Women Making History quilt
The Story Behind the Quilt
This quilt was made with Denise Blair's fourth and fifth grade combination class at Gault Elementary School in Santa Cruz, California. I had the pleasure of being a volunteer in Denise's classroom from October until May the year I moved to California. The students first explored the idea of quilting through a paper quilt Denise made with the class. This quilt was made after students had completed a research project in which they worked in small groups to study famous women in history. The completed quilt hung in the classroom and in the lobby of the school. Each student received a raffle ticket for the quilt upon attending three school events, giving each student an opportunity to earn up to three chances to win the quilt. A drawing was held on the last week of school and one lucky student was chosen to take the quilt home!
How it was Created
Each student first made a picture block using Pentel Fabric Crayons that depicted an important event from the life of the famous woman the group had studied. Each group worked together to depict different parts of the women's lives.
The students then picked two star patterns from among several block patterns I suggested for the pieced blocks. Each group decided on a color scheme and whether they would use one or both stars in their section of the quilt. We spent several class sessions hand sewing the pieced blocks. Then each small research group chose a layout for their picture blocks and pieced blocks. We put together each grouping together jigsaw puzzle style inside a quilt sized masking tape frame on the floor.
I sewed each grouping together and then put a sashing between each group and put a border on. The students tied the quilt.
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