This spring I took the Gateway to Mongolia workshop with Maggie Ball of Dragonfly Quilts. Here is the ölzii center panel that I made (see an example of the entire quilt). The ölzii is a traditional Mongolian symbol. Maggie used the ölzii when she taught quilting in Mongolia to needy women in Ulaanbaatar, giving them skills to help support their families, a kind of microenterprise training thing.

Thanks to Maggie’s efforts there is now a Quilting Community Center in Ulaanbaatar. You can volunteer to teach quilting in Mongolia or purchase quilts made by Mongolian women (more about the New Way Life NGO Quilting Center in Mongolia).

I actually did a great deal of the sewing for the ölzii piece on my daughter’s Janome Hello Kitty sewing machine. Isn’t it adorable? I can tell you that it sews as well as it looks cute. Here are the features that I appreciate most for kids who want to learn to sew:

• The cute little foot pedal, which has just one speed whether you press a little or a lot, and it’s not too fast. I’ve taught children on regular sewing machines, and even the slowest setting still has too much variation in the sewing speed. A constant speed helps kids gain more control when they sew.

• No light to burn little hands. The “darkness” is not an issue with kids or when you use it in a well-lit room. For that matter even on my regular machine I sometimes tip an Ott-light on its side and shine it onto the sewing area.

• Reduced voltage for extra safety.

• Simple and easy to use.

• Well made and sews nicely. It’s not a toy.

The only issue I really had with it was that there is not a built-in 1/4″ stitch, which I took care of with a little gadget, the Angler 2, a clear plastic guide for sewing half-triangle squares that also has a handy 1/4″ guide printed on it. The lack of built-in 1/4″ capability is not a problem for Annika, who just wants to sit down and merrily sew away. She is quite fond of making thread nests on scraps of fabric.

Actually there are quilting accessory kits made for 3/4 size Janome machines. That could make Hello Kitty the perfect travel/workshop sewing machine after Annika outgrows it.

My daughter’s favorite feature: it’s just irresistibly cute. Who wouldn’t want to sew with Hello Kitty’s cheery face smiling back at you?

In June, Annika joined me for Picture This with Marcia Stein. Angel Kitty is our very own mother-daughter UFO. Annika designed and cut out a lot of the pieces for Angel Kitty. She didn’t feel quite ready to tackle the actual appliqué part, so I did the zig-zagging while she practiced her sewing with Hello Kitty. (You can see what the other members of the class did here at Marcia Stein’s website gallery.)

Here is Marcia Stein with French Shoes, one of my favorite quilts ever. I remembered it from a Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine way back when, that’s when I first became a fan.

And finally, here’s Smetana, the model for Angel Kitty.