Autumn approaches with a familiar chill as leaves depart canopies and settle onto the tranquil footpaths at the John C. Campbell Folk School. Soon, families of scarecrows will move in alongside hay bales and the vibrant pumpkins decorating campus. On Oct. 3 and 4, Fall Festival will return with the revelry of music, dance, and craft as family and friends gather to celebrate the season.  

Every year, a one-of-a-kind quilt is crafted by a community member to commemorate the Fall Festival. This year, Folk School Instructor and intergenerational quilter Lee Chappell Monroe put her all into creatively cultivating the perfect quilt for the festival’s 50th anniversary.  

“I’ve sewn my whole life. I’m from a family of sewers and makers. I was sort of just like a sewer when I wanted something, like, I knew how to make a dress if I needed a dress,” Monroe said. “I worked as a graphic designer for many years, but I always sewed and made things.” 

Monroe is a quilt designer, teacher, author, and intergenerational artist. After beginning to teach sewing and quilting, she discovered a passion for designing patterns and helping others find joy in the craft, just as her grandmother did for her. Today, she travels, teaching and designing quilt patterns in a style she calls “modernitional,” combining traditional techniques with a fresh, contemporary sensibility. 

“When I started designing the quilt, I wanted to be sure it was not only representative of the full festival and all that it entails, but also of the spirit of the Folk School,” Monroe said. 

To encapsulate the festival experience and find some inspiration, Monroe ventured to the archives to learn more about past festivals. Collections and Archives Manager Susanna Pyatt provided some of the historical media and information for the project.  

“I listened to the audio recordings, and I went through the pictures, noting anything I felt I could represent visually in a quilt,” Monroe said. “I wanted the words joy, kindness, stewardship, and non-competitiveness, because, to me, that’s what makes the Folk School, Folk School.” 

Sewn together with love and dedication, 50 fabric leaves lay at the bottom of the applique quilt, labeled with the years of past festivals. Two acorns mark the years the festivals paused during COVID-19, symbolizing patience and anticipation of its return. This year’s festival, 2026, is highlighted with a bright pumpkin.  

“I think my favorite thing about the quilt is that anyone who knows the Folk School and loves the Folk School will see something new every time they look at it. There are all these little hidden treasures, there’s a mouse playing a fiddle, and fun things you would find and say, ‘oh, that’s so Folk School,’” Monroe said. 

A warm, colorful three-dimensional pennant-style banner stretches across the top of the quilt, nestled above a collection of beautifully crafted appliqué Polaroids inspired by Monroe’s archival findings and her own experiences attending Fall Festivals in the past.  

“I love the Folk School, how you’ll be walking along a path, and suddenly, there are four musicians jamming together,” Monroe said. “So, I really wanted that to be in the quilt. It was very difficult to make shapes basic enough that I could cut them out of fabric, but also still make it recognizable as a couple of people playing music.” 

Monroe’s quilt, like the Folk School itself, invites everyone to find a place in the tradition of making, learning, and creating together.  

“I always tell people when I’m talking about folk school that I will never take another trip around the sun and not go to folk school that year. That’s how much a part of me it is now,” Monroe said.