she was doing on the yellow ribbon which was to be her centre road mark lines. We talked about using the remaining moose and license plate fabric for borders. After deciding how wide to cut the borders she proceeded to cut out her borders. During that time we discussed the “hanging sleeve” and quilt label. She was surprised to learn she could use the printer to make her label. Even putting a photo of her on the label was met with excitement. As she worked away we reviewed the use of:  irons and water spray bottles with spray starch, rotary cutters, cutting mats, rulers, and Angelina sheets to stop leaving a sticky mess on the ironing board. We talked about using:  felt pens, pencil crayons (for her sun), archival pens, glues, embellishments, trapunto for her vans, and fusibles. We talked about ‘Steam-A-Seam Two’, ‘Heat and Bond’ and ‘Misty Fuse’ products and my preferences and why. We also reviewed some “hippy” information such as:  hippy words, hippy signs, decorated vans, peace, love, joy, hope and faith. Rosie seems very aware of hippies – how is that possible, I ask myself?  Sleep seems to vanish after I play with Rosie in my studio, another sleepless night for me.

    

January 18^th – Fourth Play Date – (approximately 1:00-3:30)

We discussed the three fusibles we had used: ‘Heat N Bond’,’ Steam-A-Seam ll’, ‘Misty Fuse’.  We discussed the sizes of the three vans Rosie wanted, as well as the color of fabrics. She loved the yellow for the big van, and bright pink and bright blue for the other two vans. Rosie had chosen quite a few embellishments in my stash such as: sun glasses, smiley faces, peace signs, tiny roses, sewing machines and so on. We talked about where she wanted her “sun” and using pencil crayon or stitches to radiate from the sun.

Her homework was to add Misty Fuse to her moose, and license plates, cut and stitch a yellow sun and add pencil crayon extensions. Rosie was also given the task of making suitcases for the tops of all 3 vans, and drawing different sizes of her “mouse” for the tops of the vans.

January 25^th 2026 – Fifth Play-Date – (approximately 1:00-3:45)

Rosie was excited to show me what she had done to her sun using 2 different colors of fancy threads and pencil crayons. She always has great ideas to add that little extra pizzazz. As Rosie worked away trimming her moose, suitcases, and license plates we carried on a conversation about her home life.  She is a busy little eight year old with swimming lessons, softball practices, tutoring lessons, Christmas choir practices (over now), and her play time at my home. Rosie didn’t draw her mouse, but her Grandmother had found bunny buttons. Since bunnies run all over Vancouver Island Rosie felt the bunnies would be a good fit for her vans. The next item to do today was to attach her road to the background fabric. Using a decorative stitch Rosie liked, she spent some time stitching one side of the road. That took longer than planned so next time she will stitch the second side of the road. No homework today as Rosie has a busy week.

February 1^st 2026 – Sixth Play-date – (approximately 1:00 -3:45)

When Rosie walked into the studio today she saw her project up on the design wall, which was followed with a smile from ear to ear. Our tasks will be to attach the second side of the road, and begin to make the three vans. After looking at some of my work, Rosie thought she would like to do Trapunto for the vans. Nothing fazes this young lady. I said before long she would be doing “free motion quilting”. “What is that?” After my explanation Rosie thought that would be fun!  The second side of the road was sewn and completed, as well the 4 borders around the edge of her quilt were added. Rosie was shown how to sew on the sides, then top and bottom.  After which it was time to “square up” the corners after each border was sewn on.  Using a “stiletto” was the tool of choice today. So cute! Rosie likes to sew fast – so today was the perfect time to get to play with the “seam ripper”. The remainder of the day the machine went much slower. Rosie layered front, batting and backing fabric for her three vans.

     

Her homework was to stitch around the edge of each van using ¼” seam – but leaving a hole at the top for turning to the right side. She took all of her cut out flowers home with her and she will decorate her 3 vans. I explained the “training your brain exercises” for doing her sky, trees and grass. I will let her try free motion quilting if she plays with those exercises. I have no idea if she can manage free motion quilting. Only time will tell. Again, I was so pumped after working with Rosie, I couldn’t get to sleep. I just want to play with Rosie.

February 22, 2026 – 7^th Play-date – (approximately 1:00 – 3:30)

There was such excitement for Rosie and I to play together again today after a two week break.  First thing Rosie asked me was “Did you get up at 5:00 a.m. to see the hockey game this morning”. I immediately thought she might tire early today but she lasted 2 ½ hrs. She had not worked on her vans at home but she had practiced “training her brain exercises” so – it might be a free motion quilting day after all.  Rosie taped her background to the table, added the batting, then the top. She quickly caught on to pining the sandwich together using the “Kwik Klip” to close the pins. Rosie loves to discover new tools each week. She showed me the exercises she had done on paper, after which she practiced the exercises on a “scrap fabric sandwich.” No problem! So next it was onto quilting her quilt sandwich. She was now really concentrating doing “free motion quilting”, removing pins when she came to them. When she finally looked up at me with a vacant look in her eyes I knew her sewing day was over. I was thoroughly amazed she lasted 2 ½ hours after getting up so early this morning to watch Olympic hockey with her daddy.  During our play today we talked about tying off threads and the use of a ‘lint roller’.  Homework was to continue to practice muscle memory moves for grass, sky and mountains.