Strengthen the Mind
Just being a kid
7-12
Children learn fine art of sewing from home ec teacher
Photo and reporting by
Eastern New Mexico News
Patrick was 10 when he signed up for a retired home ec teacher's sewing class, six kids to a session, because he'd started a quilt with his mom the Christmas before and didn't know how to finish it. By the time class was over he had the stitches he needed to get it done by this Christmas.
The parent never appears
His mom is the reason the quilt exists in the first place, but she's not in the rest of the story. Patrick found the class, showed up, and ran the machine himself.
Why we picked this one
Patrick was going to spend his summer learning to carve wood. He picked sewing instead because it got him closer to finishing something he'd already started. Nobody made him choose the harder, more useful thing. He just did.
Patrick didn't wait for anyone to hand him a finished quilt, he learned to fix the parts he couldn't do yet. Find the thing in your house with the rip, the wobble, the missing button, and let your kid loose on it with whatever's in the drawer. Duct tape counts. So does a bad first stitch.
Read the full story at
Eastern New Mexico News
Where it happened:
Tucumcari, NM
There's a quilt or a stuffed animal or a hem in your house that's been broken for months because fixing it felt like a grown-up job. Hand your kid the seam ripper and see what happens.