Colorful quilts featuring intricate patterns and unique designs filled the courtyard of the United Church of Gainesville Saturday. Beyond the colors and composition were local quilters whose creations represented family memories, personal experiences and community connections.
The third annual Airing of the Quilts event took place on Saturday, transforming the courtyard of the United Church of Gainesville into a display of textile art. Members of Gainesville Modern Quilters showcased their quilts, offering a peaceful setting for people to appreciate the work of local quilters.
For Vanessa Crook, attending the Airing of the Quilts two years ago inspired her to create her own quilt. After seeing the work of guild members, Crook returned this year to display her first creations.
“When I saw the Airing of the Quilts, I was blown away by the variety of quilts that this guild puts out and just the types of things that people were engaged in,” Crook said. “It really made me want to complete a quilt, so that was my goal for this year.”
As a child, Crook learned how to sew alongside her grandmother and now has a sewing business. Her grandmother and great-grandmother were both quilters, but she didn’t get into quilting at a young age.
“It was really something that I wanted to do to feel closer to my grandmother, who has passed away,” she said.
The quilts Crook made are for her pregnant cousin, allowing her to carry on a family tradition.
Another quilt on display was a colorful topographical map of Gainesville, created by architect and local quilter Bryana Evert. Using layers of fabric and contour lines, the quilt depicts changing elevations and specific Gainesville locations, including Paynes Prairie and Interstate 75.
Evert's architectural background influenced her interest in creating a topographical quilt. While preparing for a collaboration with Swamp Head Brewery, the wavy lines on one of its beer labels inspired her to recreate Gainesville's landscape through textile art.
Evert said she completed the quilt one layer at a time, selecting fabric colors as she went rather than planning a design from the start.
“I printed out a digital file of the topography, cut it out in paper, traced it on fabric, cut it out of fabric and then sewed it one layer at a time,” Evert said. “I didn’t really know what it was going to look like when it was done, which is kind of fun.”
Evert began quilting when she was in high school, learning from her grandmother and four aunts. During a vacation to visit her grandmother, she chose one of the hardest patterns from a quilting book. With help from her aunt, she was able to complete her first quilt.
“It’s in my DNA,” she said.
Quilters often create these designs for others rather than themselves. Evert said that many quilts are made as gifts or donated to charity. The Airing of the Quilts provides an opportunity for people to appreciate the quilters’ hard work while bringing together members of the quilting community.
Taylor Spangler, the president of Gainesville Modern Quilters, said the guild provides a space for quilters to socialize and collaborate on projects.
The guild meets on the second Wednesday of every month, giving members the opportunity to share completed projects and receive advice on quilts they may be struggling to finish.
“Everyone brings their own kind of perspective,” Spangler said.
One example of the guild’s collaborative projects involved African-print fabrics donated by retired professor Bill Snyder, who collected them for decades. Members worked in groups of two to four, combining fabrics, selecting patterns and contributing ideas to design quilts together.
“We’ll have all of these quilts up for raffle or auction, and then we’ll take the proceeds and donate them,” Spangler said. “We’ll decide as a guild what charities we’re going to donate the money to.”
Along with its monthly meetings and collaborative projects, Gainesville Modern Quilters showcases its work throughout the community. Spangler described a recent event at a local brewery where visitors were surprised to see quilts displayed on the wall.
“There were people that thought they were just going to get a pint of beer,” Spangler said.
The Airing of the Quilts gave visitors the chance to learn about the stories behind the artwork. Jordan Tabakin, a University of Florida student who attended the event, said the experience gave him a new appreciation for the personal meaning behind the designs.
“It’s amazing to see how passionate quilters are about their work, the stories behind their creations and how this form of art can bring different groups of people together,” Tabakin said.
Like Tabakin, Crook previously attended the Airing of the Quilts as a visitor, where she was blown away by the artwork and inspired to create a quilt of her own. Now, she is creating quilts that reflect her family's traditions while sharing her work with the same community that first inspired her.