Embroidering with Children... Or Tick "Start Embroidering Again" Off the List...

"Again"... hahaha. The last time I embroidered was in Montessori School. So, "start embroidering again" may as well be "learn to embroider". My Montessori teacher, Mrs. Tampoe, was an amazing Sri Lankan woman who was able to work nothing short of complete MAGIC with three, four, and five year olds. She would take the whole crew of us, I would say 25 kids, and with the help of one assistant, Mrs. Gilbert, they would stage full scale productions of plays like Fiddler on the Roof. At 4 years old, I could read thanks to phonics. Everyday I read a page of a book out loud before I could eat my lunch. At five I was doing my multiplication tables, people! I knew all the flag of all of the countries in the world. I could CUT salad, with an actual sharp knife, and sift flour. The list goes on and on. And now while I patiently try to teach my own child simple skills, I marvel at the patience she had to do teach difficult skills to a whole class! She was in charge, strict, without being disrespectful or overbearing. She kept us in line while showing and telling us we could achieve anything. Like say creating a piece of embroidery that my mother actually framed, hung on the wall for years, and then saved for me. And my mother is neither sentimental nor would she hang anything in her house that I made just to make me feel good. She is very specific about appearances and not really a needlework fan. But, my beloved teacher, Nancy Tampoe, taught me to create something that so beautiful when I was that young that an adult wanted to showcase it. I wish I knew where it was now... time to hunt for it. And I would hunt for a montessori school to put my daughter into but I know they don't have one in Banff...


Anyway, my friend and I both have babes right now and we both want to embroider. Kim wants to embellish clothes for her daughter, and to make gifts. I want to use it in my mixed media pieces. Kim has been practicing. I finally made a stitch. I knew I picked a flimsy material to practice on but the color is oh-so-pretty, which inspires me and I was never very good with rules...


In order to get started and to make my older daughter feel included, I devised a way for her to both work with us, and to work with recycled materials for next to nothing. I found a plastic embroidery hoop at the thrift store for 50 cents. I found tons of pretty yarn there, too, for about the same price. And I used a plastic mesh fruit bag I had kicking around, cut a bit larger than the size of the hoop, as "fabric". I put a bit of masking tape on one end of the yarn, to make it like the end of a shoelace, and I tied the other end with a knot around the edge of the hoop. This "needle" is easy for her to push and pull through the large holes in her "fabric". She loves it. And now I am able to do a bit of handiwork while teaching her the value and fun of handmade.





Mrs. Tampoe let me use real thread and fabric at a tender age, but I think she would still be proud of my ingenuity and for the fact that I am willing to teach my daughter at an age other people might not even think to include a child. The last time I saw Mrs. Tampoe, she was in her nineties, still living on her own at an apartment across from the Montessori School she taught for more years than I even know. She dressed me up in one of her saris, complete with elaborate jewelry, and made me feel just as special as she has when I was small. I am lucky to have had her influence on me. I will never forget her. And I think that is one of the nicest things you can say about a person. Because if people forget you once you are gone, what did you even live for?