ASHEVILLE, NC - Jessa Sebastian, the executive secretary and receptionist at the Mast Store Home Office, pieced a quilt entitled “Forgive Her” just as she and the area were piecing lives back together after the wrath of Helene. It is a part of the Asheville Downtown Association’s quilt tour entitled “The Fabric of Downtown.”
The goal of the tour is to activate visitors and residents to walk to different locations in Downtown Asheville and be a part of the active recovery by visiting local businesses, enjoying a cup of coffee, or picking up a gift for a friend.
The quilt motif fits well with the region’s recovery. Just as traditional quilters take worn articles of clothing to salvage a scrap or two that could be fashioned into a beautiful and functional piece of art, so, too, are the businesses and residents of Western North Carolina picking up the pieces of their lives and livelihoods and making them into a more sustainable future.
Sebastian says of her work, “Forgive Her was born from the floodwaters of Hurricane Helene and took a year to create. A way to keep myself busy during weeks without power, it was constructed entirely by hand while waiting in line for showers, in between volunteer shifts, and after long days of repair and survival. There are 3,524 total hexagons, and while the centers are all the same and represent our shared humanity, the 2,412 non-repeating, unique prints each stand for acts of kindness and resilience. When we had no physical light, these stories became our points of light, guiding us through Mother Nature's devastating darkness.”
Forgive Her will be on display at the Mast Store in Downtown Asheville from May 1 through the end of August. In addition to being displayed at the Mast Store, the quilt was among the just under 600 quilts accepted to this year’s QuiltCon, which was held in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Stickers depicting the Forgive Her design are available at the Mast Store in Asheville. A 25% donation from the sale of each sticker will go to the River Arts District Foundation.
Join with friends, family, neighbors, and visitors in Downtown Asheville this summer to celebrate the patchwork of stories that make the region unique and the threads that stitch us together.