The Collaborative Story Quilt: Process

Collaborative Beginnings
In pre-meetings with the hosting partners, we determine a Story Quilt theme that represents the project. It might be a character idea (like the painterly dragon who symbolized a Raleigh school’s beliefs in arts education), or a theme (a Greensboro library’s belief in the way books connect a community) or a characteristic setting (an urban flavor was important to a downtown Durham charter school).

"There's always Hope"
Collaboration between 2007-08 Estes Fifth Graders
and Elon Story Magic Students

The Writing
Story Quilts begin with a playful progression of collaborative writing activities that tap into participants’ intuitive gift for storytelling.
I use children’s books to model writing principles and the group dives into games that build both our creative team and the story. By project’s end we have invented and developed a main character, organized a complete plot, developed scenes, conceived colorful language, revised and edited the story several times. There is maximum learning in a process that finishes with a meaningful story participants care about. All activities reflect national teaching standards.

The Collaborative Story Quilt: The Illustrating Process

Using the group story as a point of departure, Peg turns writers into illustrators as she leads the group in a series of hands-on surface design explorations. This begins as participants create a bright collection of hand-dyed fabrics, textured by painting patterns and symbols with textile inks. This whimsical yardage becomes the basis for the story’s setting, characters and supporting elements. The participants form small design teams, continually coming to consensus to determine the scale, mood and forms that fit the written story. Peg facilitates the technical machine sewing of the work and the group embellishes the Story Quilt with brightly colored beads.