In Which I Mold Eight Domestic Artists

So, it turns out that my Activity Days girls were born with thimbles on their fingers. They took to last night's sewing activity like wild fire!

This was our project: We sewed scripture tote bags out of cloth placemats. We did this by folding the placemat in half and sewing up the sides, then we folded triangles out of the corners and sewed across them, then attached ribbons for handles. Very simple. (I mean, heck -- if I can sew it with little problem, then they can sew it piece of cake.)

We had three sewing machines gathered -- one for each placemat/ribbon combination -- and four adults (me, my partner, Sarah, and two parents). It was actually good that there were extra adults present because we ended up having extra girls come (the twins brought a small handful of friends with them, which amounted to a minor crisis because we didn't have enough materials. It turned out okay, though. They were fine just helping to sew the twins' bags). We were able to teach the girls a quick lesson in threading a sewing machine and winding a bobbin, and sew eight bags in an hour and a half. I swear that must be some kind of record.

The girls were great, though. So eager. I'd heard rumors before I was given this calling that the previous Activity Days leader had taught them how to sew on a button and in the weeks after that, everyone in the ward could expect those girls to be out actively advertising their new button-sewing services. They also got way into the cross-stitching we taught them earlier in the summer. So I guess history showed that these girls have a domestic side to them.

The greatest part was when, after it was completely sewed, I told them they could turn it right side out to see how it looked...they were so excited to see that they'd actually used a sewing machine to make something! (After all...sewing machines are only things their moms use!) It also made for a pleasant little boost to my sewing ego to teach these girls how to sew something (usually it's someone else whose hovering over my shoulder teaching me how to sew).

I didn't think to bring my camera, so I don't have any pictures, but if you're ever in Muncie on a Sunday, come to the Muncie 1st ward, and I'll bet you you'll see some cute little girls toting their scriptures around in bags they made themselves.