Girls learn the value of 'functional artwork'

It was a crash course in quilting.

Several Columbia Falls girls last week went through a quilt building course hosted by the Teakettle Quilters Guild, a group of local quilters.

They had hands-on instruction, and the Columbia Falls High School allowed the class to use their home economics room and sewing machines.

"We worked for four days, four hours a day," said Hallie Haney, one of the girls who took the class.

For more than a few, it was the first time they'd ever sewed, never mind make a quilt.

"It was really fun to do this," said Victoria Blumgren. "When you're done, you get to use what you made."

They suffered through plenty of pin pricks and the occasional thumb burned by an iron, but all in all, the girls were pleased by their work.