Excited for my daughter
 

My daughter is 9 years old & has spina bifida. She had her 20th surgery this past summer. She's a trooper & an amazing girl who inspires me daily. She has started coming to quilt-related places with me lately & has a neat eye for color. She has quite a stash of FQ's. We're starting a lap quilt for her - we'll do it together. I am saving-up to get a machine with a push-button start & stop, but that has to wait a little while longer. She does operate the foot control while I sew things that we're doing together. I absolutely love to make yo-yos. I don't use a maker, just do them. She's expressed an interest in yo-yos & I know that her fine motor skills aren't quite what they need to be in order to make a free-hand yo-yo just yet. I was at my LQS yesterday & really looked over the yo-yo makers closely. I decided that she can be successful with them. Guess what??? She was!!! She was so proud of herself when we popped that yo-yo out of the plastic frame & she watched as she pulled the thread tight & a perfect yo-yo appeared. She had designed a fabric postcard for a lady in our church who is good friends with her. I stitched it onto the postcard & she was all smiles when she mailed that card this morning with the yo-yo that she made HERSELF! Hooray. I'm on a mission to find a needle-threader that she can operate next. That way she can be even more independent. She's in a wheelchair all the time & so many parts of life are challenging for her that I want to be sure that sewing is FUN & not a challenge. Better cut a few circles today - she just might be making lots more!

SWEET! So happy to share in your excitement and your daughters achievement!

Wow 20 surgeries, she really is a trooper. I'm so glad you've found something that makes yo yo's easier for her. Have you seen the recipe for making chocolate cake in a mug on QB. My daughter got quite a kick out of that and did it all in the cup herself.

Congrats to your Daughter and you!
 

I enjoyed reading your post. It is very inspiring and uplifting. Tell your daughter that I am very proud of her and making postcards for someone is fabulous; everyone gets a smile and happiness when they get a personalized postcard. Thank you for sharing.

What a great story!!! She is soo lucky to have a mom like you who treats her "normally" and encourages her to do tasks even though they are difficult. She already knows life is hard since she has gone through sooo many surgeries!! God bless her!!! Sending you a pm Thanks for sharing story. a Great Inspiration for all!!! cheryl

What a wonderful accomplishment. I can imagine how thrilling the discovery of new things she can do either with or without you can be. Not all 9 year olds would even be interested. Sounds like she likes challenges and conquering them.








Donna

That is an amazing story. I'm so glad you are looking for things to help her succeed at quilting. It will boost her self esteem. Good for both of you, 9 is a good age to start. We need more quilters.

What an inspiring story. I made a small yo yo top when I was a young girl. I still have it and a whole bunch of circles I cut out back then..once in a while I get it out and look at all the old 50's fabrics in it. I am so glad she found this way to be creative. Bless you for finding this way for her to express herself.

Your daughter is an inspiration to all disabled people, young or old. She has the right can do attitude, instead of can't do. What a great girl she is, and so are you, because she probably gets the can do attitude from her parents.

There are so many things that can be made with yo-yos so have her make a bunch! You can then make a floral wallhanging for her room - (1) use whatever size paper or fabric background you want, (2) have her run a bead of glue in various places (stems aren't straight so that's good), (3) cover the stems with thin cut pieces of green fabric (cut on the bias so they bend) or use bias tape or rickrack, (4) put the yo-yos on top and around the stems. Voila! A beautiful garden. You can "bind" it by glueing the bias tape or rickrack around the edges (or regular binding if you used fabric) or put it in a frame and hang it. Enjoy the fun with your sweetheart of a daughter!