Rags to Stitches...an evolution

Several months ago, I met with Chip Brantley, the director of DISCO (Desert Island Supply Company: "a creative writing program for kids in Birmingham, Alabama. Our mission is to give students in the Birmingham area more opportunities to write") and (my dear) Kimberly at ArtPlay to discuss a possible art track for participants in DISCO's summer program. Chip told me the students would be between the ages of 14 and 17 and that he'd really like to see a program that allowed the students to create many different types of things with their hands. I immediately put together a plan for the students to make a community quilt - hand-sewn - and for them to also create individual process books that they could bind themselves and keep as memory books of their summer experience. We decided to call the art track, "Rags to Stitches" and I was very pleased with myself.


As with everything in life, if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. We are currently in the third week of a six week program and we've adjusted our focus many times over. In the first week, it became very clear that threading needles is not what children want to spend their summer doing. While each student gave a great effort in the first week, the idea of continuing to hand sew for another five weeks brought an almost mutiny in the last hours of the first week. So last week I introduced the sewing machine and wow, what an amazing amount of energy was put forth!


-Edmund wanted to make a hat with a bill and chose a turquoise, yellow and teal cotton duck fabric for prototype number 1. 
-Kelsey and Jamecia both made cotton duck shoulder bags.
-Keke made a cell phone holder with strap for her jeans and a fabric bracelet reminiscent of a cuff.
-Mariam has fallen in love with the machine and the needle and has made several things by hand and with the machine. She made a patch honoring Allah by hand and a star and crescent moon (both stuffed) using the machine.
-Mari, our oldest student and truly the ring leader and happily (for me) the one they all look up to, started cutting up a black and white zebra print fabric to create embellishments for a jacket. He made a tie and one long sleeve and wants to find a white jacket to complete the look.


Tomorrow we will go to the thrift store across from Woodrow Hall in Woodlawn (where we meet each day) to pick out items to up-cycle.


The summer program continues to evolve but one thing is for certain: when we have our showcase at the end of the camp, these kids will have a variety of amazing creations to show. And unlike a group quilt, they will be able to take their creations home and share them with their friends and family.