I've moved! New blog address.


My new website + blog is emilyneuburger.com.  Please visit me there!

If you have this site bookmarked in a blog reader, you'll want to switch to emilyneuburger.com.

Thanks, and see you in my new space!

xo emily

s t i t c h


I kind of knew that my almost-five-year-old daughter, who loves to layer and build and create, would love to sew. I already knew that she likes to press the foot while I sew, and thread and fabric are two of her most coveted crafting materials, so I decided to get her started with some independent stitching. Both of my wooden hoops have been acting up on me, so I needed to get her a new hoop. As I mentioned in an earlier post, our local sewing store closed its doors earlier in the season, so I was left going to Jo-Ann Fabric in search of one, and I was shocked to learn that they only sell the plastic kind now. Grump! I ended up getting her a bright yellow plastic one, but I bought a new wooden one at Purl a couple of weeks ago, and I plan on giving it to her as a winter solstice gift. I want her to experience stitching with the wooden kind too. I also bought a yard of grass green cotton jersey since I figured it would be easy to sew through, and kind of fun to touch and feel.

Amanda does a lovely job introducing this first sewing adventure in her book, The Creative Family. I first had Chick gently touch the tip of the needle because I felt that it was important for her to have a good sense of its sharpness. She was a little hesitant because she was all wrapped up in how she has been told not to play with needles for her entire life. After fifteen minutes of almost touching it, she finally did, and we quickly moved on. I threaded it with some embroidery floss and she got busy. There were a few times where she sewed over the rim of the hoop, but it was a good lesson in back stitching. Below is her masterpiece. She wanted to cut around her needle work to make an ornament of sorts. I have it hanging at the end of my hallway, so I can catch glimpses of it all day long. For me, it sweetly captures her capable, independent, beautiful almost-five-year-old little self.



xo e