By David Lyne
FauquierNow.com Contributor

Growing up in Shingle Hollow, among the mountains of western North Carolina, she latched onto traditions passed down from her grandmothers: sewing, knitting, crocheting, needlepoint and quilting.

The latter has become her lifelong passion.

“The opportunity to be creative is so extensive,” says Rosanne Williamson, director of the Mountain Vista Governor’s School and former principal of Brumfield Elementary. “The wide variety of ideas that can be portrayed, the techniques to explore and the fabrics” are part of the attraction.

About the time Mrs. Williamson and husband Duane moved to Fauquier County 20 years ago, she “started getting serious” about quilting.

“I worked with more traditional quilts, then starting branching out, creating modifications of things I’d seen.”

Quilters like company, so Mrs. Williamson reached out to other educators interested in the craft. Maggie Ward, an elementary school counselor in Fauquier, became one of her first recruits. Ms. Ward, who had never quilted before, soon got hooked.

In 2005, Mrs. Williamson invited members of her staff to form a quilting group, first known as The Brumfield Quilters and now The Twisted Stitchers. The 11 educators, ranging in age from 35 to 70-plus, get together about twice a month and have two or three weekend retreats each year to focus on quilting techniques, patterns and projects.

“There is so much creative energy; we feed off each other,” says Ms. Ward, who retired from the county school system.

"Star Spin" by Marcia Salansky.

The group has 42 quilts on display along the “art wall” near the Sycamore Room on the main floor at Fauquier Hospital.

“The exhibit has been so well received. It’s so warm and colorful,” says Barbara Crierie, the hospital’s community outreach coordinator, who worked with The Twisted Stitchers to organize the show.

While the stitchers do make practical quilts following traditional patterns, they also raise the craft to a higher level with original artistry, sometimes abstract, seasonal, scenic or whimsical. Appliqué frequently adorns the quilts. Many of their creations are designed as wall hangings, not bed coverings.

The decorative quilts bear names such Star Spin, Illusions of Jinny homage to Jinny Beyer (the high priestess of quilting in America), Nine Patch Pizzazz, Bargello Fall Splendor, Prisms (a pattern created by Beyer) and Dresden Spring.

On some quilts, elaborate stitches become part of the art. On others, the goal is “invisible stitching,” says Mrs. Williamson.

The quilts become labors of love, taking countless hours of stitching to complete. (One group member uses a sewing machine; all others stitch by hand.)

Maggie Ward with "Whit's Dragon."

Ms. Ward spent “probably six months” over two years to create Eric’s Dragon, a gift for a Warrenton friend. The stitchers gladly spend months creating a quilt for personal use, as a gift for a loved one, or for a local charity. Just don’t expect to buy one.

“We tell people they’re not for sale. We just become too attached to the quilts,” says Ms. Ward, admitting that the value stitchers would put on their works probably is much higher than a potential buyer would pay.

The first charity project the stitchers embraced was donating a quilt for Hospice of Fauquier County to raffle as a fund-raiser. The next was for the Brumfield Elementary team in Relay for Life, a project that ended with a twist: Ms. Ward won the raffle.

“My conscience was telling me I should donate the quilt to another charity,” she laughingly recalls. “But I loved the quilt so much, I couldn’t let it go.”

Her mindset changed last March, when an earthquake touched off a devastating tsunami in northern Japan.

“I learned of a group that was collecting blankets for the tsunami victims, so I donated (the quilt),” she says. “Somewhere in Japan, a Twisted Sister quilt is helping someone.”

Quilting is a family affair in the Williamson household. Mr. Williamson is a graphic artist who lends expertise in color and perspective to his wife’s quilt designs.

"Nine Patch Pizazz" by Gayle Ferrell.

“After my mother retired, she started getting involved, too. She will work on a quilt during the day while I’m at work,” says Mrs. Williamson. “I really enjoy working with her. It means a lot.”

Mrs. Williamson, who estimates she has made 100 quilts, hopes the tradition will continue in her family. Her 12-year-old daughter, Emily, shows interest.

“She and the daughter of another (Twisted Stitchers) member like to come on our weekend retreats.”

She likes to tell the story of her son, Army Lt. Greg Williamson, and his wife Anna. Mrs. Williamson’s gift of a queen-sized quilt with a traditional double-wedding-ring pattern has inspired the bride to learn the craft.

“Greg is helping her a lot, teaching her what she needs to get started, showing her how to thread a bobbin (on a sewing machine)“ Mrs. Williamson says proudly. “He seems to have absorbed a lot as a child.”

“We confer a lot by telephone,” she says, noting that the newlyweds live on the West Coast. “Whenever they visit, I show Anna a new stitch or technique.”

The Twisted Stitchers, notes Ms. Ward, intentionally remains a small, informal group.

“We’re not a guild,” she says. “We’re just a group of friends who stick together.”

Quilt shows
• Fauquier Hospital: Through February 24. The Twisted Stitchers have 42 of their quilts on display along a hall leading to the Sycamore Room on the main floor.

• Lord Fairfax Community College, Middletown: February 24 until March 16. “We’ll have some larger quilts and more will have a spring theme,” says Mrs. Williamson.

• Lord Fairfax Community College, Warrenton: March 16 through April 20.

Quilting classes
• Kelly Ann’s Quilting, 9 S. Fifth St., Warrenton. For more information, go to kellyannsquilting.com or call 341-8890 to speak with Jackie McEwen.

• Tagaloo, at 31 S. Fourth St., Warrenton, offers a “quilting for beginners” class taught by Maggie Ward, 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays. For information, go to tagaloo.com or call 229-1656.