The Blog

Blount County Welcomes the AQT

Representatives of the AQT were recently invited by Jeannie Hilten of the Townsend Visitor Center to speak at the Blount County Library in Maryville. We were delighted to be greeted by a good turnout of quilters, quilt barn lovers, and folks generally interested in finding out how to get on the trail. Jeannie Hilten presented. Three quilters, Ila Mae Morton, Maetta Conrad, and Dorothy Belcher exhibited their latest quilt creations to the group. Nancy Williams of the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, located in Townsend, talked about their facility and programs. Jane Richardson of Mountain Sage Gallery and Pappy & family of Pappy's Quilting Place shared their positive experiences since they've hosted an AQT Heritage Quilt Square. We learned that Mountain Sage Gallery features art and handcrafts almost entirely by East Tennessee artists with just a few from North Carolina. Pappy's offers quilting lessons and a friendly place to come and quilt. They've just had their floor repainted with their trademark "Log Cabin" AQT Heritage Quilt Pattern!

AQT arrived at Maryville in style, thanks to the assistance of two wonderful Blount Countians. Our beautiful, monogrammed podium and logo quilt was pieced and sewn to perfection by professional quilters, Darlene Bakos of Ginger Snap Quilts in Maryville and Deborah McMurray of Creative Quilts in Alcoa . Both are known for their first class heirloom machine quilting created for a variety of purposes from private collections to corporate showpieces. Darlene and Deborah generously donated some time to consult the quilt trail regarding what we could do to make the new AQT website most useful for quilters. Many thanks Darlene & Deborah for their contribution to the Quilter's Corner project.

AQT leaders met for the first time, Marie Goetz who is a resident of Walland and has been scouting out locations in Blount County for possible inclusion on the trail. Marie approached the Townsend Visitor Center folks with an offer to volunteer her time to the project. We were happy to meet Marie and sincerely appreciate her enthusiasm and hard work.