Each school year since 2000-2001, Kathy Marty has skillfully and lovingly helped each of the kindergarten classes make a quilt.

Retired kindergarten teacher Peg Unger, who taught in the Belleville School District for many years, was working through the alphabet and Marty, who was a teacher's assistant and still is 16 years later, offered to talk about 'Q is for Quilts.'

They decided that the kindergarten students could decorate a fabric square.

"At that point you might as well make it into a quilt," laughed Marty, who has been sewing since high school. "So I offered to make the quilt and 64 quilts later...it's a labor of love for all of us-students, teachers and myself."

That first quilt is still displayed at the Elementary School and when Unger's class of 2000-2001 kindergarteners graduated in 2013, it was proudly displayed at the Belleville High School.

After the first year, all of the kindergarten teachers joined in and each classroom makes a quilt.

"Each year, I give a presentation about 'Q is for Quilt,' and during the presentation I show the students the first quilt that was made by the 2000-2001 class," said Marty. "That's when they get really get excited, knowing that other students just like them made a quilt."

The kindergarten teachers select several different bolts of material for the sashings, which are the strips of material that are sewn in between the squares. Taking turns, each of the classrooms visit Patches and Petals for a tour and to make the final selections. Afterwards, Marty takes the fabric squares and selected sashings home to assemble the quilts.

While Marty is sewing the quilts, the teachers are working with the students on quilt-related math and coloring pages and writing about their quilting experience.

"A few of the kindergarteners will ask me every day if I'm done with the quilts," said Marty. "They don't realize the time involved in sewing each of the quilts. When all of the quilts are done, we have special unveiling and talk about where each quilt will be donated to after we take time to enjoy it."

The quilts also are displayed at Patches and Petals for a few weeks so that kindergarten families and visitors can see them.

Marty says that this is sometimes very eye-opening for the families once they walk into Patches and Petals, many for the first time, and see something that their child has made and all of the other beautiful quilts displayed in the building that was built in 1905.

"Each of the kindergarten quilts have found homes locally or around the world," added Marty.

Some of the local places include the UW Health Clinic, Neighborhood Smiles, EMS building, Sugar River Senior Center, various assisted living facilities, Madison hospitals or nursing homes. A few of the quilts have traveled out of state to Mississippi, Michigan, Hawaii or Alaska, and some have even traveled around the world to Canada, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Honduras or Kosovo.

"Lots of things have changed over the years in kindergarten but our quilting unit is something that we refuse to give up," said kindergarten teacher Chris Meier. "It is a tradition that we hope will go on for many years to come with the help of Kathy Marty. We even asked her, when the time comes for her to retire, if she will please come back and help us with this wonderful project. We sure hope she will!"

Another kindergarten teacher, Trudi Fahey, agreed and added that the students have enjoyed creating and planning various 'things' to put on their quilt squares each year.

"Each year the children are excited to see the finished product after what they created as a class," said Fahey. "All of the love and hard work from the children and Mrs. Marty is amazing."

Fahey also mentioned that the kindergarten classes have been fortunate enough to have some of the retired kindergarten and first grade teachers come in and assist with this project.

"They love chatting with students to brainstorm and design a beautiful product," said Fahey. "We also have been able to have our teacher assistants and Mrs. Marty draw and create a picture to go on the different quilts, which makes this project a school wide enjoyable project! And one of the best parts of this project is being able to go to Patches and Petals and see the final project being shared with everyone in our community."

Quilting is definitely one of Marty's favorite hobbies but she enjoys knitting, crocheting and gardening with her husband, Allen, who is retired. Right now she is busy finishing a block of the month quilt for her son's wedding this fall.

Marty has worked in the Belleville School District for 36 years and although she has started to think about when she might retire, Marty says that she enjoys what she does, the people who she works with, the students, and she doesn't plan on retiring from the kindergarten quilt project anytime soon.

"As long as the kindergarten teachers want it to be part of the alphabet unit and I'm able to, I'll do it," said Marty. "It is 'Q for Quilt' and a labor of love."

Besides working with the talented staff at Patches and Petals, the kindergarten quilt project and the teachers are grateful for the financial support from the members of the Belleville Parent-Teacher Organization for the 63 quilts since Mrs. Unger's original.