Patience is a virtue....

And murder is a sin.

I had to keep repeating that to myself today. Alyssa stayed home from school with a sore throat and low-grade temp. Just enough to keep her out of school, not enough to make her feel really awful. As I had sewing to do, I suggested she come upstairs and join me. Had a (free!) pattern from Liberty Jane that I thought would be quite do-able for her.

Started off well enough. She made fun of my pattern weights (old D-cell batteries - hey, they work!) and enjoyed using my super-sharp spring loaded scissors a little too much.

Then the fun began.

Trying to get her to stitch a straight seam was near impossible!! Being the genius I am, I suggested perhaps she would let me draw a line on the fabric and she could simply stitch along it. This evoked tears and throwing herself on the floor, so I took that as a positive and drew the line on the fabric. Once she regained control of herself, she sat down and figured out that maybe Mommy's way wasn't so bad after all....

I also taught her to use the serger. Now this serger has seen me through roughly 25 years of sewing with nary a problem, but Alyssa was pretty sure it would amputate her fingers. After repeated questions on what I would do if she did indeed manage to cut her finger off, she gave it a try... and quickly discovered WHY sergers rock!!

Several tantrums, lunch, and a couple of cool-off drink breaks (and by cool-off, I mean temper, not temperature), and she was actually finished with her dress.

Now... the seams weren't as straight as *I* would have liked, and the hem got a little wonky, but I think she did a darn fine job for an eight year old kid with a 4-day beginner class under her belt!!


(she really is proud of herself... don't let the face fool you!!!)