Ushering my daughter through a process.

First, I am not, by any stretch, a seamstress. Or an expert sewer. My mother taught my what I know back when I was a 4-Her. Most importantly, she taught me how to read a pattern and the terminology of sewing, and to be precise and picky when I sew. I didn't catch on to that part then, but I sure understand it now. 

I am now passing the knowledge onto my daughter. It is pretty exciting, though it requires much patience. Sadie and I spent many hours up in the studio together. Her sewing and me helping interpret the pattern, double checking everything, and both of us using a seam ripper. My rule is she rips it out the first time, if it needs it again, I rip it out. For the sake of the fabric, since frustration is pretty high that second time.
I considered it a success on both our parts that there were very few tears and even some laughs, plus lots of inside jokes.

She went on to have it judged one week before the fair. Sewing has always been judged pre-fair. It takes a lot of time. Here the judge is showing another 4-Her Sadie's seams. Sadie chose a difficult fabric, and to prevent raveling, made french seams.
In 4-H, judging is "conference judging" where judging is based not only on the object, but on how much the 4-Her knows and can communicate to the judge. We practice at home- as Sadie sewed her project, I would ask her questions like "now why are you doing it this way instead of that way?" and making sure she knows the fabric name, content and care and other such info.

Here is Sadie with the other advanced sewers, all in the outfits they sewed. 

 Sadie modeled her dress for Fashion Review. In Fashion Review, Sadie was judged on how the pattern and fabric suited her, how her accessories accented her outfit, and on her poise, posture, confidence, etc. Sadie got grand champion ribbons in both Clothing Construction and Fashion Review.

Sadie received the "Clothes you Make" Award at the awards program. She got a plaque for this. Sadie will be taking her dress to the State Fair in August, to compete at the state level. In 4-H, going to the State Fair means staying at the Fair for three days, sleeping in the huge dorm at the 4-H building. It is an awesome experience, and Sadie is so excited to be going there.

It is really satisfying to watch Sadie go through this process, I feel like I am ushering her through the process from beginning (shopping for a pattern) to end (successfully finishing the dress) and then watching her blossom as she discusses what she did with the judge and model the outfit she created. The icing on the cake is to see her earn the purple ribbon and plaque.

It is a lot of work to spend this time with my daughter, but it feels so priceless. I want to pass on the valuable skills my mother taught me, and I am glad I am getting the opportunity to do so.

More on the other kids' projects later...