A Snow Theme Despite Warm Weather I had planned on doing this theme in early December. My stuff was packed to go, but I ended up taking a long break from the quilt groups after my mother passed away unexpectedly. On January 20, I was ready to start back. I figured it was still winter, so I could get away with a snow theme ...even though it felt like a bright April morning when I left the house. Currier and Ives These old calendar prints got us in the mood. We ignored the summery weather and shared stories of snowmen, ice skates, mittens...and cozy cabins. Making Stuff The seniors at the community center don't have many snow memories. Most grew up in Texas or came from countries where snow is rare. But they created a little snow of their own that morning... with paper snowflakes and chalk drawings. I wish I could bundle this group and take them on a sleigh ride to reward their enthusiasm! Returning to Silverado It's been 3 years since I started the quilt group at Silverado. It was a way to involve my mom in a different kind of group activity. I always said I would continue the group even after my mom passed away. But I worried. Would I really be okay, returning to that quilt covered table, where I was used to seeing my mom beaming at my stories...even when she no longer understood them? I worried, until the group gathered and I looked at the faces! Vivian's face lit up when she played with the letters S- N- O- W and discovered how many words she could spell. Pearl's Face Pearl laughed and teased our little friend, Andrea as they scooted the toy sleds around the table. Then Pearl sighed and reminded us how much she liked a good cup of coffee on a snowy day! Betty's smile...and Eloise's smile! Betty remembered the joys of snow as a child, but also the worries. She remembers watching the snow fall from her porch and worrying that it might rise up and over the railing. Eloise got a hug from Andrea, who modeled some clothes for the snow. Eloise remembered all the clothing she wore in Illinois winters...and all the work getting those layers off, after coming back inside. Feeling Good I left Silverado feeling good. It was sad not to have my mom at the table, but she wasn't forgotten. I was able to share stories about our snowy winters in Iowa and how my parents loaded the 4 kids on the long sled and took us for rides at night under the street light...and how we left our snow covered gear near the front door and headed to the kitchen for hot chocolate. I like to think Mom was listening to my stories...from somewhere. Last Stop By 3:30 in the afternoon, the warm air felt more like summer than spring. I was headed to see the kids at the Women's Shelter. But when I arrived, I left the quilt and all the snow stuff in the car. I grabbed the bag with my puppet and invited the kids to play outside instead. These kids needed to run and jump and climb more than they needed to sit on a quilt and talk about a theme. Chalk and a Snowman What I learned: These themes I do... are for me. They give me a way to organize activities and narrow down discussion. But I never really need them. I could have just given the kids some chalk to use, however they wanted. But there was a tiny part of me that felt satisfied by ending my day with a snowman on the sidewalk. The kids didn't need that silly themed closure, I did! Ha! I have to laugh at myself sometimes. After an hour of absorbing the glorious weather with the kids, I grabbed the puppet's bag. When "Pickles" climbed from his bag he was holding a piece of chalk in his mouth. The kids followed him to the sidewalk and watched him draw 3 circles. "Snowman!!!" they shouted at once. I handed over some extra chalk and watched them add a carrot nose and buttons and a pipe. I stood back in that warm sunshine and just watched.
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Bring the Quilt and They Will Come? My husband Don was taking a 5-day course in a remote area of southwest Texas, so I tagged along. Since I'm beginning to realize I can use my quilt to connect with people in other places, I dragged it with me. Surely I could find a nursing home, shelter or a day care center where I could volunteer my time. But I found none within 80 miles of Terlingua. However, out in the middle of nowhere...in Terlingua, there is a quilt shop! In the Shop In the shop, I met the owner, Marguerite who thought the local Terlingua School would be interested in my program. She gave me some history about this amazing public school and the community that pulls together to support it. I was most impressed by their scholarship program. Each year students design a quilt and with some adult help and quilting work by Marguaerite, the finished quilt is raffled off at the annual Chili Cook-off (which attracts visitors from all over the States). Terlingua residents also support the scholarship fund with fish fries and projects to make sure every graduate leaves school with some kind of scholarship. This year they will have 7 graduating! One School, K through 12! I found the Terlingua School (and playground) 2 miles away at the end of Roadrunner Circle. I entered the office, and was able to spend some time chatting with the principal, Bobbie Jones. She was curious to hear about my quilt program and I was eager to hear more about the school's quilt project. It became clear that this school and community is used to coming together to make things happen. (kind of like the image of an old fashioned quilting bee!) But I was even more moved to learn why this community supports its school so proudly. 10 years ago, there was no high school in Terlinqua. If students wanted to continue school after 8th grade, their nearest high school was 80 miles away. For many children, education stopped at age 13 or 14. Residents in Terlingua do not take education for granted! Kindergarten and First I arrived Tuesday morning as the kids were finishing breakfast. The combined K & first grade class gathered with me on the quilt. First we just shared a little about quilts. We brainstormed uses and talked about patterns and colors. We talked about the history of quilts and imagined groups coming together to work on one quilt. We wondered about all the old material scraps people might have used, like pieces of old baby blankets or grandma's apron. I didn't have to tell these kids about the benefits of recycling and reusing...they were well aware. Then we got down to the fun stuff I got out a small quilted bag and the kids tried to guess what was inside. Some guessed blocks, one guessed bones. No one guessed "little wooden man who can dance on a flat paddle". But they thought he was pretty fun! Jump! Dance! Collapse! The kids gave him a name. They helped me sing a silly song about the guy jumping on the board... and dancing on the board... and collapsing on the board. Then the kids joined in! They jumped when he jumped. Danced when he danced. And most fun of all, collapsed into a heap on the quilt when he did. Luckily, no bonking heads. Last Task The hour flew by and our time was up. As I packed up, I had the kids do their own problem solving. How can a group of kids fold one quilt? You would be surprised what that task tells you about a group. These kids passed the test with a sweet dose of cooperation and not an ounce of bickering! The Non-Serious Side I had the kids gather for a photo. After a regular smiling pose, they asked their teacher if they could do a silly pose, too. The picture tells what her answer was. I'd say she passed the good teacher test! On to Second Grade Imagine a class with only 7 students! When I saw this photo later I had to grin because it was just as I had remembered. This group felt like a family! I only spent 1 hour with these kids, but that was time enough to get a good idea about personalities and strengths. I shared some of the same activities. They loved the goofiness of the dancing man. They named him Anthony because the syllables fit in the song. They read silly quilt quiz questions and it was fun to see how they helped each other out reading...or were they just deciphering my hand writing? And they helped me work on a story about an amazing large quilt that is visited by people from all over the world. They added descriptive ideas, like the quilt smelling of cookies and baby oil. And they also added thoughts like real kids do. "Let's say they use some ropes and make a boxing ring in the middle of the quilt!" I had to chuckle and hint that we didn't really want violence in our story. Quilted Gloves Their teacher took a more clever approach and gently guided by suggesting quilted boxing gloves. That moved the story on a safer route. Yes, the quilt in the story had a boxing ring in the middle, but when the colorful quilted gloves gave a punch, they produced a giggle instead of an ouch! As time was ticking, we scrambled to come up with an ending and a solution for how these people from all over the world would communicate. We decided they would notice a small baby on the quilt. The kids said the baby could only say "goo goo gaa gaa", but that seemed to be enough. We sort of acted out the end of the story and all gathered on the quilt, like the people we had imagined. We held hands and sang a spontaneous song in the "goo goo language" to the tune of "ABC Song". Ms. Taylor smiled at the sweet silliness and commented, "You looked like the Whos down in Whoville!" Quilt Squares for Later Time flew by in both groups, so I ended up leaving quilt squares with the teachers. Before leaving town, I collected the squares that each child decorated with drawings and words. These squares will soon be joining other squares from different groups I've gathered with. I love knowing I will at some point have a new quilt, connecting all the children and adults who have gathered around my old quilt. |
The QuiltFor 20+ years children have called it the Magic Quilt. They've danced and pretended all over these colorful squares. I've dragged it to schools, shelters and studios where children have climbed on top to hear Magic Quilt Stories and to act them out. Archives
April 2022
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