I’m fascinated with quilts I often discover in classrooms where I do substitute teaching or visit to give author programs (I’m also a children’s writer.)  Today I saw a quilt different from any I’d encountered before.
It consisted of 16 squares and was simple in construction.  The youngsters had drawn their designs (actually pictures) on muslin with permanent markers in various colors.  Then the squares were sewn together with strips between.  The backing was folded over to make a wide border.
However, I found the pictures most interesting.  They depicted events in their classroom.  Among these were:
*Field trips – hay ride and …read more

A friend and I were chatting about quilting today as we ate our lunches in the teachers’ room.  (She’s a primary grade teacher and I’m a substitute teacher.)  She mentioned that her quilting group met tonight.  When I asked her about the group, she said they’d been meeting for 21 years, quilting together and sharing this activity.
She also teaches quilting to youngsters as an after-school activity.  I know they enjoy this class because I’ve heard them chatting about the fun they have.
Quilters gravitate to one another, no matter what the age.  How exciting when young quilters want to learn this …read more

Last year, second graders from a New York School invited several author/illustrators to contribute an illustration for a quilt block.   The youngsters were studying about children’s authors and reading their books.
Although my children’s stories have been published mainly in magazines and I’m a writer more than illustrator, I did sketch the illustrations for an anthology, Tales of Adventure and Discovery, which consists of several of my stories.
“Would your students like one of my illustrations?” I inquired.
“Definitely,” their teacher e-mailed me.  Then one of the students sent me a piece of fabric, cut to the desired size.  I was simply to illustrate with …read more

Memory Quilts exist in an even greater variety than I imagined.  As I began doing some research on the topic, I discovered the Quilting Beez (www.quiltingbeez.com ).  Laurie Bird and Carole Bloom started out with a memory quilt kit for quilters to use as their basic building block.  Now they’ve evolved into a place where you can get ideas, purchase kits, or have memory quilts custom made.
I realized that in addition to the memory quilts I described at my previous blog, “The Quilting Spirit – Thoughs on Memory Quilts,” you can make quilts representing your pets, quilts about a specific …read more

When our children and grandchildren take up quilting, too, it’s fun to find an activity we can all do together.  Each one of us has her own style of designing and quilting, but it’s fun to share and compare.
Often when granddaughter Kara has an extra credit school project she turns to quiltmaking.  Her latest one was for an English class and involved Homer’s Odyssey. This was very innovative and lovely. View a photo of it at her mom’s web site (http://meanderingthreads.blogspot.com ).
I find encouraging young quilters enjoyable and hope to instill in them love of the fabric arts and an appreciation of …read more