The Squares and Stars quilt block (top) gives a complementary crown to the Witherspoon barn, located in the Blue Ridge Mountain town of Jefferson. Just past a bend in the road, the BJ Bare barn in East Jefferson displays the block Memory (right). In Baldwin, Delectable Mountains (left) was the first quilt block commissioned by the Ashe County Arts Council. photograph by Tyler Northrup
Without even a word, quilt blocks tell stories. Combining heritage and design, they honor lost loved ones, signal a farm’s focus, or proudly display a family’s heirloom quilt pattern. Sometimes they simply add a punch of color to a rustic landscape. Western North Carolina has one of the nation’s largest concentrations of quilt blocks, many of which have been stitched into trails by local groups. Such is the case in Ashe County, where the arts council has identified more than 150 blocks that can be spotted along a variety of scenic drives.
Thirteen colors and a straight-lined perimeter make the Golf Ball Boogie (top right) an ace of a block pattern. Initially designed for a private home, the finished product was destined for the Grassy Creek Golf Course Clubhouse in Spruce Pine. In its heyday, the Cross Street Commerce Center (bottom) had more than 600 employees manufacturing hosiery. photograph by Tim Robison
Inspired by the abundance and beauty of the region’s quilt blocks, Spruce Pine artist Emma Cadman launched a collaborative project of her own. In a series called Mosaic Mondays, Cadman welcomed community members to Spruce Pine’s downtown Pocket Park to piece together a barn quilt-style mosaic made from donated dinner plates. The completed piece (top right), Downtown Spruce Pine Community Quilt, now hangs on a weathered wall in the park. “It gives a little ‘pretty’ back to the county,” says Cadman, who’s called The Plate Lady for her work on dozens of such public art pieces. “People can see a bit of themselves, and Mitchell County, in the project.”
Shelton House, a center for western North Carolina heritage and craft, was the first site listed on Haywood County Quilt Trails. Its “Milkmaid” block pattern, featuring stars and arrows, honors the family’s dairy farm. The quilt blocks throughout the county showcase a new interpretation of the folk art that represent an organization’s mission, such as the block that adorns Waynesville’s Maple Tree Veterinary Hospital (second from left), Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center (third from left), the Folkmoot Friendship Center (fourth from left), and the Animal Hospital of Waynesville (fifth from left).
photograph by Tim Robison
More than 150 quilt blocks dot Yancey County’s Blue Ridge Mountain byways. A cluster of about three dozen blocks has been mapped in Burnsville alone, including the McIntosh Star (left) and High Pastures retreat center’s Shepherd’s Light (right). And that’s just the start. Many other quilts, while not formally identified, nevertheless delight. With these country canvases proudly peeking out from around bends in the roads, our mountain towns stay blanketed in color and comfort.
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