First Grade Class Quilt

Last week, I spent the morning in Dorothy's first grade classroom, doing a quilt project.  It's something I have done every year with my kids classes, but it was the first time for her at her new school.

First, I read The Quilmaker's Gift to the class, which is just a lovely story.  It's about a quiltmaker who gives away her quilts to those in need and a greedy king who tries to force her to make a quilt for him.  Through her kindness and generosity, she thwarts the king's attempts to coerce her into making him a quilt, and she changes his life; turning him into a joyous and generous person.  The teacher told me that the story was a great lead in to a new section they were starting the next day on kindness.  I like that it is a sweet story, with amazing illustrations, and it works as a wonderful way to explain that we will be just like the quilmaker in the story and that we will be donating the quilt that we make together as a class.

After the story, the real fun begins!  Every student gets a grid of fusible interfacing and a baggie of pre-cut fabric squares.  This year, everyone got five each of yellow, green, light blue, dark blue, and a print fabric.  A while back, I bought a remnant lot at a deep discount, but it was sight unseen.  Some of the fabrics I really liked, but there were a couple that weren't really ones I would ever pick.  This was one of those.  I used it as my "inspiration piece" and based the entire quilt off this pretty, but odd, fabric.

I loved the colors, but the bold stripes of the pattern were going to make it difficult to make much with it.  I cut it up into 2" squares and each child got five squares that had a similar pattern on them.  We ended up with floral, stripes, or blue and gold swirls.  In the end, it added some depth and dimension to the quilt, and everything coordinated beautifully, without being 100% matching.  It was a nice change.  Bonus:  it used up almost the entire remnant piece I had.

 They got right to work, placing their fabric squares onto their grids.  I love how it gets really quiet all of a sudden when they all start concentrating.

 So much focus!  There was also a lot of rearranging of their squares in this class.  Some years, the kids go with whatever idea they have first.  Several students in this class started over 2, 3, even 4 times, until they got it "just right."  I purposefully leave the instructions pretty vague, and just say to arrange their squares however they like, and to make sure that every square on their grid is filled; no holes.  Once they are happy with their layout, they use their glue stick to tack all 25 squares down to the grid.  That's a lot of work for a group of 6 and 7 year olds!

 The little boy in blue was in Dorothy's class last year, at her old school, so he had done a version of this project before.

 I loved how serious this little guy was.  He worked so hard to come up with an incredible pattern, and was so incredibly focused.


Once they were done, I collected their quilt blocks to take them home.  At home, I ironed the squares to the interfacing (and straightened them out a bit), sewed the blocks, pieced the top, quilted the top to the backing, and bound the edges.  I try to get it done in about a week, so that not too much time has passed between them making the blocks and seeing the finished product.  I told them I would be back to show them the finished quilt, but warned them that it would not be the very next day, and some of the kids were very disappointed.

 The finished quilt and my fuzzy helper.  He just sat there when I was trying to take a picture of the quilt.  I could not have posed him like that if I tried.

I'll be taking the quilt in to school tomorrow morning, then hanging it in the hall with a bulletin board display so the entire school can view it for a bit.  When I showed it to Dorothy, she gasped, so I'm expecting a good reaction from the kids tomorrow.  That's always my favorite part.  I don't think they can visualize how the work that they do will combine with everyone else's, and how it looks when they are all put together.

I debated about not using black for the sashing, but I'm so glad that I did.  I was afraid it would be too dark, but I think the effect is like stained glass.  It helps that three of the colors are very light/bright, and really stand out against the dark sashing.

I thought I would like the binding more than I do.  It's not bad, but it doesn't stand out like I was hoping.  I had some of the print fabric left, but not quite enough to do all the binding, so I combined it with a few short pieces left over of the black sashing fabric.  I wish I had enough of either one of the fabrics, instead of alternating them.  Oh well, the kids won't care.

I forgot to take a photo of the back, but I used a piece of aqua minky dot, that is very soft and pet-able.  I happened to have the piece minky and it was exactly the size I needed for the backing.  I love that I was able to do this quilt 100% with fabrics I already had.  The squares, other than the print, were all left from other projects, and the yellow is now all gone.  Perfect! 

After the quilt hangs in the school hallway, I'll bring it home, wash it, then donate it to the local chapter of Project Linus.  

 Just because he never poses so nicely when I'm trying to take his picture.  Right after this, he ran at me and tried to put his nose on the camera lens, which is what typically happens during picture time.

I had a great time with the first graders.  I'm currently talking with my son's forth grade teacher about doing a much larger version of this project, involving the entire forth grade.  I have started prepping, but have a lot more squares to cut.  I need a minimum of 2,180, for things to come out exactly even.  I'll probably do an extra 100 or so as a buffer.  Guess I had better get busy.