Virginia

Artist: Mary Warner

The Virginia square depicts the seal of Washington County, Virginia, adopted in 1978, which in turn draws from the Washington family coat of arms bearing three stars and two bars. The family crest has its roots in the Wessyngton family estate in England as early as 1203. The county was created in the fall of 1776 through legislation sponsored by Thomas Jefferson, a newly elected member of the House of Delegates. Virginia was the second state to name a county for then-General Washington.

Mary Warner is president of the Board of Directors of the Holston Mountain Artisans Cooperative in Abingdon. She graduated from Virginia Intermont College with degrees in business administration and equine studies and has been quilting for over 25 years. Mary and her husband John, a retired State Department diplomat, live in Bristol, Virginia.