Go tell it on the mountain!

We are here to tell and share the many quilts made right here in North Carolina.

Over 20 teachers and many students have come to Black Mountain, near Asheville, for a 3-day convention.

Stay tuned to meet some of the teachers, discover their specialties, and then gaze at a multitude of quilts.

Okay, rockers, let's go!

One, and a two, and a three... back!

[all laughing] Great!

Very good!

[guitar strums] ♪ Could you imagine a more clever object?

♪ ♪ Warms the body ♪ ♪ Ignites the mind ♪ ♪ A child sleeps ♪ ♪ Under mother's creation ♪ ♪ Together forever ♪ ♪ The art of the heart ♪ ♪ And design of the mind ♪ ♪ Puts you to bed ♪ ♪ One day at a time ♪ ♪ The art of the heart ♪ ♪ And design of the mind ♪ ♪ (announcer) "Lap Quilting with Georgia Bonesteel" is made possible in part by grants from...

Printed Treasures by Milliken, creator of premium Pima cotton fabric sheets, with Printed Treasures you can print directly on fabric from your computer and then sew the picture onto your quilt, pillow, or whatever you dream up.

Memories become heirlooms with Printed Treasures.

Gammill Quilting Machine Company, offering four sizes of long-arm, hand-guided machines to quilters worldwide-- By Coats & Clark, America's number-one name in sewing, hand-knitting, and craft products-- And by... Bernina... ♪ open to a world of imagination.

(Georgia) Th e title for this symposium is "G o Tell It on the Mountains."

We are here to tell and share the many quilts made right here in North Carolina.

Over 20 teachers and many students have come from far and wide to this YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain-- it's near Asheville.

Just gaze at the many unique designs, colorful arrangements, intricate appliqué, and award-winning quilts.

[gentle guitar playing theme] One important factor in the quilt world that keeps our craft alive is the organization of state guilds.

Nowhere is this more apparent than right here in North Carolina.

For 24 years, the North Carolina Quilt Symposium, Inc.-- a board of 22 state representatives-- and local guilds have participated in these state conventions.

For the next 2 years, it will be at Peace College in Raleigh.

Meet two quilters who put down their needles and thread for a few months to organize this event.

You think it was a few months?

[laughing] I think it was a few years.

(Georgia) Meet Laura Casey and Connie Williams, both from Asheville and-- what a great symposium.

The weather has cooperated, uh-- What are your secrets for doing this event?

Have a wonderful guild, have the great staff, um--lots of notes.

Right, lots of notes.

Our styles were compatible completely, so-- (Georgia) That means you're still speaking to each other.

Yeah, we're bonded now!

[all laughing] (Georgia) Do you have any secrets to share with all these other sponsors?

Just do it once.

[all laughing] Once is enough-- pass it on.

(Georgia) What is a doll maker doing at a quilt convention?

(woman) We ll, Georgia, th at's where the fabric is.

DeeDee, it's so nice to see you, and I understand now you're living in Bryson City, North Carolina.

Welcome, DeeDee Triplett.

I can remember having a doll named "Suzy Q," a cute little thing I rocked, and I played with paper dolls.

This isn't anything like the dolls of yesterday.

What's happened?

The cloth doll world has just exploded.

We have doll symposiums and doll conferences just like the quilt conferences.

Used to be we had to go to quilt conferences to find the fabrics, and now we have our own shows.

And it's just magical-- the cloth doll can be anything from a baby doll like Suzy Q to a shaman to-- whatever your imagination will come up with.

And now it's legal for a grown person to play with dolls like this.

Absolutely-- legal and maybe should be mandatory.

How do you get started?

What is your inspiration for making these dolls?

Well, I start with fabric.

I go to my fabric stash, and we should all have one of those with lots of fabrics in it.

I start pulling fabrics out, th en I just-- I get excited about 'em an d start playing with the colors and laying them out, and actually I make little things I call "design nests," so, uh, and then I'll walk around and maybe add beads to it or something.

And then I sew the different parts of the body out of these.

Then I start-- after I sew those and turn them, I start putting them together, and the doll will often tell me what the pose needs to be.

They have minds of their own.

So we have legs, arms, a body, and is the head separate or is that-- Yes.

And then you said you can manipulate the legs.

Does that mean there is a wire inside?

There is a wire, but only to keep the doll from having to have a separate stand, and so the shapes ar e sewn into the dolls, and they're ma nipulated before they're ha nd-stitched together.

Now, I understand you teach, um, many classes out in Brasstown, a favorite place of mine, the John C. Campbell Folk School.

Do you-- how do people come up with these weird faces and head tilts, and do you inspire them for that?

I encourage them all to draw their own patterns and to just play and just be loose and free with a lot of help to go from two dimensions to three dimensions.

And we usually-- we have a reputation for being a little raucous there, because you can't do this and not have fun.

Well, do you name them as you're making them?

Well, sometimes I call 'em "Turkey" because they aren't working right, but for instance, this one was done for a show at a gallery called "On the Wings of the Wind," and normal people did windsocks an d wind spinners, and I thought ab out dandelions and how they travel on the wind.

So that one is called "O n the Wings of the Wind."

But usually I let the person who purchases the doll see what it says to them.

You were reading me your artist statement, and I was taken with the last sentence-- why don't we close.

Thank you so much for being with us, and we're gonna close with that statement and have a wonderful close-up view of your dolls.

Thank you, Ge orgia.

"I consider it a privilege that my work is dancing wi th cloth and playing wi th rainbows of color."

[gentle guitar playing theme] ♪ ♪ Kristin Steiner is from Columbia, South Carolina, and a true appliqué artist.

Welcome today, Kristin.

Thank you.

I understand your background really comes from some schooling in fiber and art history.

Tell us about it.

I majored in art history in undergraduate school and then went to Old Sturbridge Village, where I fell in love with history and quilts, and that led me to Colorado State University and a graduate degree program in historic textiles and costume.

While I was there, it was the quilt class that I took through continuing education that sent me nuts over quilts.

Were you newly married, or was that before marriage?

Right--newly married and a wonderful adventure with textiles and the way to preserve them and their history, which leads you to such respect for the women who created them.

That might be wh y your quilts have kind of th at old-- kind of ol d look to them and a genuine, pretty pa tina to all of them.

Well, I understand th e quilt in front of us was kind of a beginning an d a stepping stone for you-- ex plain that.

This quilt was the first quilt that I ever did that I felt was truly from my heart.

I had an injury to my thimble finger and was not sure I was ever gonna be able to stitch again, and the silver lining of that was to say, "I will no longer be afraid of trying designs on my own, things that are really important to me."

So with inspiration from things I had seen, this was a quilt that's called "Through My Mother's Garden, I Discovered My Own," and it has a story behind every block.

Uh, growing up in Colorado, following your passion through your work, life with teenagers.

Describe this quilt an d its name.

This is "Unfolding."

It's based on an old quilt block where it's a tight spiral, but I think of it as life and the wisdom we learn in life unfolding around a lesson.

Um, the block that's pieced is called, ah, "Points of Life."

It's just a name I gave to that block, and the garden unfolding of our blooming is the idea of the quilt.

Well, you could study ea ch one of them, they are so pretty-- th ey really are now.

I notice that you have a marvelous quilting in the background-- do you do your quilting?

I wish I did, but I have a wonderful quilter, Beth Calloway, who is just marvelous, and we work together to pick out the patterns, and she implements it gorgeously.

But you do ha nd quilting?

I love hand quilting-- I just can't do it all.

Kristin, I'm a real fan of samplers.

I'm always intrigued about the way th e setting comes out, and you've put these on point.

Tell me about this quilt, an d then we'll follow that with your self-published bo ok that goes with it.

This is a great teaching tool.

It is a sampler-- the student progresses in difficulty as she does it, but mostly it's a Southern album.

It's an exploration in what it means in living in the South, and it's historical, but it's also modern day, as we put friendship berries and a friendship star, and I've loved finding traditional blocks, like "Turkey Tracks" right here, and then embellishing it with a little bit of my own drawing to, uh, more specifically represent what living in the South is-- turkey tracks in a rice field.

And that's what we do with each block-- add a little bit of appliqué to bring it more personally to what your story is, what you would like to remember, what you would like to express about living in the South.

And, of course, I love the scallops you've put in those appliqué blocks.

That adds a lot of character to it-- and you get rid of all that extra whiteness and, um, seems to balance it.

I had to find a way to separate those whole-cloth blocks from the pieced ones, and that scalloped frame was wonderful.

Kristin, thumb through yo ur book so we can see the wonderful color in there.

It is such-- has so much character to it, an d you've got so many little home tips an d everything.

This book is an album in and of itself.

It has folk, uh-- folk reminiscence and wonderful patterns and projects, but also lovely illustrations by Diane Wilson and a place for the quilter to make notes about her own story.

Kristin, is this yo ur most recent work?

It is--this is life at my house.

This is called "Empty Nest."

My daughter Megan is off at college, and my son is graduating from high school very soon, and so our nest will be empty.

To deal with that newness, I decided to do this block with each of the little birds representing one of us.

I love the quilt because also it tells about how I feel right now with all that growth.

It feels like I've finally hit my stride, and there's a place for me to fly as well.

Good-- well, you're not crying, so you must be dealing with this very well.

Well, we have so enjoyed looking at this beautiful work, and now we get an opportunity to see you actually appliqué.

We've had some inventive camera work here.

We've got a cameraman on chairs, and now I think we 're gonna turn around so we can be ov er your shoulder an d actually see you work.

A piece block-- and you're adding so me leaves-- te ll me about it.

That's right, this is "Broken Star," and I'm adding some willow leaves.

I'll use the placement guide of this little overlay and a wonderful label-paper template to stick down and give me my turning guide.

And I think the secret for appliqué is to use a fine needle and go slow.

In other words, we try to rush through it.

I think so--if it's-- if it's beautiful, just right there for your thumb, beautiful in a thumb's width for you, that is beautiful to stitch.

Don't worry about all that's coming ahead, just be very happy with right now and look at how beautifully that's turning under-- just going slow.

I think people jump ahead too much and try to turn too much in.

I'll keep my needle point away from the edge and stay right close to that little fold and swoop it under so it's smooth, and that's all I'll worry about stitching, just that little bit.

And the fact that th at's sticky paper-- it won't release an d it's right there.

It's a nice guide.

It stays fairly rigid and crisp, so that I know exactly where my needle is coming up.

And the back stroking, or the swooping, gentles out all those bumps and lumps, and you have a lovely, nice, smooth fold to stitch out of.

Kristin, this has been a great opportunity to see you actually stitch, and we wish you many more beautiful stitches-- thank you so much.

Thank you.

[gentle guitar strumming theme] ♪ Gerald Roy from Warner, New Hampshire, formerly Oakland, California, is here with us today and has a long list of credentials.

We want to talk about your varied life in the quilt world, and uh, I guess we should start with an artist.

Well, as an artist, I began to look at quilts primarily as works of art, uh, originally as pieces of American decoration, but then eventually as works of art, so that pretty much led me not only to the collecting but eventually the making of quilts, and then, because of my art background, uh, the teaching.

And I don't teach process-- I don't teach people how to sew, because I have a limited ability of sewing, myself, but what I do teach is basic design theory, and uh, color-theory classes.

You're al so associated with the quilt ap praisal field in-- in our um...

Yes, the quilt appraisal program for the American Quilter's Society came about because there was a need for a board specifically to address the values of, uh-- for contemporary quilt makers, especially when quilt makers are sending their quilts so far and wide today that, uh, someone needed to address, uh, specifically, the values of these things, because quilt makers were valuing, themselves, and, of course, the United States government wouldn't look at that very kindly in terms of the, uh, appraisal laws, so there had to be a board established so that we could look into the possibilities of having quilts specifically appraised and-- so it eventually led to the certification program.

Too bad it wasn't done ye ars ago.

It's too bad it wasn't done years ago, but because it has been done, the insurance industry now looks at quilts a great deal differently than they used to.

I read somewhere th at at one time in our history, the only way you co uld really know a woman lived is if she ha d signed a quilt-- that, often, to mbstones didn't have a woman's name on it.

That's right-- "Anonymous" was a woman.

Yes, let's talk a little about the tops.

I don't know which one you're more comfortable in starting with, so...

The top on my left is a very scrappy top.

And it's from about the 1875 / 1880s era.

It is a variation on an ocean wave.

And, um, it has a great deal of what I look for in quilt tops today, and that is it has a great deal of spontaneity-- it has a great deal of what I call "the sign" or "the mark of the maker."

It's unique, it's interesting, has a great deal of visual, um, appeal, and perhaps it was put away because it is so scrappy and that it doesn't follow the normal, traditional way of using that pattern.

But she probably fe lt very good that she used up ev erything she had.

Exactly, exactly.

And this top, the stars-- This is interesting because this is the only known example that I've ever been able to secure, and this was designed with the discovery of Halley's Comet in, uh, England in 1910.

So it is called "Halley's Comet," and except for pattern books, I've never really seen either a quilt or a top except this one that exists.

And it was probably put away because it was unique and interesting at the time, and uh, tops were put away so that they wouldn't necessarily be put into current use, so to speak, because once they got into current use, they were used up.

And then ap pliqué-- you mentioned that yo u don't find as many-- You don't find as many appliqué tops as, uh, piece tops, and this is a wonderful example of a Lancaster County, uh, appliqué top from about 1850, and this has the stamp of the maker in the center block, and then because it was never finished, we have an opportunity to get information from the back of each of the blocks, and in this particular case, the blocks have labels in pencil as to who did them.

Tell us about th e signature quilt.

Signature quilts are usually not anything that are visually exciting.

The interest in them is primarily from their historic because of the signatures that are on them, but every once in a while, one comes along-- whether it's a top or quilt-- that really fills the bill as far as I'm concerned.

I look at things, primarily, as strong examples of graphics, and in this particular case, even though this is a signature block which normally is not terribly interesting, it is extremely interesting, and it has to do with not only the block itself-- the variety of fabrics that was used in it-- but it was how it was set.

You very rarely see a signature block set in a sashing of that type-- the sashing with the red and the small orange stars in between them, and what makes this top also uniquely interesting is, rather than ink signatures, each of the signatures is cross-stitched.

Now, yo u also make quilts, but you're kind of secretive about it, and we're so excited to see one of yours.

Tell us-- yes, tell us about that.

I make quilts but I don't necessarily-- in my teaching, I don't teach people how to make quilts, 'cause most people know much more about sewing than I do.

The skills that I've developed in sewing are primarily only those skills I find necessary in order to put the things together in my own work.

So I don't necessarily show my work a lot either, because I feel, as a teacher of theories-- I teach color theory, I teach interaction of color, and I teach, uh, beginning design classes, advanced design classes.

So the classes that I teach are more conceptual and more to help people learn how to design and how to use color.

And I feel that showing people my work, uh-- there is perhaps a danger in them wanting to know what I do, and I'm more interested in teaching people how to do what they want to do and not necessarily how to do what I do.

Well, tell us ab out "Reflections One."

"Reflections One" is a quilt that I did in order to show people what to do with two of the fabric lines that I had designed for P&B Textiles in California.

"Reflections One" has a solid line of fabrics.

When I started teaching "Interaction of Color," I couldn't find the materials that I needed from one manufacturer, so what I did was, uh, talk P&B into, uh, producing a solid line that would be, uh, similar to or equal to what artists had available in paint, and that was a very controlled series of colors that represented the pure colors of the spectrum.

(Georgia) We ll, the colors ar e wonderful, and also the inside of each of those blocks are so individual.

When you study it, yo u realize they're al l different, and it's that touch of appliqué-- it's very unique.

That's right-- I developed a way of working so that I could work in my lap.

And as a result, I, um-- I just randomly cut, pin in that appliqué, and design as I go, so each of the interior blocks is completely different, one from the other.

They happen to be the same size.

Then what I do is create the sashing, or whatever has to be done in order to present the blocks, and then once the block's completed, I have nothing in mind as far as the end product.

I design it as I go.

So first of all, the blocks are created, the presentation is created, and then the blocks are assembled, uh, as-- as a quilt, but primarily, uh, out of-- out of just individual, small, little design elements.

You're a natural lap quilter-- this is wonderful.

And I don't quilt my own things.

Well, that's acceptable in today's quilt world also.

I have a very good hand quilter who does my work.

She allows me to design the-- the quilt patterns as well.

This has been a wonderful interview, an d we-- we are proud that yo u're in the quilt world and collect these tops.

I understand you will let me be a picker here in North Carolina, which means I'll help you find these wonderful quilt tops.

I depend on people like you to let me know what's going on in other parts, because I can't be everywhere.

Thank you.

Thank you for having me.

(Georgia) It has been my goal no t only to finish quilting the Freedom Escapee wa ll hanging, but to see it on our bright red walls.

Now, while I was quilting, it did occur to me to clean the wheels on my sewing machine chair, so if nothing else, you did learn that on this show.

Gen, come on in.

Do you know, everyone needs a quilting sidekick, and my sidekick is Gen Grundy.

She has not only been with me at Freedom Escape for...how many years?

Nine to ten.

Many years.

She's in the control room, and she keeps me from saying-- is it "dog ears"?

"Dog ears," on every show.

Yes, so we didn't-- we did pretty well this show.

We make a good team.

We do-- I can't thank her enough.

We look forward to seeing you on the next show.

Thanks for coming in, Gen. Home again to our mountains of Flat Rock, North Carolina, and the geese in my front yard.

It has been my pleasure to welcome you here for 13 shows.

Now it's time for my "thank you's" to a hardworking taping crew.

I think we may have a few quilting converts.

"Thank you" to our many guests and quilt makers who have shared their quilts and all their creativity, and especially, the viewing audience.

We need you out there.

We leave you with a pan of the many bibs that I made to represent each one of our shows--all 13.

I hope to see some of you-- all of you-- in Marion, Indiana, July 2003, when I get to receive the Quilter's Hall of Fame Award.

It's really the longevity award.

I've been here a long time, and we've been glad to have you with us.

Goodbye for now.

(announcer) Cl osed captioning made possible by Omnigrid, now offering a complete cutting system of rulers, mats, and cutting tools, and Collins, well known for notions and tools for quilt makers.

[gentle guitar strums] ♪ ♪ ♪ www.CaptionPerfect.com ♪ Caption Editors Chad Propst, Mandi King, and Kathy Heiser ♪ For more information on quilts and patterns seen on this series, visit Georgia at... ♪ (announcer) "Lap Quilting with Georgia Bonesteel" is made possible in part by grants from...

Printed Treasures by Milliken, creator of premium Pima cotton fabric sheets, with Printed Treasures you can print directly on fabric from your computer and then sew the picture onto your quilt, pillow, or whatever you dream up.

Memories become heirlooms with Printed Treasures.

Gammill Quilting Machine Company, offering four sizes of long-arm, hand-guided machines to quilters worldwide-- By Coats & Clark, America's number-one name in sewing, hand-knitting, and craft products-- And by... Bernina... ♪ open to a world of imagination.