CMS Joins the Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail Project

CMS participates in the Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail Project

The Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail’s (UHQT) mission is to “honor and preserve quilting traditions while promoting tourism through the public display of quilts and painted quilt blocks.”  CMS has a strong tradition of sewing arts so to participate in this project is not only a wonderful learning experience for the students but a chance to share the 36 year history of the school. In 1978, CMS’s Gail Paul wrote one of the first sewing curriculums for preschool children, incorporating Montessori’s ideas and philosophy into needle arts.  Now, sewing is part of many Montessori schools across the country.  Since the late 70’s our school has had sewing in each classroom, culminating with quilt making and embroidery with the elementary students.  Starting in January 2011, Elementary students began their involvement in the quilt project by touring the UHQT wooden quilts hung on barns and homes in Oconee County, listening to stories about quilt history from Verla Warther, and experimenting with the geometry of quilts and pattern generation.  With the help of Judy Luke, Fran Kaiser, and Ellie Elzerman, students picked a quilt pattern, Friendship. They chose fabric at Heirlooms and Comforts in Central, and spent many hours making individual squares for the final quilt, which is normally displayed in the elementary building.  The quilt is currently in the library, as Cindy Blair, a Six Mile resident, is at school this week helping students transition the quilt squares from fabric to paint on our wooden quilt, which we will hang on the main preschool building.  Our kaleidoscope of color will be an opportunity for us to tell stories about CMS, and honor its buildings, people, and history.   Check out the project in its entirety at www.upstateheritagequilttrail.org