Showing posts with label etsy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label etsy. Show all posts

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Designing custom fabric for educational quilts


Over a year ago in August 2009, I posted about my desire to find a company that would print onto fabric. I had just discovered www.spoonflower.com, the answer to my wish. It is difficult not to get carried away designing fabric! I even hope to use some to make dresses for my little girl, and I used some of my test swatches to make her soft, fabric blocks for Christmas (pictures to come in a future post).

However, my initial desire stemmed from the amount of time I spent piecing together individual educational quilts for classroom teachers. Finally, I have designed fabric, had it printed, and made a new line of quilts that will be more affordable for teachers and for parents! My color wheel quilts have the vividness of my collage quilts, but without the laborious job of piecing them together or edges that might come up over time and with years of use.

I FINALLY posted my first one on Etsy!!!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/19444116/color-wheel-categorization-quilt-without
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With this activity, the child selects items that you provide to them (in a container or basket); the items are of different colors/shades/tints, and the child categorizes them on the matching portion of the color wheel. This material is designed so that you, as a parent or teacher, may provide your own materials from your house or classroom as objects. You may also wish to change the objects often or encourage your children to find objects to add to the box. Although I designed this educational material for a Montessori classroom, it is appropriate for lessons within a Montessori classroom or your home. Even very young children are curious about our colors in the world around them; this lessons capitalizes upon a child's interests. In Montessori primary classrooms, young children receive lessons in the primary and secondary colors with Box I and Box II of the Color Tablets. Although Maria Montessori, a pioneer in early childhood education, designed beautiful materials which are still relevant today, the Color Tablets are a rare exception of materials which were potentially more attractive to children in Montessori's culture (than they are today). In my experience as a Montessori Primary Directress, children rarely choose to return to these materials after their initial lessons. I this designed this Color Wheel Categorization Quilt as an extension of the traditional Sensorial curriculum. In using this material in my own classroom, I find that it draws children back to the color materials; children choose the color wheel quilt on their own, thereby giving the teacher continued opportunities to explore primary and secondary colors with the students. Included in this set: Color Wheel (measuring approximately 10.4" from flat side to flat side and 12.25" from point to point across) - there is quilt batting inside and the back is solid black; BOX AND OBJECTS ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS PARTICULAR LISTING. Please note: Materials are an original design and cannot be reproduced for sale. Images and Text - Copyright 2010 by Amy M. Kuhl Cox

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

New Exploration with Fabric for Educational Quilts





I've had so much fun being creative during my son's naps this summer! Having designed a number of batik, educational quilts for children over the last year, I have been researching ways to make these quilts more effectively, retaining quality while bringing the price down for teachers.

It seems like a new website in Beta testing may be my answer. Previously, I was cutting out individual shapes of batik fabric and fusing them together into a unique collage. While I enjoyed the process, I am currently seeing whether I might be able to photograph my designs to have commercially printed onto fabric, thereby eliminating the time-consuming labor of love that is piecing the quilt together!

Three of my educational quilts are available for sale on www.amykuhlcox.etsy.com
I have also been designing some new, language, educational quilts that focus on the beginning sounds in words - they are "I Spy" phonetic quilts. (Hopefully these will also be available on www.amykuhlcox.etsy.com come fall.) I have discovered one of my biggest pet peeves is a phonetic material that is designed poorly! So, no airplanes to represent the "a" sound here. And away with you, consonant blends at the beginning of words, when we are trying to isolate a single sound for instruction! :)

I have been so intrigued by fabric design, that over the weekend I designed a Christmas/holiday fabric for Spoonflower.com.
www.spoonflower.com/explore/76413
Now, to see whether I get chosen as a finalist in the contest.... Alas, no matter what, it was a learning experience in Photoshop! :)
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