Celine sews a Sock Monkey

March 15, 2010

Celine has been sewing up a storm these days.  To hear the sewing machine humming, to provide feedback for her design ideas and to see the quality work she's producing is such a blessing to this mama's heart. I feel a sense of deep satisfaction as she makes this learning her own, knowing that the way we've chosen to homeschool has given her the time she needs to pursue her own goals and dreams.

Sigh... I am a happy homeschooling parent.

  

One of Celine's recent projects was to sew a sock monkey for her cousin, who turns two years old the beginning of next month.  This was a paid commission from her aunt to create a handmade toy that the parents (Celine's aunt and uncle) could give to their son as a gift.  

I am so proud of Celine for accepting this project and following through.  Damien and I encouraged her to take on the project and offered whatever help she needed. But ultimately the choice to make it and the work was done by her.

We took her shopping to buy an appropriate pair of socks, helped her find a pattern, read through the instructions with her and at the very end helped her sew on the eyes and mail the finished product. But that was it, the rest was her doing. 

In case you are interested in doing a similar project this is the pattern Celine used, found at Craftbits.com. The instructions are straightforward and Celine was very pleased with the end result.

But more importantly Celine was pleased with the process. This girl loves to sew and I couldn't be happier for her. These are Celine's own words for how she feels when she's sewing, "I'm in my element!"  Music to a mother's ears.