As autumn readies its needle to stitch the trees into crimson and gold, September ushers in a familiar chill. The season of sweaters, gourds, and candy is already unfolding from the warm grasp of summer. This Oct. 4-5, the John C. Campbell Folk School will host the 49th Annual Fall Festival, celebrating Appalachian craft and culture.  

Amid the patchwork of seasonal merriment, between the rhythmic hammering of blacksmiths and the lifting notes of fiddle tunes, is the unbreaking thread of community. As the Fall Festival draws near, the Folk School’s Textiles and Natural Fibers Coordinator, Allie Dudley, is placing the final stitch on this year’s 2025 Fall Festival quilt banner.  

“I manage and do the scheduling for the Weaving, Quilting, and Rock Room studios. So, I am hanging out mostly and weaving because that’s where my office is, but I’m running around campus a lot, making sure people have what they need for class and all that good stuff,” Dudley said.  

Each year, a staff member or friend of the Folk School undertakes the honor of creating a quilt banner to be displayed in the Festival Barn during the event. This year’s commemorative quilt, however, has been pieced together by more than 75 community members, each block a vignette of color, texture, and personal expression. 

“We thought the 100th Anniversary is a big deal, and the Folk School is a place that’s really made by the community. To honor that, instead of just having one person highlighted or to be the quilter, for this special celebration, we wanted to make it about the community,” Dudley said. 

With every fabric square submitted, contributors stitched a part of themselves into a whole, entrusting Dudley with the delicate task of binding them together in a harmonious tapestry. From marbling and embroidery to hand-dyed embellishments, each element hums with a story woven from creativity and care.  

“It was important to me to open it up to people who are not professional-level quilters. A lot of the contributors are quilting instructors who teach here, but I also had a lot of students and people who had never quilted anything at all before. You can really just feel all the good energy in there,” Dudley said. “This is about showing all the different kinds of people and stuff we have in the community.” 

As the squares arrived, a patchwork of shared purpose began to emerge. This wasn’t just a quilt: but a living ledger of the community’s collective heart, unfurling in thread and fabric.  

“So, once I got the pieces, I went to the quilting studio and used the big design walls to arrange them. I tried a couple different ways. I finally found one that I felt like had a little bit of flow because when you have like, you know, 77 different quilt blocks from different people, sometimes it takes a little bit of coaxing to make it look cohesive,” Dudley said.  

Hours slipped into days in the Quilting Studio as Dudley assembled the mosaic of voices, carefully balancing colors, patterns, and textures. Piece by piece, the quilt came to life under their attentive eyes and steady hands.  

“I could feel it. When I was sitting, stitching them all together, like, ‘oh, my friend made this one,’ so I would try to put it next to their friend and make sure everything is lined up. So, you can really just feel all the good energy in there,” Dudley said.  

Now complete, the 2025 Fall Festival quilt banner is more than just fabric and thread. It is a stitched testament to the spirit of the Folk School, where creativity, connection, and craft are lovingly sewn into the very seams of tradition.