The Roanoke FiberArts Alliance likes to play fast and loose, shirking rules its members say they would only ignore.
When the group decided in 2024 to organize its first pop-up quilt show, they did so in their own free-spirited way: a free event that piggybacked on a community yard sale. Their members’ quilts hung from chain link fencing that surrounds tennis courts at Roanoke’s Shrine Hill Park in the Grandin Village neighborhood.
It was a blisteringly hot day in August that ended like many summer days in Virginia do: with a thunderstorm that had members packing their quilts up with minutes to spare. It was also a huge success for the Alliance. About 200 people turned out to view the group’s art quilts, many of which incorporate raw-edge appliqué and mixed media—and draw on folk art and abstract styles.
“I heard people walking around, ‘Did you do this? And you did this, and somebody made that?’” Bonnie Scott, an Alliance member, recalled.
That’s exactly the sort of response the Alliance was thrilled to hear. Founded in 2014 as a small group within Roanoke’s Star Quilt Guild—called “Starry Eyed” by Susan Kraterfield—the Alliance struck out on their own around 2023 to form a small community of quilters who learn and build on their experiences and shared knowledge in a variety of fiber arts.
“I started the Alliance because I just wanted to get more inspiration from people and learn about other techniques,” Susan said.
The Alliance’s members bring experiences in a laundry list of arts, crafts, and hobbies that influence their creativity. That list ranges from heirloom sewing, upholstering, fabric dyeing, glass making, knitting, crocheting, painting, organic gardening, and beyond. Each member complements the Alliance in their own way, and with the independent streak that runs through the group, everyone is free to explore.
“It has changed the way I look at the world because you see something strange-looking—a leaf—and you go, ‘I wonder what happens if you take that shape, and then, you make five of them,’” Alliance member Judy Coffman said. And she continued, “Architecture has all of a sudden been really forefront in my mind, all the angles and the shapes. How would you make that angle if you were making a quilt?”
The group charges no dues, has no officers or budget, and meets four times annually, with gatherings sprinkled throughout for events like fabric dyeing. Membership hovers around 12 people, with some more active than others, and is welcoming to all skill levels.
“We are such a harmonious group,” said member Arlene Blackburn, an art quilter, educator, and hand-dyed fabric maker whose works have been displayed across the globe. “We work well together. Everyone kind of plays off of each other.”
Deborah Shealy, a relatively new quilter (she has been an heirloom sewist and has made memory quilts for friends and family), joined the group after moving to Roanoke from Georgia in 2016. She appreciates the encouragement she’s found and has begun to dabble beyond patterns.
“The women in the group are so creative and so willing to share what they know and their ideas and their work and teach,” she said.
That’s a sentiment member Kyoko Yamamura shares. After about two years away from the group focusing on charity quilts, she was lured back by members who let her know how much she was missed. “I’m going to stick with this group forever,” she said.
Last year’s pop-up featured dozens of quilts, showing off members’ range of styles, interests, and quilting personalities.
A garlic bulb quilted by Kyoko was influenced by her huge backyard organic garden, her inspiration for “everything,” she said. Turquoise Mason and Ball jars quilted over a background of hundreds of tiny squares made by Bonnie were inspired by her background making flamework jewelry out of the glass. Donna Campbell displayed her favorite quilt, which was inspired by a photo of her father, Spencer Smith, cradling her baby granddaughter, Alice Leftwich, and reading from a book of first words. “It was just this compelling photograph of Dad. Old, wise, all that, and she’s just entranced by the end of the book,” Donna said.
The Alliance is building on the success of last year’s show with another planned for October 4, 2025, again at Roanoke’s Shrine Hill Park. The group received $500 from the Roanoke Arts Commission to help with promotion.
Leaning into this year’s show, members planned a new challenge called Destination Virginia. It turns members’ unique interpretations of the region, known for its mountains and outdoor recreation, into art quilts connected by a winding road that runs through and connects each. They will be displayed in October.
Locations in the quilts, some of which hold special meaning for the maker, include Roanoke’s Taubman Museum of Art, Black Dog Salvage (an antiques and architectural salvage shop), and Lake Spring Park, better known as the Salem Duck Pond.
Susan quilted a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway, incorporating twine, paint, and other appliqué elements to make trees, a well-known mill, and other landmarks. As a student studying at the College of William and Mary—more than 200 miles away in Williamsburg—she visited the mountains, and her family vacationed at Shenandoah National Park, where the quilt series will end. “The Blue Ridge Parkway has always been sort of a symbol to me of Virginia,” she said.
Judy immediately gravitated to the neon Roanoke Star, a 75-year-old landmark that sits atop Mill Mountain—more than 1,000 feet above the city—and has become an icon for the region. She remembered her visits to the park as a little girl as “magical” and has taken her grandchildren there. Judy’s quilt, which includes animated appliqué animals, flowers, and a serpentine road all the way to the star, telegraphs its childhood wonder. “It’s just had so many memories to me,” she said.
Douglas Jackson, arts and culture coordinator for the city of Roanoke, attended the Alliance’s pop-up last summer. He said he hopes this year’s event inspires new and old quilters alike. “We see the work they’re doing collectively as a great way, at a really accessible scale, to engage more people in quilting,” he said.
Alliance members said they want to expose the public to the idea that quilting doesn’t have to mean perfect seams, while showing off what can be done with fabric and imagination.
Courtney Mabeus-Brown has been a journalist for more than two decades and a quilter for about two years. She bought her first sewing machine during the COVID-19 pandemic, making bags and small home accessories before a friend got her hooked on quilting; she’s now made three quilts, and there is no end in sight. Courtney lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and cat in an old 1880s home. Her award-winning journalism has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Virginian-Pilot, and many others, and her sewing work can be found on Instagram at @SundrySouthKing.
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