The Great Boulevard Sewing Bee

 So I thought I'd do a sewing post as I am sick of thinking about my house failing to sell.....

Back on Australia Day (26th Jan), Kindergarten Friend and his wife (The Divine Miss M) asked me to accompany them to the Fashion Icons Exhibition at the City Art Gallery. This was an extraordinary treat for those of us with a love of fabric and sewing. The original pieces by designers such as Chanel, Christian Dior, Yves St Laurent and Dolce & Gabbana were so displayed that you could walk right up to them and peer at the stitching! We marvelled at the metres of delicately folded fabrics and intricate beading.

 In the Art Gallery Shop, they were typically profiting from all items (cough:TAT) that could be remotely related to sewing or fashion. I fell for the old 'simple pattern for a skirt' trick, encouraged by a demo model on a mannequin in a striking African print. The Divine Miss M , who claimed not to be able to sew for $%#@, agreed to purchase some IKEA fabric and let me make her a skirt. I have yet to see this fabric.

BUT.... several days later I had cause to visit Local Cheap Material Superstore, let's call it Floodlight, and spotted some cheap and cheerful African print which I thought I could probably use

That's it on the left. The skirt was ludicrously simple and I quickly decided to make the skirt reversible, finding this other pleasant ethnic fabric in my stash.

Buoyed by my success, I quickly made this skirt:

(not really enhanced by my long tailed black shirt)

And this one, opting for a tie and 'wrap around' effect for the final version.

(please forgive bathers and megafat arms)

 So 3 skirts (4 if you count the reversible) from the one pattern....and I'm NOT DONE!!!!!

Meanwhile, I have been sewing plastic storage bags for the 'Kidsboxes' at church, and was rewarded by the sight of two young children playing with toys that had been in the box for ages, but never used.

Also whilst at the Exhibition, I succumbed to a 'sew your own' scarf kit which is basically a piece of fabric and a skein of thick thread for you to do a running stitch along the edge of it. Pics of that 'gem' when I've completed it :-)
The whole sewing 'simple and quick' has been very cathartic mind you, particularly in the face of my current woes.

Viva La Fashion!!

Playing About With Paint

"But I'm no good at painting." (spoken with a whine)

"It doesn't matter, just have a go."

"But it'll be rubbish. I know it will."

"Who said you had to be good at it? Do you think at 10 that you should be able to produce a masterpiece? Why would you be able to do that? Nobody else can. Well very few anyway. What you have to understand Small Boy is that most people are pretty rubbish at this sort of thing and it doesn't matter one bit. As long as you get a bit of pleasure out of playing about with paint."

"But I don't know what to paint."

"That's not important either. Just put a bit of paint on the canvas and see what happens. "

"What's canvas?"

"Good grief. What are they teaching kids nowadays? Canvas is the the cloth you use to paint on. Instead of paper. Anyway, just play with the colours and do one of your 'designs'."

So we did.

Why are kids afraid to try something lest they 'not be good at it'? Perhaps in our zeal to encourage our children we overuse a kind of praise which engenders unrealistic expectations. For example:
'What a beautiful picture!" (smiles, fuss, show it to grandma etc)
The child receives the message that approval comes with succeeding at something, with being 'good at it'. But wait! The anxiety! What if next time, their picture/race/performance isn't up to scratch?

What the child really wants when he shows you his painting is interaction; this interaction in itself is sufficient to reinforce for the child that he is loved and valued . Therefore, rather than making a value judgment such as 'wow! that is fantastic!' or 'aren't you clever!', we could simply comment on the painting in a very factual and non-judgmental way. 'You've painted a blue sky and a red flower', 'Look, there's a house on top of the hill'. If you feel the need to express an opinion make sure it is just that eg 'I love the blue sky you've painted here.' In this way, the child's self worth becomes internalised; they are important for themselves, simply for being, not because of their 'works' and the opinions of others.

A friend of mine had a very bright daughter who was doing amazing things with letters and sounds at about 3. My inexperienced reaction was to exclaim at how clever she was whilst her father looked at her 'game' for just the right amount of time and pronounced that it was 'interesting' and that she was 'having fun'. He reminded me of the scene from 'Babe' after the pig has nailed the sheep herding competition and the crowd is giving him a standing ovation. The farmer looks down and says quietly to his beaming partner, "That'll do pig."

Our children do not need frequent production numbers made out of their every effort in life.
"Isn't she clever/gifted/a natural etc." Congratulate, share their joy in achievements but focus on the aspects of that achievement which demonstrate good character: perseverance, good sportsmanship, creativity, not on the achievement itself.

Regular, observant and personal interactions over the little things in life assure children that they are loved and valued without creating a need for them to continually 'top' their last effort in order to get the attention which should simply be their birthright.

PS: That is the Small Boy's effort up at the back there. I particularly like the way it creates movement for the eye. :-)