Sew & Tell: Mini Quilt Challenge

It has been a very busy, yet very unproductive week at my house. We've had our 3-year-old grandson, Aaron, staying with us all week, keeping this grandma in a state of total exhaustion. As if that wasn't enough to wear me out, I've also been sick with a head cold, coughing, congestion, sore throat, headaches... you name it. Once Mommy comes to pick up the little guy tonight, I may sleep straight through the weekend. LoL

So it was Wednesday afternoon, and I hadn't stepped foot into the sewing room all week, when I suddenly remembered -- the Mini Quilt Challenge at Amylouwho's! Dangit! I really wanted to join that party. Could I still finish one in two days, with all this added distraction and fatigue? Well, it couldn't hurt to try...

I started out making a simple postage stamp doll quilt of 1-1/2" scrap squares, but in the process of working on that, something bright and shiny caught my eye and I came up with a new idea. (I'll have to share the finished postage stamp quilt another time.)

The bright and shiny thing was a package of buttons.

Back when Aaron was just a baby, I bought a package of Favorite Findings "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" buttons. I had no idea how I would use them, but they were just so cute, I had to buy them. So when I came across those buttons this week, I had my plan for the mini-quilt challenge. It's nothing fancy, but it's pretty darned cute, and he really seems to love it.

The finished size is 8-1/2" square, and I added the little corner dowel pockets on the back so it can easily be hung on his wall or played with -- whatever he likes.

I think what really made this little mini special was that Aaron actually got to have a part in it. The stitching of the letters was fascinating to him. Since he's just beginning to learn to write with a pencil, writing with a needle and "string" seems almost magical. LoL It was also the first time he had heard the word "automobile" used for a car. (And explaining that they are the same thing was a surprisingly long and drawn out conversation.) He loved playing with the buttons, and even helped me decide which ones to use, and in which order to sew them. And when it was finally "pin-free" and all done, he hugged it like a teddy bear.

I tried to get a picture of him with it today before his nap, but 3-year-olds can be just as contrary as they can be cute, so no, that wasn't going to happen. I'm just so thankful that the precious moments always outnumber the, um... not-so-precious ones. ;o)