The topic of embroidery came up, as it can at a meeting of quilters.

But when a hand waved from the audience, the question was not for one of the needle-wielding veterans that filled a room in Mexico’s First Presbyterian Church on Monday evening. It was directed instead at a group of high school students.

“How many of you can do it by hand?” the person wanted to know. There was a drawn out silence broken by a burst of laughter.

Two of those present had never touched a needle and thread before taking Sarah Gooch’s Fashion, Textiles and Design course at Mexico High School. Now Jessica Stephens is half way through her first quilt. And Elizabeth Cervenka is proud of a pillow she made.

The students – including Lillian Yager and Choice Foster – were presenting a school year’s worth of projects at the monthly gathering of the Prairie Pine Quilt Guild. It was a show and tell to promote their efforts, as well as a way to thank the guild.

The class relies on donations of materials from the community. They have received $65,000 worth of fabric, batting, elastic, zippers and other necessary items, much of it from members of Prairie Pine.

All of this allowed Gooch’s 35 students to complete 24 different projects, from masks to quilts – some intended as gifts, some for their own use.

It can be a challenge. Students come in at different skill levels, but most are new to the nuances of thread selection, seam allowance, needle position, warp and weft. It’s likely few could even define warp and weft before taking the course.

“To get the overall basics takes a year,” Gooch explained. “But if they want to sew a straight line on a working machine, five minutes.”

And Gooch is allowed just a single 45 minute session each day for lessons, part of which is taken up by the little chores needed to ready a work station.

Yet as they pick up new skills with each assignment, the students are able to complete some intricate and useful projects.

“This taught me you have to put a lot of stuffing in a pillow,” Yager said, holding up a plump pillow she made for her nephew.

Cervenka listed the pillow as her favorite piece. Stephens said she learned quite a bit from her first project, a zippered pouch.

“I made – what do you call this?” Foster asked when her turn came. It was an ironing board organizer that didn’t turn out quite right on the first try. And she admits a basic drawstring pouch required three attempts.

Now she’s in the process of completing two quilts, one for herself.

“I get cold,” she explained.

Members of the quilt guild reassured the students. “We’re familiar with mistakes,” a voice from the audience said.

After almost a full year of classwork – and homework, since students are allowed to sew after school – there is an evident level of confidence, as well as appreciation for the effort involved.

“I can’t imagine doing a quilt by hand,” Stephens observed.

The class is new to the MHS roster. There had been nothing like if for three decades until Gooch approached administrators with the idea. It was first offered for the 2019-20 school year – a COVID-shortened term, but students are allowed to take the course all four years, advancing into interior design and other disciplines.

One lesson seems to resonate with the students.

“I like it because I can say it’s something that I made,” Yager said.