Bloggers' Quilt Festival: Myself, as a Teacher

This is my entry to the Spring 2012 Bloggers' Quilt Festival, which is a first for me.

The quilt, finished at the end of March, was conceived as a homework assignment for a class in my final semester in the College of Education. It ended up being far more meaningful to me than I could have expected.

The back - a metaphor for ways we learn.

After deciding to use the quilt as a way to learn new techniques and block styles while expressing who I am as a teacher and what I stand for as an educator, I sent out a call for help to my fellow bloggers to contribute.  Quilting, like education, is a community-based and collaborative activity.  I was lucky enough to have 5 special women lend me a piece of themselves for this project.

There are many different elements at work here.

Turning darts to feathers

An awareness of what it means to be an antiracist, anti oppressive educator, a commitment to being a lifelong learner, and a uniqueness that I hope to inspire in every one of my students.

Random crumbs - no contribution too small

Unpacking pop culture and looking at influences on our young people - all part of the job

Humour also plays a part, as does improvisation and working with limited resources.

Tiny piecing - this is about 9" square.

Firsts, such as free-motion quilting, paper-piecing, and new-to-me block styles are there; modern techniques and traditional knowledge are there, too.

However, the most important idea is love, which is not only the cornerstone in the quilt and hidden in the stitching, but the absolute foundation of my teaching practice.

You can read more about the individual elements of this quilt in this collection of posts.
"Myself, as a Teacher", finished March 2012.  Approx 72x80.
Pieced by hand and machine, machine-quilted.

Thank you to Amy for hosting, and to you for stopping by!