Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler visited Ashe County last week to accept a special donation for the department in Raleigh. He was presented a handcrafted quilt from the Ashe County Piecemakers Quilt Guild in honor of North Carolina agriculture.

“Today is the finale of months of work, and the ladies have done a wonderful job,” said Margie Miller during presentation of the quilt at Ashe County Senior Center. “Every time you look at it, you see something different. We look at it and are just awed. We say wow.”

Miller said the guild’s goal is to reach out to the community, and quilting is a way of reaching out while preserving a tradition. The guild gave over 60 quilts this past year for various purposes including donations to families who have lost their home to fire, A Safe Home for Everyone, veterans at nursing homes, and the Ashe County Sheriff’s Department for children in crisis situations.

“Last spring, we were asked to make a quilt for the agriculture department,” said Miller. “We organized a committee and came up with a design depicting products of the state’s agriculture industry. Each block was made by a guild member and the border by the committee. I think we’ve outdone ourselves.”

“It is a treat for me to be here today to receive this quilt,” said Troxler, who described the state’s “Got to be NC” marketing program. The 82x92 inch quilt will have a special place in the department’s foyer along with other items depicting the state’s agriculture industry.

“This will be a centerpiece of the foyer of the Department of Agriculture, something I will be very proud of,” he said. “This is part of a special d