TOS Crew Review — Corps of Rediscovery

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With the boom of the computer and information age has come an accelerating slide in the area of traditional crafts. Knitting, quilting, sewing, leather-work, and even baking are not very popular pastimes any more. I try to restore a sampling of those activities in our household. There is something so peaceful about huddling around a sewing machine, reading books aloud to the click of the knitting needles, or laying out quilt pieces with my kids.

Corps of Re-discovery understands this desire to reclaim our history and has put together some special kits to help parents and children in that pursuit. We received a kit that came with everything we need to make a doll size patchwork quilt. We enjoyed working together to construct this cute little blanket, but the jury is still out on who gets to enjoy it — the baby, or the dolls it was intended for.

Product: Patchwork Quilt
Details : A complete kit to create a doll sized quilt — precut squares, yarn, thread, batting, backing material, and detailed instructions. You just need an iron and a sewing machine to finish this project.
Price : currently listed at $11.99, regularly $14.99

What we loved . . .

  • Complete. Everything you need is in this one kit. We preferred to use our own thread rather than rethread the sewing machine, but even the thread was included in the kit. I love the colors that came together, too. I cannot match colors for these types of projects well at all, so an all-in-one was important to me.
  • Unit-Study supplement. This project, along with others from this company, would fit easily into a study on pioneer living, Little House on the Prairie, or other studies of a similar era. Helping kids see in a very hands-on way how families worked together to provide for their basic needs. The instructions included some basic background into how and why these types of quilts would have been made in days gone by.
  • Group project. While an older child could really do this on their own, especially if they have some sewing experience, this was a fun group project. I did a bit of the sewing, and kept things going when they found the work tedious (good thing our livelihood didn’t depend on cranking these out on a daily basis . . .) Each one found a role — ironing, sewing, laying out squares, and seem ripping (yes, there was a little of that, too, despite the clear instructions).
  • Clear directions. With good images and descriptions of the many steps involved in creating this quilt, we had no trouble assembling it. We did rush ahead at one point and ended up redoing a section, but we slowed down and completed it correctly then.
  • Beautiful, useful finished product. The blanket is perfect for a baby doll or American Girl sized doll. I’m not sure whose bed it will end up on, but they all agreed it was a beautiful end result. I just might need to order another kit.

Some considerations . . .

  • Detailed work. This is sewing, plain and simple. If you have a child that struggles with that tedious work, this might not be a great independent activity. It only took us about 2-3 hours of work to put it together, with me doing most of the sewing. But, it could easily be done a little at at time over a few weeks as a sewing class or free time activity. Having the squares pre-cut is a huge time saver.
  • Pre-created. This was perfect for me, but for those of you that like to pick your own colors, and start from scratch you might not have as much fun with this kit. It comes with pre-selected colors so you don’t have a choice in the matter. They put together beautiful colors and we all loved it, but I know some people like to do their own.

This was such a great project to share with my girls. We have spent a bit of time in the past learning about pioneer days and to really dig into even a small project that represented that era was a real eye-opener. And, now I have my eye on their fringe pouch, coin purse, and corn husk doll. Lots of great stuff, all ready for the making.

Each family will have a different experience with a product (and different people received different products for this review), so I would encourage you to check out some other TOS Crew reviews on this product, over at the TOS Crew blog.

Disclaimer: This product was provided to me free of charge through Corps of Re-Discovery as part of my participation in The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew. I received no additional compensation and the opinions expressed here come from my personal experiences and sincere thoughts.

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