Colorways

After the boys completed their work of piling like colors together, I sifted through our manna of fabric scraps. We have silks and wools and cottons and polyesters.

Part of the donation came in the form of swatch colorways. With entertaining names such as Eros and Kisses, I can't help but think that our quilt will be made with a whole lotta love, after all. 

It's never a good idea to look a gift horse in the mouth. I'm grateful for what we've got, and just like our quilting grandmothers, we'll make do. With that in mind, our quilt will be made from both natural and synthetic fabrics.

As for our quilt colorway, here's what will be in it:

Oranges, coppers, rusts and tans
Yellows and golds
True blues, navys, robin egg blues, denims and blacks

And let the games begin.

It turns out apple pie is really a carrot.

In an effort to keep our childrens' fingers on the pulse of this quilt from beginning to end, I had two of our classmates (and one very willing neighbor) organize the garbage bag of scrap donations from the Whole 9 Yards.

Naturally, three boys have better things to do than organize fabric into piles according to color.

It took the smell of two baking apple pies (that lasted an agonizing hour in the oven; not to mention an agonizing hour of me hearing, "Are the pies done yet?") to spring them into action.

And just like that, one pie and one bag of fabric scraps:  dusted.

The Kindness of Strangers

Our official city that feels more officially like a town is so very kind to its citizens. Maybe it's the organic food or perhaps it's the pay-it-forward attitude adopted by the locals. Regardless, not a day goes by where I'm not met with genuine smiles and a succinct, "Hi," from nameless faces on the streets and hiking trails. You can't help but pass it along.

Case in point: the generosity of small businesses. They have every reason to decline requests. It's not their job to fulfill others' needs, especially in a tight economy where we all feel the pull toward austerity. And yet, they do.

The Whole 9 Yards recently donated their fabric scraps for our classroom's quilt project:

Piles of scraps. More than we can or will ever use.

And Bolt recently donated a $50 credit to their store and a 20% discount on future purchases:

It's the kindness of strangers that makes this town so great. After all, it's the kindness of strangers that makes this quilt possible.

Thank you, Whole 9 Yards.
Thank you, Bolt.

Fill It Up

This is the former tomato box that will be used to collect our fabric scraps and old clothing. It has been placed in the teacher's classroom, poised and waiting. The goal is to fill it up.

We'll fill it up with woven cotton and good intentions. And new ideas, teamwork, kindness and exploration.

(But, please, no synthetics.)

And someday soon, it's my hope that our children will be filled with a sense of purpose and contentment by simple, little projects with goals bigger than themselves.

That will be a very good day.

The Lesson Plan

History and Purposes of Quilts

1. Quilts are considered American Folk Art. Folk Art means that anyone can do it and that the art is useful. While some people hang quilts on walls, most everyone uses quilts as blankets to keep warm. They are useful. 

2. Quilts are also magical. They speak without words. They tell stories about people, family, comfort, love, memories, hope.

(Example 1) Wedding ring quilt

Who do you think receives this quilt as a gift?

What do you think this quilt says?

(Example 2) Friendship Knot quilt

Who do you think receives this quilt as a gift?

What do you think this quilt says?

3. Quilts can also speak about unfairness and how to change that unfairness. For example, slavery. The people who worked to end slavery were called Abolitionists. Some Abolitionists helped runaway slaves get to safety, and one way they helped them run away to safety was by using quilts. 


(Example 3) A log cabin quilt hung outside of a house told the slaves that the house was safe to stay in for the night. 

(Examples 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) Some quilts used secret symbols and codes to tell the people what they needed to do to get to safety.

(Bread)

(Doctor, No Charge)

(Go This Way)

(Sleep in Hayloft) 

(Unsafe Area)

4. Quilts not only speak without words, they also create emotions for people who look at them or use them. 


(Example 9) This quilt is called, “Make this Nightmare End” 

Looking at this quilt, how does it make you feel?

(Example 10) This quilt represents part of the universe.

Looking at this quilt, how does it make you feel?

(Example 11) This quilt represents the sunrise over a prairie.

Looking at this quilt, how does it make you feel?


(Present tactile quilt) Look at this quilt. 

Who do you think it was made for? 

Who do you think made it? 

When was it made?

How many of you have a grandma, grandpa or another person who you love very, very much? 

How do you think a one of their quilts would feel wrapped around you?

5. Quilts can be made from recycled fabric and bags. 


(Example 12) This quilt was made with old overalls. 

Some people, like the very first people who moved to Oregon--they were called Pioneers--needed to use scraps of their old clothes to make quilts because there were no fabric stores around. It was a comforting connection to family members. 

(Example 13) Pink and White Flour sack quilt

During the Depression--a time when a lot of people didn’t have jobs or money--people needed to use every little scrap of fabric (flour sacks, worn clothes, feed sacks) to warm their families. 

(Example 14) Chicken Feed quilt

Who has a bag of flour or a bag of dog food at home?

A long time ago, these bags used to be made out of fabric--and the fabric was really nice and pretty, so that people would buy that brand of chicken food, for example. Then people could make quilts or clothes out of those bags.

6. Some quilts can look like paintings and take years to make.

(Example 15) Castle Wall

(Example 16) A kid playing I Spy

7. Quilts have always been made for fundraisers.

(Example 17) Here’s a schoolhouse quilt that was made in 1897 to raise money.  

8. We are going to make a quilt for Ainsworth’s auction fundraiser.

(Example 18) It will be a combination of a crazy quilt.

Look at the different shapes cut and sewn together. It’s crazy.

(Example 19) And a watercolor quilt. 

Look at how the shading goes from dark to light just by using different pieces of colored fabrics.

And we’re going to fill it with one kind of feeling/emotion and a short message.

9. Brainstorm quilt idea on flip chart paper

Each of you will bring one or two pieces of clothing or fabric scraps already cut up, and we will make our quilt from those things. 

First, we need to draw our plan for our quilt:

 What kinds of basic emotions to we feel? (Anger, Love, Hate, Happiness, Jealousy)

What kind of feeling/emotion would you like this quilt to give to the person who buys it?

Does that feeling travel up your body? Or down?

Does that feeling explode in your body? Or does it float?

Can we add a small symbol to this quilt (hearts, tears, sun, rain) that represents the emotion in this quilt?

What short message do we want to say? 1-5 words. 

When Naivete Meets a Mountain

I asked the question at our first Parent Coffee. I was curious and intrigued. I knew it would eat up my free time, but the prospect of taking on the challenge--especially one so fun--was too difficult to resist. All in theory, of course.

"It was awful. I'll never do it again," said one mom.

I laughed.

"What will make the most money?" said another.

Money.

The question was aimed at our school's annual auction fundraiser. I unwittingly signed up to be our classroom's art project coordinator, and my idea was to make a quilt.

"In the past, quilts have made a lot of money," said a third.

Our school district has no money. In fact, the city commissioners and mayor saved district cuts by throwing some of their money our way. Money for our kids.

Making a quilt is a long process. A process that can sometimes take years. But when I signed up for the challenge at that fateful Parent Coffee, I also knew I was giving myself four months. Four months to build a quilt from beginning to end.

With second-graders.

A long, long time ago, I was a professional seamstress and made garments in the back, dusty room of an iconic clothing store with two other twentysomethings. The three of us slung clothes through industrial machines that stitched so quickly, they were armed with automatic brakes. The owners knew how to manufacture charisma. Their store was hip, and celebrities used to swing by on their way through town.

Recently, a celebrity who lives across the United States adopted one of our schools. She says she's going to boost the education of those low-income students by emphasizing the arts.

17 years ago, Melissa Etheridge bought one of our tops. We made them out of vintage polyester and velour with an O-ring zipper in the front. We made everything for an hourly wage, a couple bucks above minimum. When Melissa slid on that top, my fingers had probably traveled all over it the day before. My fingers knew the landscape of those tops better than my eyes.

Tomorrow, I have to face a classroom full of kids and ask them to make magic with their little fingers. We're going to make ourselves a quilt to help fund an education that every U.S. newborn is promised.

I must sound entirely naive whenever I talk about this project--especially when I add one important detail:

I've never made a quilt before.