bonding time

So, I posted a little while ago about making quilts from jelly rolls of fabric.  The first one is 99% done - all quilted, binding attached, but then I found a place where stitches popped, so I will put it back under the needle and re-stitch that area.

Meanwhile, #2 jelly roll quilt is done except for attaching the binding.....and that's where the bonding time comes in.  DD (age 9) wants to help me do "something" so I suggested she and I work together to get the binding done.  For the past 2 nights we've had between 30 and 45 minutes of non-stop handsewing and chatter time.

She has some interesting questions, a lot of which make no sense to me at all, and we just ramble about how I learned how to sew, why her stitches look "stupid" and mine don't, etc.  I've told her that it takes time and practice to sew as fast as I do (much like my typing speed, it only gets better the more I do it)....anyway, I also had to tell her that I wasn't sewing nearly as well as she currently is when I was her age.  So we keep working together.  I have a 3rd quilt that I need to get to work on, but it can wait until we are done with this binding...she'll help me with that one as well.

It's interesting to sit and talk with a 9yo girl who has an older brother.  Sometimes her questions are about school and friends and clothing, which I can usually handle.  But sometimes, she comes up with questions that are both frustrating and heart breaking - like why is her brother so stupid about certain things and why does he always seem to yell at her......yeah, ouch.  I have to remind her, yet again, that her brother has Asperger's, which means he has a form of autism, which further means that the way he sees things, thinks about things, processes things, is NOT the same as how she does and that some things are difficult for him to understand, regardless of the fact that he's almost 4 years older than she is.

I have the feeling that this will be a life-long discussion, but at least she is asking questions and we are talking about them.  At least we are doing things together and learning more about each other.....bonding....it's something that's kind of new....who cares if her stitches are REALLY close or that she pulls them so tight that the binding puckers a bit...all that matters is that we are spending time together just being together and talking together......