It seems that a new craze has taken over the interests of high school students in Pittsburgh. Thankfully this is an interest worth having!
The new cool thing to do at Elizabeth Forward High School is making quilts.
Rebecca Fest has begun teaching students to quilt through her quilting class. In the beginning the students were more interested in making clothing. However after a couple of students had completed quilts to show off, everyone wanted one!
The quilts that these students are making are far from being the old patterns that our grandparents once made. The students create the quilts using their own personalities and identities. Quilts can be seen with racing stripes, hearts, pop lips, and more.
Mrs. Fest says that even the boys are in to making their own quilts. She now teaches five classes of quilting a day and has a line of students waiting to get in. She says that she even has had parents call her and ask for her to admit their child into the class so they too can get a homemade quilt.
The students get to pick out and purchase their own material for the projects. The students are enjoying the quilts so much because they can express their own ideas and creativity into their work. Unlike the clothes, which would eventually get too small, the quilts will around for years to come. Some students even discuss passing the quilts on to their future family members.
In addition to making quilts for themselves, students make quilts for family members, friends, and even to donate to charity.
I am so excited to see students, especially high school students, become so passionate about a class. Many would argue that the students should be undertaking more classes in reading, English, or math instead of quilting. However, the skill, the interest, and the discipline that the students are learning through quilting will last a lifetime.