Webbing

So, I called my friend and spent about an hour on the phone with her discussing how to begin.  I guess I should mention that I do sew a lot.  I have made many things and have even made wedding dresses for people.  This being said, it takes away the beginners stuff like how to thread the machine, etc.  I also have a medium priced sewing machine.  I bought it when a new model was coming in, so I got it pretty cheap.  It is a quilter’s machine and has lots of attachments that I have never used.  This will come in handy I’m sure.

In answer to my first question, she said she likes to cut with a straight-edge, rotary cutter and mat.  As for an Accuquilt, she does not have one but several or her friends do and they love it.  She just hasn’t invested the money in one.  www.accuquilt.com is the web site.  What it does is it cuts the shapes with dies.  You can cut about 6 layers of fabric with one.  I would like to have one because I don’t have that much time to quilt and don’t want to spend much of it cutting the fabric.  So this is a consideration for me. But first, I want to make a quilt before investing a lot of money.

The next question was batting.  She likes to use 100% cotton batting for quilts.  For wall-hangings she uses the polyester batting because it is lighter weight and easier to handle.  Cotton batting makes warm and cozy quilts! Her preference is Warm & Natural, cotton batting.  It can be purchased pre-packaged or by the yard; available at Walmart and also JoAnn Fabrics, and probably lots of other places.

For the back of a quilt, she likes to use cottons and flannels.  Flannels are cozy, but just pick what you like in a lightweight fabric.

Tips before piecing the shapes – She suggested washing all the fabrics first, but if you don’t wash all of them, then don’t wash any. That way they can all shrink the same.  Before beginning to piece the quilt, she suggested using a ¼” presser foot.  I looked through my attachments and found I had one!  She told me it was very important to make all the seams 1/4” if one wasn’t take it out and redo it. 

For the rest of the questions, she told me to call her back when I get it pieced together.  She did say that she did not recommend machine quilting a large quilt with my machine.  She said she sends her big quilts to a friend that has a long-arm quilting machine to finish for her.  She said we will talk about that after I get it pieced.  Her biggest recommendation was to be precise with measuring, cutting and sewing so that the quilt comes out even.  She said you will be surprised how getting off just a little will affect the look of the quilt.

My research to come: rotary cutters, mats, and long-arm quilting machines; the subjects of my next post!

I noticed that she stopped giving me information when she thought that I had enough to begin my project. She didn't want to overload me with too much information. She wanted me to explore the information and develop better questions. "At a more informed level, the questions become more focused. Exploration becomes a systematic search for and examination of resources and information to address specific questions" (Callison, p. 7).

http://www.joannfabrics.com

I went to Joann Fabrics web site for information on prices of rotary cutters and mats.

By choosing this lady as my primary source of information, I need to have confidence that information she gives me is correct. How do I make that determination? This is often a question students need to ask when they are doing research, particularly on the Internet. Students need to be taught to be discretionary in the information that they find. Everything on the Internet may not be true. New information that is assimilated should include "the interactive processes of critical analysis, debate, as well as comparing and contrasting facts and ideas (Fitzgerald 1999).

I know the information I am receiving from my friend is reliable because of her credentials. She teaches workshops, speaks at seminars and has been a quilter all her life. Children need to learn this discretion. Teachers can do inquiries into good and faulty information with students to help them understand this important technology education concept. There is a teacher web site to help you learn to evaluate Internet resources. http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic32.htm This also addresses the ISTE student standard of Research and Information Fluency - Students apply digitals tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students/nets-student-standards.aspx

I can see a quilt project being used across the curriculum in many content areas and many grade levels. It can be used in Geometry class to study shapes, in Math class to learn the concept of patterns and measuring. Quilting can also be used in Literature and History courses to study the Civil War. Quilts were made as pictorial representations of directions to the underground railroad for slaves. It was illegal for slaves to learn to read. Pictures were their means of communication.

Just a few of the many standards that can be addressed are:

Geometry Standards for 8th Grade Students deepen their understanding of plane and solid geometric shapes and properties by constructing shapes that meet given conditions, by identifying attributes of shapes, and by applying geometric concepts to solve problems.

8.4.1 Identify and describe basic properties of geometric shapes: altitudes, diagonals, angle bisectors, perpendicular bisectors, central angles, radii, diameters, and chords of circles. (Core Standard)

8.4.2 Perform simple constructions such as bisectors of segments and angles, copies of segments and angles, and perpendicular segments. Describe and justify the constructions. (Core Standard)

History Standards for 8th Grade

Students will examine the relationship and significance of themes, concepts, and movements in the development of United States history, including review of key ideas related to the colonization of America and the revolution and Founding Era. This will be followed by emphasis on social reform, national development and westward expansion, and the Civil War and Reconstruction period.

8.1.20 The Civil War and Reconstruction Period: 1850 to 1877. Analyze the causes and effects of events leading to the Civil War, including development of sectional conflict over slavery. (Core Standard)

Example: The Compromise of 1850, furor over publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), the Dred Scott Case (1857), the Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858) and the presidential election of 1860

Reading Comprehension for 3rd Grade READING: Comprehension and Analysis of Nonfiction and Informational Text

3.2 Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material. The selections in the www.doe.in.gov/standards/readinglist.html illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students. At Grade 3, in addition to regular classroom reading, students read a variety of nonfiction, such as biographies, books in many subject areas, children's magazines and periodicals, and reference and technical materials.

Social Studies for 3rd Grade

3.1 Students will describe how significant people, events and developments have shaped their own community and region; compare their community to other communities in the region in other times and places; and use a variety of resources to gather information about the past.

Geometry for 3rd Grade Students describe and compare the attributes of plane and solid geometric shapes and use their understanding to show relationships and solve problems.

3.4.1 Identify quadrilaterals as four-sided shapes.

3.4.2 Identify right angles in shapes and objects and decide whether other angles are greater or less than a right angle.