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Generational threads B. J. AND ANSLEY FANCHER & THE HEART OF GEORGIA QUILT GUILD "Quilts are amazing," said B.J. Fancher, a member of the Heart of Georgia Quilt Guild. "The creativity and how you learn from each other is phenomenal." Like many quilters, B.J. learned the craft from her grandmother. "In the winter the ladies would come to my grandmother's farm and set up in the living room with their quilting. I actually have my original little four- patch quilt I did by hand when I was probably four or five years old. When I was 30, my husband got me a sewing machine, and I've been quilting ever since ." Seventy-five quilts later, B.J. still finds joy in the craft that sparked her interest as a child. And now, those threads connect her and her daughter, Ansley Fancher. At 24, Ansley is the youngest member of the Heart of Georgia Quilt Guild and a quilting advocate for her generation. Quilting is special," Ansley said, "not only because you get a beautiful product out of it, but it's also the community you gain out of it. I am spending time with other people that I may not normally ever spend time with. Especially as someone that's Gen Z, there's aren't many spaces to spend this time with people that are in a generation older than me or two generations older than me and I can learn from them." Ansley gladly receives the wisdom of a guild that is happy to share their skills with her. And as B.J. observed, "People are like libraries of information and stories." Many quilters bring generations' worth of skills and stories into the quilting circle. For many, quilts carry the tradition of their matriarchs. But for some, the heritage of the quilt transcends the home and hearth to encompass something much greater. B y nature, quilts are a lesson in perspective. Scraps of fabric — some bright and others muted, some patterned and others plain — are stitched together to tell a story. Pieces that were once rejects become the main event; they are incorporated into a star or perhaps a flower in a quilt designed to bring warmth and artisanry. Little squares and triangles that seemed purposeless connect and contextualize within something greater, something only an artist could envision. In Central Georgia, quilts adorn many homes but have also made their way into the cultural fabric of our community. From home decor to art galleries to the room of a child in foster care, quilts bring more than scraps together. They bring our community together in a spirit of collaboration, appreciation, and generosity. These patchwork blankets carry the heritage of a family, the legacy of a people, and the love of a community. PAGE LEFT Helen Anderson of the Heart of Georgia Quilt Guild. ABOVE B.J. and Ansley Fancher display a quilt they made together and donated to the Methodist Children's Home. Photo courtesy of the Fancher family. April/May 2024 | maconmagazine.com 97