I think I would put a small sashing between the blocks to add a bit of color and separation. Here is a link to some crayon quilts with a sashing. Perhaps not as wide as in these, but this will give you an idea.

beverly

Here is a link that might be useful: Hearts for Linus

There's nothing plain about children's artwork! I wouldn't want anything to pull the eyes away from that. But a nice calm border would hold them all together as a group.
We would love to see a pix when it's done!
Bon
:)

I saw a quilt at a show once where each student wrote a favorite smell (and why) and put their name and age. They did it on paper first, adding a photo of their face, and ran it through a scanner onto photo fabric. Those were trimmed to be the blocks. It was just darling.

they said things like "chocolate chip cookies because they remind me of my Grandma". You could do that with almost any subject, like favorite animal, color, etc. It gets them thinking.

I like the idea of sewing a narrow border around each block (like Jayne did with her Sylvia) so it would be easier to distinguish one from another and they wouldn't blend together. Then, each block would 'star' on it's own.

SharonG/FL

I agree with the border around each block.

We did the same idea at a 'special' adult center and it does frame the blocks very well.

Looking forward to the pics too!

Make sure the students leave about 1/2" all the way around their pictures & names or they will get lost in your seam allowance. Don't know if you want to draw a line with a chalk-a-liner pencil around each block to make sure they stay inside the lines. I know I had students write rememberances on a square for one of our teachers who was retiring. Even when I drew the line, some of them did not follow the rules!

Sue

I was going to suggest what Sue did: make sure they all leave a good seam allowance so you don't lose part of their message.

I think this is a great project and the sashing between blocks is all you need to ensure it won't be the least bit plain. I'm certain it will be charming! You can use any print as sashing to tie it all together. Check out the current posting from nanajayne about her Sylvia quilt to see how a simple print can make a perfect sashing.

Kate

Thanks so much for all the suggestions. I was going to tell them about leaving room for the seam allowance but I like the idea of the chalk just as a reminder.

I was planning to make 6x6 squares, so they would be about 5x5 after the seam allowance. Since I need at least 50 squares, plus a 4 square center, I wasn't sure if there would be enough room for the border around each artwork without making a huge quilt or making each kids square smaller. Any suggestions or do you think 6x6 (5x5) would work?