THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 29, 1995 TAG: 9512280128
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF STORY
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
When the final bell signaled the beginning of holiday break last Friday, some local students left school with much more than smiles on their faces.
Because of a project set up by special education teacher Andrea Gengler, the educable mentally retarded students at Princess Anne Middle School finally carried home the handmade patchwork quilts they have been working on for the past three months.
``It's a long process because everything is hands on,'' said Gengler, who implements the activity once every four years. ``It's been well worth the wait.''
This year's group of nine began collecting fabric in September. Parents sent in special pieces. Teachers donated some others.
They traced 12-inch squares on to everything from vests to shorts to curtains, and with the help of Gengler and teacher's aide Raymond Stiles, they cut out more than 400 patches.
Once the squares were cut, the students picked the pieces they wanted to sew into their quilts. Jeremy Ross used fabric scraps his mother saved from his handmade baby blanket. The Parker twins - Jennifer and JoAnn - included lots of purple, their favorite color, while Renee Cason couldn't get enough flowers.
Also, Gengler gave each child one of her signature pieces - safari prints she collected while traveling in Africa.
``The pieces in the quilts are what make them special,'' Gengler said.
After a lesson from teen living teacher Karen Lambert, the students sewed their squares together to make the rows, which were then sewn together to make the quilt top.
``They can thread and operate their own machines,'' Gengler said. ``They have learned a skill they can walk out of here with and use.''
Lambert's teen living students dropped by to help the students tack the top, batting and sheet backing, and the quilts were finished. Each was made up of 42 different squares.
``My children take more than a quilt home,'' Gengler said. ``They take home an enormous sense of pride and accomplishment. That's something they don't get very often. I guess that's why (this activity) is very special to me, too.''
Since they can't take their creations everywhere they go, the students made hardcover books about their experiences - illustrated with pictures taken throughout the process.
Each story ends with the same line: ``This book is dedicated to the miracle in each of us.''
Gengler added: ``What they can do with careful planning, support and patience is miraculous. There is truly a miracle in every one of them.'' MEMO: QUILT-MAKERS
The following students were involved in Andrea Gengler's quilt-making
project at Princess Anne Middle School:
Ashley Buffington, Renee Cason, Melissa Cheatwood, Arthur Greaves,
Jennifer Parker, JoAnn Parker, Tommy Rogers, Jeremy Ross and Bonnie
Williams. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by CHARLIE MEADS
Putting the finishing string ties on a quilt at Princess Anne Middle
School are, from left, Jennifer Parker, Ashley Buffington, Arthur
Greaves, Renee Cason, special education teacher Andrea Gengler and
Melissa Cheatwood.
Assisted by special education teacher Andrea Gengler, Jennifer
Parker sews together panels of a quilt like the one above. Parker
used lots of purple, her favorite color.
by CNB