Pick a pattern. Choose different fabrics. Cut out pieces to fit the design. Put them together and what have you got? A beautiful quilt that blurs the lines between art and a simple blanket for warmth.

“Quilting is not just for beds anymore. It’s an art form,” said Cookie Noel, a member of the Lake Oconee Quilt Guild.

Noel and several other guild members have their work on display as part of an ongoing Allied Arts exhibit at the Marlor House (201 N. Wayne St.) in downtown Milledgeville. Allied Arts opened the quilting exhibit Jan. 8, and the quilted works will remain in place through Jan. 28. Visitors can see the vibrant colors and intricate patterns Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. A reception to celebrate the exhibit has been slated for Friday, Jan. 17 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Marlor House.

This exhibit partnership between Allied Arts and the Lake Oconee Quilt Guild has been a long time coming. Efforts were first made to do one just before the COVID-19 pandemic, but that got in the way. The organizations have gotten back together, and now the quilters’ pieces hang in the Marlor House like the art that they are.

“I am in awe of the creativity and details that went into each piece,” said Rebekah Tobar, executive director of Allied Arts. “Each piece of artwork gives a glimpse into the mind and heart of the creator. I love seeing their personalities expressed through their work. Having them displayed in the Marlor House makes us very happy.”

The Lake Oconee Quilt Guild got started as a social club in 2003. The members bond over their love of quilting, attend workshops to teach and learn techniques, and hear from speakers who are in the hobby.

Beyond that, members also participate in various themed challenges. Many of the quilted pieces in the Allied Arts exhibit are products of past challenges where the artists choose how best to interpret the theme with their work. For instance, one challenge was, “It’s not easy being green,” so naturally some of those quilts featured frogs. Noel just so happened to already have some quilted frog squares made by a fellow guild member when inspiration struck at the grocery store. A magazine with rock and roll legend Prince on the cover caught her eye, and she had a eureka moment.

“You have to kiss a lot of frogs to get your prince,” she said.

So she set to creating her purple-dominated quilt with frogs and photos of the “Purple Rain” singer transferred onto fabric. It’s one of a few pieces in the exhibit that shows the quilter’s comedic side. Others depict beautiful scenery, colorful surreal patterns, and a children’s nursery rhyme. There are also quilted purses and a shirt you have to see to “bee”-lieve.

The term quilt comes from a Latin word that means a stuffed sack. The quilting style is often characterized as a three-layer cloth sandwich with a decorated top, back, and filler in the middle. The practice dates back to ancient civilizations, having survived from the times of Egyptian pharaohs, European medieval knights, and on past the settling of America.

Today, quilting is a multi-billion-dollar-per-year industry according to the Craft Industry Alliance, and the Lake Oconee Quilt Guild is happy to have an avenue through Allied Arts to show that quilting is not going anywhere.

“We want to showcase the talent of people who quilt and let people know it’s not just little old ladies who do this,” Noel said. “We also want people to know this is not a dying art. There’s still room for the traditionalists, but it has also evolved into an art medium. That’s what I’m hoping the challenge pieces in the exhibit would show, that it’s fabric art as opposed to just making stuff for the bed.”   

The guild has over 100 members stretching beyond just the immediate Lake Oconee area to Milledgeville, Sparta, and even Macon, making it more of a regional group than simply a local one.

“To me, being in the guild has been a wonderful experience,” said Noel, who’s a past president. “This guild has a lot of really talented quilters in it, so it’s a really nice group.”

The Lake Oconee Quilt Guild meets the first Tuesday of each month at Lake Oconee Lutheran Church, which is just off Ga. Highway 44 in Putnam County.