Let the Quilt Education Begin

What an exciting day today.  I love the day we begin our reading story Luka's Quilt because it "kicks off" the quilting activities for the year.  Our Quilt Raffle project officially begins too.  The children win raffle tickets by earning an "A" on a test, completing homework assignments, doing "good deads", good attendance, good behavior etc.  We collect the tickets in a large container and one lucky person wins our end-of-the-year quilt project.

Luka's Quilt is a story about a little girl and her grandmother.  It takes place in Hawaii and introduces traditional Hawaiian Quilting and talks about  the process of making a quilt including shopping for and choosing fabric, planning, sketching, pinning, basting, and quilting. 

Traditional Hawaiian Quilting uses only two colors.  One fabric is chosen for the entire quilt top.  The second fabric is folded and cut ( like you would fold and cut paper to make paper snowflakes )  into a beautiful pattern.  The pattern is unfolded and appliqued to the solid quilt top.  The patterns are usually very detailed and many include floral designs.  My students learn the difference between Hawaiian Quilting and typical styles of American Quilting.

Tomorrow I am bringing some quilt tops, backings, batting and finished quilts to school so my second graders can examine the pieces and understand how a quilt is made.  They will learn about a quilt "sandwich" and the difference between quilts and other types of blankets.  Last year's quilt winner (a third grader now) is bringing his quilt to show to this year's class so they can understand  what the end-of-the-year project is and what they will be working toward.

I will read another quilt story (The Patchwork Quilt) to the class while they color quilt design bookmarks.

I love being able to share my love of quilting with children.

Happy Quilting,
Laurel