Unit 4, Listening 1

1. Thơ: R: It's possible that you've heard of quilting. Quilting is a craft in which pieces of fabric
are sewn together in patterns, by hand or by machine, and then made into an item such as a
blanket to keep you warm in winter. There are usually two or more layers to a quilt, and that
makes it different from a regular blanket. For many years, people stopped quilting when it
became possible to buy quilts and blankets to cover their beds. These store-bought quilts were
often less expensive and, of course, you could have one immediately without waiting the
weeks or months it takes to produce a quilt. But in the 1980s, quilting made a comeback and
now you can find quilting materials, classes, books and magazines, even TV shows
everywhere. What's the big deal about quilting? We visited a popular convention and asked
around. Stacy Riley is a designer for a fabric company. Riley says all the major fabric
companies have taken note of the rise in quilting's popularity. Ms. Riley, the quilts I recall
from my childhood featured fairly traditional quilting designs. They were always square or
rectangular and made for beds, and generally had simple patterns and quiet colors. You say
that today's quilting isn't like the quilting of old, or even the quilting of thirty years ago. The
fabrics are more interesting, as are the designs, techniques, and colors?
2. Thắng: Stacy: That's right. Our generation grew up with an entirely different kind of quilts.
Our grandmothers, in the 1930s and 40s, sewed their own clothes. It was cheaper. They saved
up the scraps from the clothes they made to make quilts. And these quilts were often beautiful,
but more often they were functional. Their purpose was to keep you warm at night. Nowadays
it's cheaper to buy a bed covering in a store, so people make quilts these days because it's a
fantastic hobby.
3. Sa: R: But they still use scraps of fabric from sewing clothes?
4. Thắng: Stacy: Nowadays it's usually cheaper to buy clothes than to make them, and that
created a shift for those of us who work in the fabric industry. When we design new fabrics,
we think much less about what will look good in a person's clothing and much more about
how quilters will like it. Will it look fun, interesting, and exciting in a quilt? And we don't
design one fabric at a time. We design a whole series of fabrics in certain colors because
quilters often use these fabrics together.
5. Sa R: Today's quilting, unlike quilting in the past, appeals to a different breed of crafters,
people who quilt for fun and not out of necessity. Tina Martin is the parent of three active
children, but she finds time to attend conventions and invest in her hobby.
6.Thảo Tina: Quilting is really great. I enjoy having a hobby that I can do in the few spare
minutes of free time I get every day. Being the mother of little children is a full-time job. But
knowing that when my little guys are taking a nap, I have a quilt to work on, I have the energy
to keep going. It makes me so happy to have something nice to put on the family's beds,
something I made. At this convention last year, I saw Margaret Wilson. I couldn't believe it.
She has won so many awards and made so many quilts that I love. These conventions are
really cool because sometimes you get to meet famous quilters.
7.Sa R: Quilting's comeback in recent years means a great hobby for people like Tina, but it can
also mean big money. After our encounter with Tina, we spoke to Anna Roberts, a UCLA
student who's studying business. She explained her plans for the future.
8.Thảo Anna: Crafts are growing fast. People are learning that there are lots of things they can
create for their homes without the help of outsiders. They're learning to make furniture, sew
quilts, and knit their own sweaters. So what I want to do when I graduate is open a top-notch
craft store. Quilting alone is a multi-million dollar industry.
9.Sa R: Neil Brown is the owner of a quilting store in Topeka, Kansas, and he has a different take
on quilting's popularity. He's part of a panel that will talk later today about quilting and its new
role in schools. I asked him if his quilt store had classes for children.
10.Thảo Neil: Oh yes, definitely. We've got after-school classes for children in elementary school
and Saturday classes for teenagers. Quilting has become wildly popular among children. I've
set up a small library of books on quilting, and those books are in constant circulation. We
have a waiting list, and I'm thinking we'll need to expand the classroom section of my store to
make room for more classes.
11.Sa R: So, there's a connection between quilting and lots of other areas in the school
curriculum?
12.Thắng Neil: That's true. In quilting, lots of subject areas are involved. Math, design, history,
reading, even science sometimes. I've seen it happen a lot. Children develop an interest in
quilting and suddenly teachers see development in the classroom. You know, most kids don't
do crafts at home. Their parents are so busy and no one has time to teach kids some of the
basic things they need to know in life, like baking a cake, sewing buttons on clothes, making a
kite, or creating a scrapbook. I love teaching. For me, anything that helps young people have
an appreciation for hard work and dedication to a project is terrific.
 Unit 4 listening 2
1. Thắng R: Some people chose a different part of life, they chose to do things by themselves
and teach other their craft to the same time. I’m standing here with Carl Baxter, outside the
small canbin near Browning, Montana. A cabin he built with his own hands, with the help of
his new apprentice Dave Black. Carl, tell me about your apprentice program.
2. Sa Carl: Well, I mean it’s not a program so much as something I just do. I worry about kids
these days, they spend all their time with video games, on cell phones, and in front of the TV.
I can’t identify with that at all. I’ve always loved making things, being outdoors, learnig stuff.
I think today’s kids would love to learn to make things too, but they don’t have anyone to
show them how. So I started teaching a few teenagers some skills, the stuff I know. I make
cabins, so I teach them basic carpentry to help me make my cabins.
3. Thắng R: Do you have a lot of kids in your programs?
4. Sa Carl: Not really, just a few. But the ones I have really like it. They always start out
wondering if it will be fun. But the first time I tell them to cut a piece of wood that will
actually be used to make someone’s home and they do it well and it is used. They feel a real
sense of accompilshment and they want to learn more.
5. Thảo R: So none of these kids has had any experience with crafts.
6. Thơ Carl: Oh, heck no. I mean I was a complete amature when I started too. I didn’t know
what I was doing, but I read a few books and practiced making things for a few years and
suddenly I have learned most of what I need to do and was ready to go. It’s the same with
these kids, they don’t think it’s going to be interesting till they get started. And next thing you
know, they’re dreaming of building their own cabins to live in.
7. Thảo R: Have any of your apprentices gone out and built a cabin by themselves?
8. Thơ Carl: One has, so far. He helped me build two cabins and then started trying to design
his own. He didn’t want to clone the work I’ve done, you know, do the same thing he’d
already done twice, so we sat down, and planned something just for him. I helped him build it
and we got it done in just under a year. It’s a unique place that he built, and he likes hanging
out there because no one has anything like it. He can point to it and say “I made that”. Since
then he has gotten a few olders for cabins. He has started his own business, I love that.
9. Sa R: How do you design the cabins you built. And what input do your apprentices have in
the process?
10. Thắng Carl: Mostly I just listen to the client. I try really hard to understand the person’s
lifestyle. You know, no one lives the same way. So I try to incorporate in the person’s
atittudes towards life into my cabins. I regard my world as an extension of that person, and
I’m trying to teach these kids to do the same thing. Listen, really listen, don’t build your
dream, build their dream.
11. Sa R: Tell me about this cabin here.
12. Thắng Carl: Dave and I built this for a professional potter. She makes vases and bowls and
plates, her work is incredible. But she needed lots of light, so I made sure there were
incredible windows, and that house was situated on a beautiful piece of land. Dave did all the
work on the windows, nice isn’t it. And after moving in and doing her ceramic work here, her
 work has appeared in a fantastic gallery in New York. So maybe we had a small hand in
helping her improve in her craft.
13. Thơ R: Do you pay your apprentices?
14. Thảo Carl: Yeah, I pay them a percentage of the total I recive for a cabin. And business is
good because of it. People like the idea of a product that supports education of teenagers. I
set up a website for my cabins, and with just that a little bit of marketing, I’ve got more
clients than I can handle. Some of them are overseas, I recently got a request for a cabin in
Japan. Can you imagine that, I’ve never been outside of the Unite States.
15. Thơ R: Are you going to expand your operation to keep up with the others?
16. Thảo Carl: I’m not sure, I can only teach so many kids at one time, and I build canbins
because I love working with my hands. I really enjoy the process, and don’t want to turn it
into some kinds of industry. That’s not what I’m about. I do it out of love - both love for
building cabins and love of these kids. So I’m going to keep my operation small for the time
being, at least untill I find someone to help me – someone who’s interested in both the cabins
and the kids. Till then, I’ll keep it small and simple. And that’s good enough.