This spring, we're including stories about bringing people together on our show. Our Weaver series is made possible with support from Weave NWA, and weaving is very much at the heart of this story.
"I've got a local quilting guild that has graciously volunteered their time and skills and equipment, and are going to be putting it together."
Tim Reavis is sitting on the front porch of the Walker-Stone House in downtown Fayetteville, talking about a quilting project he guided into existence. It's called Washington's Unite. More than two dozen 12-by-12 squares for the quilt are ready to be assembled Sunday afternoon at the Walker-Stone House.
But let's go back about nine months, to the last Independence Day holiday, when Tim and his family were taking a trip from Fayetteville to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. A rockslide closed I-40 east of Knoxville, requiring a detour up through Washington County, Tennessee.
"It's like, oh, hey, I live in Washington County. Kept going. Washington County, Virginia. It shares a media market with the one in Tennessee. Hey. Another one. Here we go. This is interesting. And then got out towards our destination, passed through Washington County, North Carolina. And then it became, how many of these are there? Thirty counties and one parish. Thank you, Louisiana."
Tim says he, his family and the friends they met in North Carolina talked about all those Washington counties while they were on the beach July 4, fireworks popping around them.
"And we got to talking, hey, the 250th is coming up next year. Wouldn't it be cool if the Washington counties were to collaborate in some way to do something fun, something unique that just celebrates our country, our heritage, what we all love about it. Many of us get these ideas — the 'wouldn't it be cool if' kind of ideas."
Tim says he kept thinking about a collaboration to stitch parts of the country together. He kept talking about it. And when he was back in Fayetteville, he says he started cold calling the other Washington counties. But how do you cold call a county?
"Call the county judge, maybe mayors of the biggest towns, a chamber of commerce — all of those. Yes, absolutely. You can imagine if you're in a position like that and you get a random voicemail or an email from a guy in Arkansas saying, hey, let's do something. There may not be an automatic response right away. It took quite a bit of persistence, quite a bit of follow up — with mayors, with county managers, county judges, reached out to tourism bureaus. The range of people that represent their county on this project is quite large. When I would reach out, it was, hey, let's just get together and talk through how we can collaborate. Do you like this idea of Washington counties doing something?"
Tim Reavis says a handful of counties — about 10 — ended up with at least somebody energetic enough, excited enough about the concept to gather on a virtual call. Some of the counties had big plans for the 250th anniversary of the country, entire programs scheduled. Other counties had almost nothing planned. But Tim says there was a shared desire for a shared project. Washington counties from Oregon to Maine.
So it was decided a shared art project might be the most feasible, the most practical — and a quilt seemed the most feasible and practical of all.
"You're able to move it easier than a lot of other types of art. It provided a chance for each county to have their own square, to make their own mark, to make a unique contribution to the overall project."
With the quilt idea established, eventually 29 of the 31 Washington counties and one parish opted in. All of the squares are here now, Sunday at the Walker-Stone House.
"Whenever a community would submit their square, there was a write-up of the meaning that it meant to that community, why they chose that design. Each of the squares has a story to tell on their own. And so this event for the assembly, we're going to have all that for folks to be able to absorb and to learn."
The assembly is from 2 until 4 Sunday afternoon, and Tim will make remarks about the project at 3.
The Washington County, Arkansas, square is made by Lori Jones. She has created a square around the historic Washington County Courthouse, using the quilting method of appliqué.
"It's beautiful. I can't wait for folks to see it. That courthouse, it's a landmark in Fayetteville. Everybody will be able to recognize it. I'm super excited that that is what is going to be representing Washington County, Arkansas on the quilt."
After the quilt is pieced together Sunday, the real adventure begins. The quilt will make a cross-country tour of the other Washington counties and one parish, featured in parades, fairs and festivals.
"Washington counties are excited about getting this in their community to share and to show the work and the excitement around the project. So it's going to go coast to coast over the next 16 months. We've got a schedule lined out for it."
Tim says he wanted this project to be an activity connecting people, bringing them together. It's working. Quilt squares from craftspeople from 29 different states are being linked together, and he says he's experienced, in a small way, how this idea of uniting can become contagious.
"I am super excited that we had that many counties that wanted to participate. You know, it became a really exciting moment whenever a square would arrive. I had them shipped to my office and, you know, the first one when it came in — Tim, you got a package. What is it? What is this? And then I was able to share it with coworkers, and then they became invested in the project. And excitement would build when a new one would show up. So it was really a lot of fun to get that many in the mail over a period of a few weeks."
The assembly of the Washington's Unite quilt will be Sunday afternoon from 2 until 4 at the Walker-Stone House in downtown Fayetteville. Tim Reavis talked about the quilt and the birth of the project this week while sitting on the front porch of the Walker-Stone House.
Our Weaver series is supported by Weave the Social Fabric Project. Applications are now open for the 2026 Weaver Awards — 20 grants of $5,000 each for individuals and small organizations building relationships in Benton and Washington counties. More information at weavingnwa.org.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline and edited for length and clarity. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
