Photography by Bert Vanderveen

There is no denying that quilting is an art. You only have to browse through the countless books that examine beautifully crafted quilts created by gifted hands over the centuries to see what miracles can come from fabric, a needle and thread, and a vivid creativity.

Yet this art has another side to it. There’s something intrinsically generous in the production of a quilt — especially if it’s a product of the Piedmont Quilters’ Guild. The guild was established in Greensboro in 1980 for the purpose of “preserving, continuing, and advancing this art.” Although it holds a quilt fair every other year, incoming president Michelle Owens says she often doesn’t enter because she gives away most of what she makes. “A quilt is always appreciated, and it fits everybody,” she notes.

“It’s unusual to keep what we make,” adds Libby Bowles, former director of outreach for the group. “You’ll sometimes say you’re going to keep something for yourself and people look at you like you’re crazy.”

Owens and Bowles represent the diversity of the organization’s membership — and the reason that it has such a powerful reach across the community. The members of the guild come from all seasons of life and, although they run the gamut in experience and training, each brings talent and a deep generosity to the table.

Owens is a vivacious young woman who grew up sewing and embroidering. “My grandmother taught me how to do embroidery, but I think that was mainly to keep me quiet,” she jokes.

Recalling the first guild meeting she attended in 2000, Owens tells how inspired she was to work on her own projects: “I came home after the meeting and stayed up until one o’clock in the morning!” She says she sees the guild as a perfect place to get ideas and encouragement for trying new things or simply finishing projects.

“The show-and-tell alone was enough to get me excited,” remembers Bowles, who upon retirement decided to expand her horizons by taking courses at Guilford Technical Community College. “A friend and I were just looking for classes. We had taken a tai chi class, and so we decided we’d try quilting next,” she explains. “Both of us are still quilting after 18 years.”

Bowles says she enjoys the camaraderie of workshops offered by the guild, but she also relishes the chance to try new things. “You can be as creative as you want to be,” she says, “it gets your creative juices going, because nothing is wrong. As long as you like it, that’s all that’s important. And you put part of yourself in it.”

Although quilting may seem to be a part of a bygone era, Owens says she thinks that the draw to activities such as quilting is cyclical.

“I think it goes and comes back,” she says. “After September 11, people started focusing more on the home, and now with recycling, you just don’t want to throw things away.”

Quilting offers a creative way to reuse fabrics and give them new life.

In addition to workshops, monthly meetings, quilting demonstrations, and the biennial quilt fair, the guild participates in a number of community outreach programs, including Project Linus, which provides blankets, quilts, and afghans to children who are seriously ill or traumatized, and Home of the Brave Quilts, which are given to families of soldiers who have lost their lives in military service.

Each year, the guild produces between 50 and 100 products for donation. Each item is handcrafted, unique, and given with pride and love, fulfilling the desire of all artists to make the world a more beautiful — and warm — place through their talents.

For more information about the Piedmont Quilters’ Guild, go to http://www.piedmontquilts.org.