An Anatomy of a Quilt

2nd Grade Quilts Inspired by the Amish Abstractions Exhibit at the de Young Museum

The Amish quilt project began with the 2nd grade field trip to the de Young Museum to see the Amish Abstractions exhibit. The quilts, with their simple geometric shapes and striking bold colors, made a great impression on the students and helped them gain an appreciation for the uniqueness and splendor of this American craft tradition. They also learned about the rich history of Amish people and the social/cultural factors that contributed to the creation of this incredible art form.

Back in the art room, under the guidance of 2B parent and quiltmaker, Mariana Smith, students began the process by creating a paper layout. They took their inspirations from the patterns that they noticed in the quilts including the Flying Geese, Pinwheel, Chinese Coin, and Center Diamond. Each class divided into groups of two, with 2A students using triangles to create Pinwheels and Flying Geese blocks, while 2B students used long rectangular strips to create Picket Fence and Chinese Coin blocks. Each girl was able to design two quilt blocks.

With the design concept under their belts the girls were ready for fabric! 2A used warm colors: reds, pinks, oranges and yellows. 2B worked with cool colors: greens, blues and purples. The girls had a blast sorting and choosing fabric as they designed their individual quilt blocks. Mariana Smith, Colleen Davis and Suzanne Peipher helped students machine-sew their fabric pieces together. Second grade faculty members, Ms. Lasky and Ms. Tang ironed out the fabric pieces and helped the girls make the right cuts. New geometric patterns emerged as students reconfigured the simple pieces into quilt squares. As each individual square was completed the girls helped refine the final design with a class discussion of color, balance, layout and arrangement. This fun and challenging project enabled students to practice basic sewing skills in addition to enhancing their understanding and appreciation of geometry, color theory, quilt making and artistic collaboration. As with a quilt, this project was an incredible endeavor far beyond the sum of its individual parts.

Amish Quilts were the inspiration for this project.

Students designed their own quilts on paper.

Students practiced Amish patterns such as the Roman Stripe.

They colored their quilt patterns using either warm or cool colors.

After selecting a pattern, students created large scale paper versions of the quilts.

Mariana Smith helped studests arrange the paper quilt patterns into a large class quilt.

2B Students decided which color patterns worked best side by side.

Students got a sense of what the fabric quilts would look like by creating these paper versions.

Students selected fabric scraps for their individual quilt blocks.

Students tore fabrics into smaller strips needed for their designs.

Once they selected fabrics, students created individual pattern blocks.

Mrs. Smith machine sewed each student's fabric block together.

Each student created her own unique block pattern for the quilt.

Mrs. Davis helped the students iron out the fabric blocks.

Once individual student blocks were sewn, Mrs. Smith helped students arrange the blocks into a larger pattern

Student rearranged their individual quilt block a final time before they were sewn together into the final product.

Mrs. Smith demonstrates how the fabric pieces will be sewn together.

2A students arraged their fabric pieces into a pinwheel pattern.

2A students selected triangle fabrics to make a flying geese pattern

Ms. Peipher sews fabric triangles together.

Mrs. Davis sews fabric triangles together.

Students repeate this process 4 times to create an individual block.

Mrs. Smith rearranges the final quilt pieces with the help of 2A students.

2A's Pin Wheel quilt is ready to be sewn.

The top layer of the quilts were trimmed before quilting the batting and bottom layer together.

Mrs. Smith quilts the top, middle, and bottom layers together.