For the second Friday in a row we worked on yoyo quilt pieces with our refugee friends.  Our group was quite a bit larger this week, so we had four ladies who were experienced with yoyos, joined by 6 others who were trying it for the first time.  All the African ladies in our class seem to have good skills with a needle.  They caught on quickly to the project and produced quite a few little round yoyos.  Vivian had a great idea to bring some supplies that could be turned into ponytail holders or headbands.  The ladies enjoyed sewing some of their yoyos onto these bands for their little girls.  They made really cute little hair accessories, even adding a button to look like a flower.  They were anxious to take some fabric pieces home to cut out more yoyos too.  All of our friends are creative and talented, and are anxious to sew, knit and crochet.  They just lack supplies to make their needlework ideas a reality.  Thanks to my mother for sharing lots of cotton quilt fabrics with us for yoyo quilt making.

We use our sewing time as an opportunity to learn new vocabulary related to the project. While making yoyos, we practiced “scissors, needle, thread, pattern, circle, fabric”, taking turns asking for those supplies as we needed them.  We did a pretty good job of keeping the conversation in English, but occasionally a conversation would break out in Somali.  Our friends are so interested in visiting with the volunteers and their other friends, so there is always lively conversation.  I had visions of little bands of women all over the world who through the ages have met to sew together.  Our African friends said they did that a lot in Africa, just like my grandmothers did with their friends.  Yet there is something even more special about our little band of African refugee women and American volunteers, working and laughing together, just loving each other.  Maybe someday we can even piece a quilt and have an old-fashioned quilting bee.  Just a thought…