Wish me luck - I am gonna need it.

[Tiffrz226]

My co-worker is the leader of a Brownie Troop. Good kids - sell LOTS of cookies. A few months ago she popped her head in my cube and said those dreaded words, "I've been thinking..."

Last time she said those words I ended up with 20 yards of pink felt stretched through my house cutting out 16 poodle skirts so her girls could to a sock-hop number at their banquet. I should have learned. We are STILL finding pink fuzz in the vacuum cleaner.

Tentatively I answered her, My mistake. Should have faked my own death.

She needed a sewing project for her girls to score a badge and she thought they could get two badges at once if they sewed a quilt and donated it to Ronald McDonald House. LOW BLOW!!! How was I supposed to say no?

So, since I had participated in the fabric exchange and thanks to the awesome ladies involved I have hundreds of really COOL squares to use for this project. SO, Monday I am taking a test set in for my co-workers to give the sewing procss a try. And Wednesday we go live. Yep, 16 Brownies about 9 - 10 years old armed with needle and thread. My head is throbbing just thinking about it.

So send me any goow luck vibes you can spare and tips from any other insane person who has tried something like this would be greatly appreciated.

Tiff

[Quoth]

Good luck. Do you get a badge for it? You should! :D

[Katie's Momma]

I agree with Quoth.

You should get your Patience badge!

[Ruby]

The leader honestly wants the girls to piece the quilt? By hand?? Or are they just going to tie a quilt?

Either way I feel for you!

Let me know which way you're going and I'll try to give you some tips :)

[Tiffrz226]

They actually have to DO the sewing by hand, it's for a triad or a badge or something. The Brownie requirement is that they actually have to sew a 4 inch seam. I think the older girls who are going to be Girl Scouts next year have to sew more. Anyway, the quilt is for the Ronald McDonald house so it has to be big enough to cover a twin bed.

We are planning this for two meetings.

Plan A:
At the first meeting, the younger girls are going to sew one seam each. The older ones will then sew two of the resulting rectangles together to form a square. This is the minimum we have planned for meeting one. I will then take the squares home and sew the squares together with borders and bat and back. At the second meeting we have the girls tie the quilt.

Plan B:
Evolves only if the girls sew their squares fairly efficiently. The younger girls will then continue and sew another set of two squares together and the older girls sew them into squares. At the second meeting everyone sews the squares into strips (maybe have the little do one and the older girls more). Then I take the strips home and sew them together, bat, back and tie.

Plan A allows me to make WIIIDDDEEE borders all around if the girls are totally hopeless. Plan B lets them see more of the finished product and get more sewing experience if they take to it and enjoy it. I can still make wide borders between the strips if needed.

So, other than the fact that I am insane, any thoughts on this plan?

[eastertwingles]

as a girl scout leader for 2 troops I can offer you some advice.

1. have band aids available
2. maybe with a fabric crayon, the kind that comes off, make lines where the girls shoud sew
3. always plan for it to take longer than you think, but have a backup if they rush
4. don't worry if it doesn't come out completely square, RM House and their families will love it just the same
5. with a permanent marker write on the quilt the troop number and year.

we made christmas stockings one year and some girls(mostly 7 year olds) did great, others were interesting to say the least.

you might also want to only give the girls kind of short pieces of thread even if they need more every couple minutes. otherwise you could end up trying to get knots out the entire time.

above all else have fun I know your girls will and the tryits look realy good on their vests or sashes

[SharonCC]

BLESS YOUR HEART for doing this for a brownie troop that isn't even yours! Good friends like you are hard to come by. (Make sure she pays you back somehow though next time you need a favor!!)

[gloria]

way to go, i think that will be lots of fun, the kids will never forget you,

and i would say maybe after they have sewn all the quilt together, that maybe it should be sewn all by machine, maybe you had this already planned.

i think it is great that you are giving of your time to do this, the world needs more people that are willing to help out other.

have fun, and will you be showing us pictures? please please please.

[PaulaSue]

It really sounds like a nice project! You are an angel to help out. Brave Vibes!!!!

[Caryl]

What a wonderful project, and how sweet of you to organize it! I wish you luck and hope you all have a ball. :)