TORRINGTON – Sewing machines hummed and steam irons hissed, transforming a conference room at Platte Valley Bank into a hive of activity on Thursday. A kaleidoscope of bright, colorful squares spilled across table tops as young people pieced the shapes together into quilts. 

The patterns emerging throughout the room reflected the unique personal tastes and interests of each young person attending the annual Kids Quilt Camp, sponsored by Goshen County Quilters.

Tatum Wiedman displayed a finished quilt chock-full of red, white, and blue patterns crisscrossed with images of the American flag. Taylor Betcher held up a quilt bursting with nearly every color in the spectrum and a wide variety of shapes ranging from horseshoes and bucking broncs to flowers and spheres. Mesa Wiedman sewed squares together for a quilt sporting a hunting and fishing theme.

Quilting is an American tradition that dates back to the earliest colonial settlers in New England and Virginia. By the mid-19th century, material for quilts became more available and the craft developed beyond its roots as a necessary household item into an established art form across the country, according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Quilts came to symbolize more than simple bedcovers and commemorated special events or relationships and some even addressed social themes. Today quilts are valuable collectors’ items in addition to serving their original purpose as an item for warmth and comfort.

Betcher explained the basic process of quilt-making at the camp on Thursday. First, Betcher laid out the pattern for her quilt using paper, a pencil, and a ruler. She then set out the pieces of fabric in an arrangement she liked and began the work of piecing the squares and rows together with the sewing machine. By the end of the week, Betcher was busy “sandwiching” the squares – adding layers of fabric to the quilt.

The Goshen County Quilters have hosted the Kids Quilt Camp for decades, said camp director Jane Dorn. This summer marked Dorn’s 20th year teaching young people from across the county the art of quilting.

“I’ve taught a lot of kids to quilt,” Dorn said.

Many of the kids at camp, ages 10 to 15, arrive on the first day with little to no sewing skills, Dorn added. While the learning curve can seem a bit daunting at first, by Thursday the quiltmakers were confidently operating sewing machines and piecing together finished works of art.

Camp staff cut the fabric for the campers, but the youngsters do the rest of the work themselves. 

The sewing machines themselves ranged in style from a few old-school, hand-held contraptions to newer devices with the latest in computer technology.

“Each of the machines is safe and easy to run,” Dorn noted.

A few of the finished quilts end up as displays at the county or state fair, Dorn said, although many find their way into a young person’s home.

“The kids often become attached to their quilts,” Dorn said.