Life

First quilt block hung at Flat Rock Playhouse

Georgia Bonesteel, left, and Bonnie See unveiled the county's fist quilt block last month at the Flat Rock Playhouse..

By Bill Moss, Published: May 8, 2014

The Western North Carolina Quilters Guild and the North Carolina State Theatre Garden Club unveiled the county's first quilt block at the Flat Rock Playhouse.

The quilt block, by nationally known quilter Georgia Bonesteel of Flat Rock and graphic designer Martin Webster of Burnsville, is the start of what the Guild hopes will be a countywide Quilt Trail. The 4X4-foot Masks of Comedy and Tragedy piece will be accompanied by a plaque with the Shakespeare quote from "As You Like It": "All the world's a stage/And the men and women merely players/They have their entrances and their exits."
"I think it's fabulous," State Theatre Garden Club president Tamsin Allpress said. "I'm so excited because it's drawing visitors to the area, which is beautiful, as well as into the Playhouse itself to see a show." The Tourism Development Authority is partnering with the WNC Quilters Guild to put up quilt blocks throughout the county and create a Quilt Trail focusing on history, heritage and love of the land. Organizers envision the artwork on barns and apple sheds, at wineries and on other large outdoor walls. They could be up to 16X16 feet.
"We have sold five or six" that will be put up, said TDA Executive Director Beth Carden. "Anyone that's interested and has the space to put one up" can submit a design. "It moves people around the community." Made of durable paint, quilt blocks have become popular in several areas of the U.S. With more than 200 quilt blocks, the Burnsville area and surrounding counties boast the highest concentration of quilt blocks in the country.