The last ten days have been a little rough around this household. A few kids caught an evil virus and were laid up with high fever for over a week. I don’t remember the last time any of my kids were so sick. And I had forgotten what it’s like to be house-bound for OVER A WEEK. But we survived. And we had some lovely moments together over the past ten days.
At a certain point I was fed up of playing Connect Four, Phase 10 and Ingenious so I went and started rummaging through my sewing room for some ideas of something creative to do with sick kids. I found an old box full of wooden embroidery rings, a roll of old burlap, large needles and some colourful yarn and thread. A perfect activity for kids who don’t have the energy to get off the couch but are bored and in need of something to do with their hands.
Using burlap to teach kids embroidery is ideal because it’s so easy to get the needle and thread/yarn through the largely woven fabric and even possible to reverse if a mistake is made. And the contrast of the earthy textured brown material with brightly coloured thread is absolutely lovely. One little piece of advice would be to always zigzag the edges of the burlap beforehand to reduce fraying.
I quickly showed the kids the basics of embroidery and then left them to create whatever pattern came to mind. We all sat around the living room with the fire blazing and listening to classical music playing in the background. So cozy and slightly Little House on the Prairie-ish.
After the designs were done we made them into little miniature pillows using different coloured velvets for the back. The kids are so proud of their creations. Their mama as well.
Jillian In Italy 