When my Nanny Blanton passed away in 1962 she had been working on a rather large quilt. It was several years before my mother could look at it long enough to hand it over to an aunt to finish it up – mainly because she missed her mother so, and it held so many memories.
The quilt was
made from scrap pieces of fabric, but each held meaning for our family.
Everyone could look at the quilt and point out fabric that had been used to
make a shirt, a dress, a skirt, a jacket, or even a tablecloth.
The quilt
held all sorts of memories such as memories for the first day of school, a honeymoon outfit, a flannel shirt
that my kept my father warm and even a baby dress for me.
Even though
it was just scraps of fabric the whole quilt is a touchstone that provides the
spark that triggers memories for my family.In 2002, the Douglas County Art Guild did something similar for you, for me and all of the other citizens of Douglas County.
The Douglas County Art Guild was founded in
1973. It is a satellite of the Cultural Arts Council of Douglasville & Douglas County and exists to allow local artists to share common art interests and
goals.
Using money
received from a grant awarded by the Georgia Council for the Arts along with
money raised from local sponsors, members of the Art Guild created a very
unusual quilt fashioned entirely out of paper. The grant money was used to pay
Mona Waterhouse to “facilitate, teach and direct the creation of the quilt. “
The quilt
tells the history of Douglas County one square at a time in a very lovely and
unique way.
The hope was that the quilt would “revive a community spirit in the midst of a county experiencing tremendous growth. Its purpose [would] be to teach people and demonstrate that Douglas County is a great place to live.”
The quilt is on permanent display at the Douglas
County Courthouse on Hospital Drive. You can find it on the second floor. You
will find a book on the table below the quilt that provides more information.
