Sew-so

I have been doing a lot of sewing lately and Marguerite naturally wants to get in on the action as well. I wanted to see if she could already manage one of those big needles. The one I was using to sew knitted or crocheted pieces had a pointy tip (I think it's an embroidery needle?). I knew there were tapestry or darning needles (or whatever they really are - just those huge needles with big eyes and blunt tips) somewhere here, but I didn't know where they had ended up being stored, so I intended for Marguerite try it with my needle. That experiment lasted 2 seconds. I didn't feel safe with it, so we ditched it before we even started. I read somewhere before about learning to sew using shoelaces. I got hold of a piece of cardboard from the mixed paper, poked holes into it and had Marguerite try the running stitch. I had to guide her, of course, so the first attempt looked okay. She  did complain about the lack of real needles, so I knew she was quite underwhelmed by that sewing lesson. We tried a couple of times, with me doing most of the work. The activity was this short of a  complete dud (she still learned something) since she got distracted besides by the arrival of a little boy whom Chip tutors.  I shelved the sewing lesson for the time being, but the next time I get a sewing spell, I'll make sure to have a separate kit for Marguerite at hand as well, with her own cloth and child-safe needles inside.