Archives and Special Collections

Common Roots: The North Carolina Agricultural and Technical Centennial Story quilt took almost three years to make, has fifty-nine colorful blocks depicting a variety of the events and people that figured prominently in the life of this great institution, and provided interesting and highly creative avenues of expression for the more than 100 persons who lent their talents as artists to design the blocks or as crafters to do the stitchery and quilting.

Whatever their contributions to the Quilt, each participant included in their work a generous portion of love and care.

The quilters included faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members. The youngest quilter was ten years old. Work on the Quilt brought together many persons who had never before worked on a common project.

Just as there are wide variances in the ages of the quilters, there are wide variances in the designs, fabrics and techniques that were used to make the Quilt. A wide range of topics are covered in the block-by-block renditions of vignettes from the life of the University during its one-hundred-year existence. Major events such as the Sit–Ins, the Student Space Shuttle Project, the University Mascot and collages of student organizations are included.