Sewing strengthens bond between grandmother, granddaughter and leads to big awards

TAMPA, Fla. - Kyla Wiggins and her grandmother, Yvonne Abbott are inseparable and have been sewing together for years.

"When she was about two years old, I would be sewing and she'd come in and sit on my lap and then I would she would put her hands up and I'd place my hands on top of hers and we would sew together," Abbott reminisced. 

For 10-year-old Kyla, it was a time to bond with her grandmother and learn a skill. 

"It's a good time to quilt and have, like, grandma and granddaughter time and we cook sometimes," she shared.  

Now, all her hard work is paying off. Kyla won first place in the Hardee County Fair in her division and also Best of Show at the Florida State Fair Textile Competition.

"I was really excited and there were more people that were asking for pictures with it because they liked it and they didn't believe I did it myself," she said. 

The winning quilt was a picture of a fireman in honor of her dad.

"I always tell her all the time, anything that you do, you should do 100%. Take pride in everything you do," explained Ricky Wiggins, Kyla's dad. 

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The family is very proud of Kyla. 

"We want to support her no matter what or what she does and I let her know that she's got support," said Ricky Wiggins. "She's got family. She's got people here that care for her and will be there for her. 

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"I had three daughters and one of them kind of wanted to learn to sew and now Kyla is teaching her mom how to sew because she's not the one that wanted to learn how," added Abbott. 

A grandmother and granddaughter growing a strong relationship while working on a craft that they both love.

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