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The Extinct Animals Quilt, 66" x 83", by the Talented and Gifted class at Rolling Green Elementary school in Urbandale, Iowa. The quilt has traveled to zoos and wildlife centers in Kansas, Tennessee, New York, Pennsylvania, Montana, and Texas.
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Quilts in the Classroom
Rolling Green Elementary, Urbandale, Iowa
A local quilter proved to be a good resource for a class of nine talented and gifted 3rd- to 5th-grade students in Urbandale, Iowa. Their teacher, Beverly Ellis, had encouraged the students to educate others about animals that no longer exist, so the children dreamed of making a quilt similar to the Aids Quilt. The Extinct Alphabet Book written by Jerry Pallotta and illustrated by Ralph Masiello (Charles Bridges, 1993) inspired the blocks for their Extinct Animals Quilt. The Des Moines, Iowa, area quilt guild recommended that Beverly contact Hollie Hart for help in carrying out the students' vision.
At her first meeting with the children, Hollie brought some of her quilts as examples. Each child was to draw three simple, but clear, animal designs. Hollie worked with the students to modify their drawings for use as quilt patterns.
Guild members donated scraps, and children delightedly selected fabrics to express their animals. Then they cut and fused the shapes to their blocks. They also wrote their names and the names of their animals on the blocks with fabric pens.
Hollie then machine appliqued the fused shapes onto the background blocks and made the squares more uniform by adding fabric until each block was 12 inches by 12 inches. She had as much fun as the children selecting fabric that enhanced the animals. She set off the finished blocks with black sashing, added the title, and then machine quilted the entire quilt.
The class was astonished when Hollie brought the completed quilt back to them. Parents who saw it at the annual open house were delighted, and one of the parents arranged for the quilt to travel around the country to zoos and wildlife centers. It is now on display at the Neal Smith National Prairie Preserve and Nature Center located near Des Moines, Iowa...Tamara Andrews
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