At the Brown Quilters Create and Educate group Facebook page, artisans of all ages, from every walk of life and everywhere across the U.S., meet up virtually daily (and nightly), keeping a time-honored tradition thriving in a whole new way.

All this month, the fruits of their labors of love are on display at the Dorchester County Center for the Arts in Cambridge. 

After joining four other African American quilting groups exhibiting at DAC this past December, the Brown Quilters were invited to host their own show, Black History Past and Now, artfully offering fabric homages to a treasured heritage.

Starting with a couple hundred people, the Brown Quilters group now numbers 1,200, doubling in just the two months since the December exhibit. After posting a virtual “quilt walk” of the event on their page, 13 to 20 people a day have been signing up, according to co-administrator Deborah Johnson.

A Second Saturday artists reception, held from 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 12, became a celebration of the medium as well as the message. Group members, who had previously only met online, reveled in the opportunity to cross paths in Cambridge. While several, such as Johnson and fellow administrator Candice Salter, came from relatively nearby (Johnson from Washington, D.C., Salter from Baltimore), some flew from Los Angeles, California, and Gastonia, North Carolina. Others were able to partake virtually via Zoom.

Delivering the 28 quilts for the exhibit marked only the second face-to-face meeting between Johnson and Salter, whose now close friendship began in another Facebook quilting enclave, where they naturally gravitated together, first commenting on each other’s posted pictures then sharing frequent messages about creative projects.

In 2019 they organized their own group, featuring swaps and exchanges between members to help those actively interested in learning techniques, tricks, hacks and continually honing skills. About a year ago, Salter became inspired to share with members quilter Berene Campbell’s pattern designed to celebrate Woman’s Day and universal sisterhood.

At the same time, Johnson, who had led quilting workshops at church youth groups and women’s shelters, suggested that the group begin hosting online classes. Finding teachers would be no problem, she noted, as her motto has always been “each one, teach one.” They had all the instructors needed within the group itself, she reminded Salter, who heartily agreed. With a modest minimal fee for each one, the classes regularly sell out shortly after scheduling. The sessions take place via dedicated Zoom rooms.

“We have well-known quilting instructors within the group as well, such as Caroline Shaw who has had her own shows, and rebel art quilter Rachel Clark, who created a vibrant coat rivaling the biblical Joseph’s for last December’s exhibit,” Johnson said.

Clark is set to present another striking piece during the Brown Quilter Group’s upcoming DAC exhibit in March honoring Harriet Tubman’s 200^th anniversary. A third planned show for April, titled A World of Textiles, will highlight a smorgasbord of fabric creations including rugs, quilts, jewelry and clothing, Johnson added.

“The classes have been phenomenal. We have taught fabric jewelry, fabric bowls, rug making, anything you can do with fabric,” she said. Hour-and-a-half sessions scheduled Thursday evenings feature shorter projects, while more open-ended Sunday afternoon classes starting at 2 p.m. enable participants to “hang out longer,” Johnson said.

A sew-along day initially limited to Saturday quickly expanded due to popular demand. “It’s gotten to where we’re on there all the time, we’re open every day. There’s always somebody on that line, sometimes until 3 or 4 in the morning, because we have people on the West Coast,” she said.

Bonita Nance, an auditor by occupation, is a fourth-generation sewer, quilter, crafter and designer who channeled a lifelong fascination with learning about the Underground Railroad to create “My Story of The Underground Railroad.”

Vanessa Diane Dodo Seriki, associate professor of science education at Morgan State University, had been sewing garments for years, but discovered the group and began quilting during COVID. First tackling a difficult paper pieced owl pillowcase, she enjoys mastering new techniques and methods, including digitized design and layering, used to create “Black Women Jazz Pioneers” (Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sarah Vaughn).

Christa Gilliam from Baltimore began her quilting journey in 2018, sewing for self-care after earning her PhD in social work from Morgan State University. Today, when not busy teaching undergraduate social work courses, Gilliam passionately creates stories with fiber, posting pieces to view on her Instagram page Sewcialwork.

Gloria Harmon-Hodges of California, raised by a single dad in the 1960s, was introduced to the love of needlework through the Girl Scouts. Later in life, after being diagnosed with breast cancer, a neighbor named Ella quilted her a nap quilt, which she credits for “opening my eyes” to quilting and starting her on her present journey. Her show entry is a stirring silhouette portrait of award-winning musician and Stephen Colbert bandleader Jon Batiste.

Candice Salter paid tribute to Maya Angelou’s poem, “Still I Rise,” with one of her contributions to the show. A retired educator, Salter calls herself a “third-generation dreamweaver,” the first to take up quilting. She appreciates everything the group offers including bag and doll making, as well as informal sit and sew sessions, but above all treasures “the fellowship that one gets out of this, so needed in the world today, which is incredible.”

Salter’s silhouette class members crafted a series of 9-by-12-inch quilted portrait blocks, which are displayed in the DAC’s eye-catching front window, designed by Johnson featuring Salter’s antique washboard. Proceeds from each silhouette sale benefit the arts center.

For Johnson, the group provides a pathway to continue a personal quilting mission undertaken in 1998. “My grandmother was a quilter, hand quilting, hand piecing everything, the only one in the family. I would sit by the woodstove, watch her and we would talk, and she would tell me the stories of the old days. One day while sewing on a quilt for me for Christmas she had a heart attack. I decided right then that I was going to pick up her passion, and I was not going to let her art die,” Johnson recalled.

She began buying fabric and watching videos and TV shows. Soon, “this little obsession became immense, and I wanted to share it and pass this on,” Johnson said. “At first it doesn’t look like there’s a lot to it, but once you get into it there really is. And when you see children’s faces after they finish a piece, they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I did this by myself, I’m putting this on my bed, oh I cannot wait!’ Their excitement makes me excited.”

While traditional quilt blocks remain her favorite, Johnson delved into a more eclectic collage design for “African Life.” Further proving herself open to new ideas, she ensured that each displayed piece was accompanied by a QR code, delivering information to a viewer’s phone after scanning.

Johnson has also become a huge fan of Cambridge, especially since researching the town’s historic ties to Harriet Tubman. Besides traveling through to bring her 19-year-old grandson home from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on weekends, she also enjoys driving up from D.C. during the week with friends to shop and have lunch, usually the Cambridge Diner’s crab soup.

“When Candice and I delivered the quilts here last week, we both walked in and remarked that this place feels like home. As soon as you walk through the door of the DAC, there’s an instant calming effect.”

For more information, visit the Brown Quilters Create and Educate Facebook page. For information about the exhibit, call 410-228-7782 or visit dorchesterarts.org.