Three CCQ members volunteered their quilting skills to design and construct quilts for a production of the play Quilters, which is being performed at McMinnville’s Gallery Theater this month. Peggy Gelbrich, an instructor in our Tuesday morning class, designed the quilts shown at left and coordinated the efforts of a group of quilters to make the quilts. Peggy also designed another quilt to be raffled for fundraising. Bobbie Bebereia, a CCQ board member, did the longarm quilting on the quilts in the show and the raffle quilt. And Donna Gilbo, a CCQ member who works behind the scenes assembling kits for our students, worked behind the scenes for the Quilters play too, helping make the raffle quilt on a short deadline.
Quilters is the story of a pioneer woman and her six daughters. It blends a series of interrelated scenes into a mosaic, capturing the sweep and beauty, the terror and joy, the harsh challenge and abiding rewards of frontier life. Details about upcoming performances of Quilters can be found on the Gallery Theater’s website. Hurry though — the last performance is March 16th.
CCQ’s kit-making volunteers meet periodically to put together quilt kits for our students’ first and second quilts. It’s a fun activity where we have the opportunity to get together with other quilters and explore our creative abilities with color and design.
On July 7, Merriley Smith, a retired special education teacher, shared her expertise in teaching students with challenges in a roundtable discussion with CCQ instructors. We find that some CCQ students have a variety of learning challenges. Some have cognitive impairment from past drug use while others lack a basic education. In these situations Merriley recommends using techniques that special ed teachers use with students who have attention deficit disorder. Some of these techniques include using simple language, making eye contact, giving directions with a minimum of steps, showing examples of the quilting techniques being taught and offering appropriate affirmation and praise.
