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Fifty States quilt

50 States

The Story Behind the Quilt

This quilt project was a collaborative project with 49 other schools over the Internet. Through the Classroom Connect mailing list, I found out about the group that was forming to include schools from all the states to share information and make a quilt. In November, the participating schools sent each other letters that introduced our school. In December, we sent letters that described some of the traditions in our area. In January, we sent a recipie to represent our state. Finally, in February, we sent a completed quilt block to every school and recieved one from each school. It was very exciting in March and April as the blocks arrived in the mail each day!

How it was Created

When it was time to make our block, we brainstormed a list of symbols to represent Kansas. A group of students worked to put all the symbols in a pleasing design. Then we set up an assembly line where students made picture blocks using Pentel Fabric Crayons. Each student or pair of students created one part of each picture block. It only took about two hours to create all fifty blocks!

After the blocks arrived, we picked a layout design for the fifty state blocks and fourteen student made blocks. For the first time I let students design their own blocks using squares and triangles. Each of my students, my paraprofessional (teacher's aide), and I each designed and hand sewed a pieced block. We then picked a layout design from several I had pre-selected. The students voted to arrange the blocks in the order they entered the Union. Another teacher and I sewed a sashing between each block and put a border on. The students tied the quilt and we gave it to our student teacher from the fall, who was expecting a baby.

50 States

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