Whether he moves to Nashville or returns to Garner, N.C., Scotty McCreery would be wise to live somewhere with a big garage. His friends and fans back home have constructed an enormous quilt during the last several 'American Idol' viewing parties, and each tile has a personal message for the 17-year-old singer.

Barbara Crissman, account manager with Discount School Supply, doesn't know exactly how many 8-inch tiles had been buttoned together so far, but she tells Taste of Country it's somewhere in the hundreds, and that the project is getting very, very heavy. Discount School Supply has donated all the fabric and supplies for this project and a few others Crissman has come up with to unite the community.

Individual messages have ranged from "I Love You, Scotty" and "Good Luck" to personal pictures of fans paying tribute to their hometown hero. Crissman says people of all ages participate. Tiles from one group of three older women were particularly touching, as they clearly had spent time planning their tile before showing up for the Thursday night party.

"I just thought it was so neat that people of all ages were involved with it and were taking the time to bring a picture and get involved," Crissman says.

As the season wraps, Crissman had planned to turn the quilt over to the McCreery family, but they had other ideas. Mike McCreery, Scotty's father, introduced Crissman to Scotty's grandmother, who happens to be a master quilter. When the project is finished, she'll take it home.

"She's gonna take it apart into smaller pieces and actually make individual quilts for each of the family members," Crissman says. "When she told me that, I got goosebumps."

Scotty McCreery
loading...
Scotty McCreery Quilt
loading...
Scotty McCreery Quilt
loading...

More From Taste of Country