Quilting with Children
Quilt

Diane's quilting project

Diane's quilt

Anita writes:

"I am another one of the crazy moms who volunteered to quilt with the kids. This year my son James' fourth grade teacher, Jennifer Cleven, was expecting at the end of the year and my son asked if we could give her a quilt. I thought, why not?

"I visited the classroom as a docent and using Hidden in Plain View, Clara and the Freedom Quilt and Communion of Spirits as a springboard I gave a presentation on the role of quilts in the Underground railroad for African American History Month. I brought all my quilts in, shared the literary resources, the kids made the connection with the Oregon Trail unit they had just finished and the teacher did a geometry tie into the quilting presentation in math. They were excited about doing a memory/story quilt for the teacher and her baby.

"For the blocks I cut 10.5 inch muslin squares and gave them a big bag of scraps and fabric basting glue (looks like a regular glue stick). In two one-hour long sessions the kids created the blocks. I took them home, satin stitched around the fabric pieces that were glued on, assembled the top and the kids tied it. I bound the quilt and they presented it to her right before the baby was born.

"The thing I noticed about the process of creating the quilt with the children was that it allowed kids to shine in ways that they may not have had the opportunity to. A couple of kids in the class really got into the experience and got lots of kudos from classmates about their blocks. It was a great time and the kids were so proud of what they had done."

A picture of the quilt, titled "And the Colors Ran Away with the Quilt" is shown below.

Diane's quilt


If you'd like to share your story on these pages, please email Heddi at qwc@thecraftstudio.com.

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