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In 1975, as the United States prepared for its bicentennial, Hazel McDowell Carter was busy making a quilt to
commemorate our nation’s two-hundredth birthday, just as American needleworkers have celebrated historic and
political events since the founding of the country. Four generations in her family contributed blocks for that quilt,
carrying on a long tradition among quilters of working together to reach a common goal.
Hazel McDowell was born in Salem, Iowa, and learned how to quilt early in her childhood from her mother, Grace
McVey McDowell, and her maternal grandmother, Elsie McVey. Hazel still has one of those first hand-pieced
blocks in her possession. In 1958, she moved to Washington D.C. to work in the office of her Iowa Congressman,
and she continued to quilt. In 1964, she married Joseph G. Carter and was the busy mother of two small children
by 1971.
Hazel Carter carried more than her administrative skills with her from Iowa to her new home. She carried her love
of quilting. Her first study of quilting history began with the discovery of an article in a 1970 issue of
Needlewoman and Needlecraft magazine about a 1708 English-made patchwork quilt with accompanying bed
hangings and curtains. Over the next few years, Patsy and Myron Orlofsky’s book, Quilts in America (Patsy
Orlofsky), and articles in Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine (Bonnie Leman), Nimble Needle Treasures, and Quilters’
Journal (Joyce Gross) would form the backbone of her knowledge of quilting history. In 1973, Hazel Carter and
Jinny Beyer met at a local gathering of quilters, and together began studying old fabrics in order to learn how to
date their growing collections of antique quilts.
Just months before meeting Jinny, in December 1972, Carter had founded Quilters Unlimited of Northern Virginia
in order to create a quilting community for those individuals desiring to quilt together, as well as to offer classes
for those who wanted to increase their skills. QU would one day grow into an eleven-chapter, 1,400 member, non-
profit organization that would not only offer classes, but would spread good will throughout the greater
community by making and donating thousands of quilts to hospitalized children, foster care children, seniors in
long-term care facilities, and victims of natural disasters. This was grassroots America in action. Quilters coming
together to make things happen.
As the then-small group continued to discuss the approaching bicentennial, an idea began to form in Hazel’s
mind. Her vision was of a giant quilting bee where hundreds of quilters could come together in one place to learn,
share, and shop. That dream came to fruition in 1978, when she founded yet another organization: the
Continental Quilting Congress, an educational non-profit entity based in Vienna, Virginia. It was one of the
earliest quilt conferences in the nation, where quilters got together to learn the art and craft of quilting from
Beginner to Advanced, to participate in a Show and Tell, and to shop at a Quilters Merchant Mall set up just for
quiltmakers and their specialized needs. Such conferences would quickly prove to be one of the great
revolutionary movements of twentieth-century quilting history.
The first Continental Quilting Congress convention in July 1978 brought more than five hundred “delegates” to
the Sheraton Hotel in Arlington, Virginia, with additional shoppers raising the final attendance total to more than
one thousand quilt enthusiasts gathered under that first hotel roof. Husbands and families of quilters across the
country were in shock. What had suddenly come over their wives and mothers? Why were they headed for
Arlington, Virginia? Why in the world would a wife/mother/sister/sweetheart pay money to stay in a hotel
(sometimes five to a room) just to quilt? Couldn’t she do that at home? Women had been quilting for generations
without going to all that expense and trouble!
Hazel tells stories of quilters who had never spent a night away from their families in their lives, suddenly hitting
the road with a quilt friend and discovering new dimensions to freedom and self-expression. Perhaps it is hard for
us to contemplate today just how revolutionary this idea was for quilters at the time, but most quilting had
traditionally been done at home or in church groups, with relatives or friends teaching the “how-tos”—not a
stranger in a hotel! Freedom was in the air for women in the 1970s. Freedom was in the air for quilting in 1978.
Ten Continental Quilting Congresses were held over a thirteen-year period, as well as five overseas tours to meet
with quilters around the world and learn of quilting in other cultures: Australia, Japan, China, New Zealand, Great
Britain, Scotland, and Ireland.
In 1979, a milestone occurred at the Continental Quilting Congress. As Hazel digested all the comments and
feedback she had received from that first CQC meeting in 1978, she realized another need existed in the quilt
world that was not being met: the need to bring to the attention of her delegates the work of previous
generations of quilters and to recognize and praise the individuals of the present day who were bringing the story
of quilting to the fore. Many delegates appeared to be ignorant about the history of their quilting heritage, the art
form and craft they obviously loved with some passion. How could this be remedied?
After careful exploration and discussion with her fellow quilters, Hazel’s insightful solution was the creation of
The Quilters Hall of Fame. The souvenir book for that first induction ceremony in 1979 stated, “The Quilters Hall
of Fame has been established to recognize the people behind the quilting renaissance, to pay tribute to their
accomplishments, and thereby establish documentation of an important part of quilting history.” A selection
committee was formed from a cross-section of the quilting community to study nominations for future Honorees.
That first committee consisted of: Mary Graunbaum (TX), Rachel Maines ( PA), Bets Ramsey (TN), Joyce Gross
(CA) and Isobel Ann Smith (Canada).
Immediately after the announcement of the first Honorees in 1979, the nominations began to pour in. In the early
years, each new Honoree was recognized at a special luncheon at CQC and a souvenir booklet prepared that gave
a brief history of the contributions of that year’s Honoree(s). Sometimes the award came posthumously: Dr.
William Rush Dunton, Jr. Ruth Ebright Finley, Lenice Ingram Bacon, Anne Orr, Florence Peto, Bertha Stenge, Carrie
A. Hall, Rose G. Kretsinger. At other times Honorees were present for the ceremony: Marguerite Ickis, Gail van
der Hoof, Jonathan Holstein, Grace Snyder (unable to travel due to poor health), Jean Ray Laury, Bonnie Leman
(unable to travel at last minute due to emergency), Cuesta Benberry, Mary Barton, Jinny Beyer, Patsy Orlofsky,
Jeffrey Gutcheon, Carter Houck, Donna Wilder. And so the tradition would continue.
With each new Honoree, the CQC delegates’ understanding of their quilt heritage expanded, and word of The
Quilters Hall of Fame began to migrate beyond the bounds of CQC into the larger quilt world. Indeed, many
changes occurred in the quilting community almost simultaneously with that first 1978 CQC gathering: Bonnie
Leman (1982 Honoree), founder and editor of Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine in 1969, helped compile and write
that standard rules on judging quilt shows in 1976; Joyce Gross (1996 Honoree) of Mill Valley, California, began
publishing Quilters Journal in 1977; Quilt National in Athens, Ohio, was founded in 1979 by Karey Bresenhan
(1995 Honoree) of Houston, Texas; Barbara Brackman (2001 Honoree) self-published the first version of her quilt
pattern dictionary, also in 1979, which would prove to be the guiding star of many of the State Documentation
Projects to follow; in 1980, the American Quilt Study Group (AQSG) was formed by Sally Garroute (1994 Honoree)
in Mill Valley, California, to promote and publish serious research in quilt history; and North Carolina Public
Television produced its first-ever televised “how to” series in 1980 featuring quilt teacher Georgia Bonesteel
(2003 Honoree). This gives you just a little taste of the incredibly fertile, productive period in quilt history
immediately before and following the bicentennial in 1976.
Dreams often converge in serendipitous ways that can change the landscape of one’s own vision. In July 1991
two dreams merged at the West Coast Quilters Conference in Sacramento, California: Hazel Carter’s vision for
The Quilters Hall of Fame and Rosalind Webster Perry’s vision concerning the legacy of her grandmother, early
twentieth-century author and quilt entrepreneur Marie Webster. When Hazel and Rosalind met, the former was
inducting the 1991 Honoree, Marie Webster, into The Quilters Hall of Fame, and the latter was present to receive
that honor in her grandmother’s name. Their paths most likely would not have crossed in life otherwise.
A most unexpected event took place at that ceremony. Within thirty minutes of their meeting, Rosalind—who had
only months earlier rescued her grandmother’s Marion, Indiana, home from demolition—asked Hazel if she would
like to use the house as the permanent home of The Quilters Hall of Fame. With Hazel’s fearless “yes,” a whole
new chapter in quilt history began.
How does one create a museum out of a condemned building? With lots of elbow grease! Grassroots America
swung into action once again. Hazel first took her dream to the delegates of the Continental Quilting Congress
while Rosalind approached the citizens of Marion via an article in the local paper. A core group emerged out of
those first efforts that has been that backbone of the restoration of the Marie Webster House all these many
years. Eventually the Marion group would officially organize as the Friends of The Quilters Hall of Fame and
welcome members from all over the world.
The Quilters Hall of Fame became an independent non-profit organization in 1992 with a Board separate from its
original parent, the Continental Quilting Congress. The significance of the Marie Webster House was officially
recognized in 1993, when it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Indiana Register of
Historic Sites and Structures. It has also been designated a Landmark of Women’s History and declared a
National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service—the only one which honors a quiltmaker! In 1992, Amy
Emms, M.B.E. (Member of the British Empire designating an award given by the Queen for “her service to
quilting”) was the first Honoree to be inducted into The Quilters Hall of Fame from its new location in Marion,
Indiana.
The Friends of The Quilters Hall of Fame (FQHF) have raised and donated over $35,000 through their own local
Marion efforts of organizing opportunity quilts, bake sales, merchandise sales, National Quilting Day events and
the fees from the annual Celebration seminar. In addition, more dollars have been garnered from quilters around
the world. QHF has also been awarded donations from national quilt-related organizations, as well as the Build
Indiana Fund, the Indiana Department of Commerce, and Grant County businesses and community groups. But it’s
the countless volunteer hours of core Marion people like Phebe Smith, Debi and Scott Shepler, Madonna and
Richard Fowler, Jean and Rex Chambers, Joyce and Wilbur Hostetler, Sue and Bill Munn, Sharon Felty, Cindy Beck,
Mary and Norman Cheek, Julie Spangler, Elinor Briggs, Marguerite Cox, Jean Strawser, Carolyn Goebel, Wanda
Pratt, Ruth Pearson, and Ann Calland, to name but a few, that is the real success story. Fulfilling such dreams can
often be an uphill battle, but they kept their shoulders to the wheel and didn’t give up. This is grassroots America
at its best.
In July 2004 the restored Marie Webster House officially celebrated its Grand Opening as a museum. Having seen
the organization reach its goal of establishing its headquarters in the restored Marie Webster House, its founder
then stepped down and passed the baton of leadership on. The fulfillment of each step of this vision is
reminiscent of the teamwork exhibited by Hazel Carter and her family when they made their bicentennial quilt
those many years ago. Following generations of tradition, these modern-day quilters and their friends came
together to plan and organize, piece their patch, and add their stitches to help create a glorious finished product:
The Quilters Hall of Fame Museum. The story of The Quilters Hall of Fame will never actually have an ending.
Instead, it will continue to be added to as new events unfold and new chapters get written as new generations of
quilters step forward and leave their mark.
Orlofsky, Patsy and Myron. Quilts in America. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1974.
Other Sources: Archives of the Continental Quilting Congress and phone interviews with Hazel Carter and Rosalind Webster Perry in
February 2003.
All rights to the text and information in this article are reserved by Karen B. Alexander. Readers may print the file and save it digitally.
Readers may not forward the file or post the information on any websites or bulletin boards without written permission. You may
quote up to four sentences without written permission and refer to information if proper attribution is given. Please use the reference:
“Karen B. Alexander, ‘The Founding of The Quilters Hall of Fame’, from the Quilters Hall of Fame website http://www.
quiltershalloffame.net.”
Contact Karen Alexander: karequilt@aol.com or write to P.O. Box 681, Marion, Indiana 46952. A version of this story first appeared in
“Once Upon A Quilt,” an anthology of quilt stories edited by Margret Aldrich and published by Voyageur Press, October 2003. Karen was
elected president of The Quilters Hall of Fame in November 2004 and took office in July 2005.
commemorate our nation’s two-hundredth birthday, just as American needleworkers have celebrated historic and
political events since the founding of the country. Four generations in her family contributed blocks for that quilt,
carrying on a long tradition among quilters of working together to reach a common goal.
Hazel McDowell was born in Salem, Iowa, and learned how to quilt early in her childhood from her mother, Grace
McVey McDowell, and her maternal grandmother, Elsie McVey. Hazel still has one of those first hand-pieced
blocks in her possession. In 1958, she moved to Washington D.C. to work in the office of her Iowa Congressman,
and she continued to quilt. In 1964, she married Joseph G. Carter and was the busy mother of two small children
by 1971.
Hazel Carter carried more than her administrative skills with her from Iowa to her new home. She carried her love
of quilting. Her first study of quilting history began with the discovery of an article in a 1970 issue of
Needlewoman and Needlecraft magazine about a 1708 English-made patchwork quilt with accompanying bed
hangings and curtains. Over the next few years, Patsy and Myron Orlofsky’s book, Quilts in America (Patsy
Orlofsky), and articles in Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine (Bonnie Leman), Nimble Needle Treasures, and Quilters’
Journal (Joyce Gross) would form the backbone of her knowledge of quilting history. In 1973, Hazel Carter and
Jinny Beyer met at a local gathering of quilters, and together began studying old fabrics in order to learn how to
date their growing collections of antique quilts.
Just months before meeting Jinny, in December 1972, Carter had founded Quilters Unlimited of Northern Virginia
in order to create a quilting community for those individuals desiring to quilt together, as well as to offer classes
for those who wanted to increase their skills. QU would one day grow into an eleven-chapter, 1,400 member, non-
profit organization that would not only offer classes, but would spread good will throughout the greater
community by making and donating thousands of quilts to hospitalized children, foster care children, seniors in
long-term care facilities, and victims of natural disasters. This was grassroots America in action. Quilters coming
together to make things happen.
As the then-small group continued to discuss the approaching bicentennial, an idea began to form in Hazel’s
mind. Her vision was of a giant quilting bee where hundreds of quilters could come together in one place to learn,
share, and shop. That dream came to fruition in 1978, when she founded yet another organization: the
Continental Quilting Congress, an educational non-profit entity based in Vienna, Virginia. It was one of the
earliest quilt conferences in the nation, where quilters got together to learn the art and craft of quilting from
Beginner to Advanced, to participate in a Show and Tell, and to shop at a Quilters Merchant Mall set up just for
quiltmakers and their specialized needs. Such conferences would quickly prove to be one of the great
revolutionary movements of twentieth-century quilting history.
The first Continental Quilting Congress convention in July 1978 brought more than five hundred “delegates” to
the Sheraton Hotel in Arlington, Virginia, with additional shoppers raising the final attendance total to more than
one thousand quilt enthusiasts gathered under that first hotel roof. Husbands and families of quilters across the
country were in shock. What had suddenly come over their wives and mothers? Why were they headed for
Arlington, Virginia? Why in the world would a wife/mother/sister/sweetheart pay money to stay in a hotel
(sometimes five to a room) just to quilt? Couldn’t she do that at home? Women had been quilting for generations
without going to all that expense and trouble!
Hazel tells stories of quilters who had never spent a night away from their families in their lives, suddenly hitting
the road with a quilt friend and discovering new dimensions to freedom and self-expression. Perhaps it is hard for
us to contemplate today just how revolutionary this idea was for quilters at the time, but most quilting had
traditionally been done at home or in church groups, with relatives or friends teaching the “how-tos”—not a
stranger in a hotel! Freedom was in the air for women in the 1970s. Freedom was in the air for quilting in 1978.
Ten Continental Quilting Congresses were held over a thirteen-year period, as well as five overseas tours to meet
with quilters around the world and learn of quilting in other cultures: Australia, Japan, China, New Zealand, Great
Britain, Scotland, and Ireland.
In 1979, a milestone occurred at the Continental Quilting Congress. As Hazel digested all the comments and
feedback she had received from that first CQC meeting in 1978, she realized another need existed in the quilt
world that was not being met: the need to bring to the attention of her delegates the work of previous
generations of quilters and to recognize and praise the individuals of the present day who were bringing the story
of quilting to the fore. Many delegates appeared to be ignorant about the history of their quilting heritage, the art
form and craft they obviously loved with some passion. How could this be remedied?
After careful exploration and discussion with her fellow quilters, Hazel’s insightful solution was the creation of
The Quilters Hall of Fame. The souvenir book for that first induction ceremony in 1979 stated, “The Quilters Hall
of Fame has been established to recognize the people behind the quilting renaissance, to pay tribute to their
accomplishments, and thereby establish documentation of an important part of quilting history.” A selection
committee was formed from a cross-section of the quilting community to study nominations for future Honorees.
That first committee consisted of: Mary Graunbaum (TX), Rachel Maines ( PA), Bets Ramsey (TN), Joyce Gross
(CA) and Isobel Ann Smith (Canada).
Immediately after the announcement of the first Honorees in 1979, the nominations began to pour in. In the early
years, each new Honoree was recognized at a special luncheon at CQC and a souvenir booklet prepared that gave
a brief history of the contributions of that year’s Honoree(s). Sometimes the award came posthumously: Dr.
William Rush Dunton, Jr. Ruth Ebright Finley, Lenice Ingram Bacon, Anne Orr, Florence Peto, Bertha Stenge, Carrie
A. Hall, Rose G. Kretsinger. At other times Honorees were present for the ceremony: Marguerite Ickis, Gail van
der Hoof, Jonathan Holstein, Grace Snyder (unable to travel due to poor health), Jean Ray Laury, Bonnie Leman
(unable to travel at last minute due to emergency), Cuesta Benberry, Mary Barton, Jinny Beyer, Patsy Orlofsky,
Jeffrey Gutcheon, Carter Houck, Donna Wilder. And so the tradition would continue.
With each new Honoree, the CQC delegates’ understanding of their quilt heritage expanded, and word of The
Quilters Hall of Fame began to migrate beyond the bounds of CQC into the larger quilt world. Indeed, many
changes occurred in the quilting community almost simultaneously with that first 1978 CQC gathering: Bonnie
Leman (1982 Honoree), founder and editor of Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine in 1969, helped compile and write
that standard rules on judging quilt shows in 1976; Joyce Gross (1996 Honoree) of Mill Valley, California, began
publishing Quilters Journal in 1977; Quilt National in Athens, Ohio, was founded in 1979 by Karey Bresenhan
(1995 Honoree) of Houston, Texas; Barbara Brackman (2001 Honoree) self-published the first version of her quilt
pattern dictionary, also in 1979, which would prove to be the guiding star of many of the State Documentation
Projects to follow; in 1980, the American Quilt Study Group (AQSG) was formed by Sally Garroute (1994 Honoree)
in Mill Valley, California, to promote and publish serious research in quilt history; and North Carolina Public
Television produced its first-ever televised “how to” series in 1980 featuring quilt teacher Georgia Bonesteel
(2003 Honoree). This gives you just a little taste of the incredibly fertile, productive period in quilt history
immediately before and following the bicentennial in 1976.
Dreams often converge in serendipitous ways that can change the landscape of one’s own vision. In July 1991
two dreams merged at the West Coast Quilters Conference in Sacramento, California: Hazel Carter’s vision for
The Quilters Hall of Fame and Rosalind Webster Perry’s vision concerning the legacy of her grandmother, early
twentieth-century author and quilt entrepreneur Marie Webster. When Hazel and Rosalind met, the former was
inducting the 1991 Honoree, Marie Webster, into The Quilters Hall of Fame, and the latter was present to receive
that honor in her grandmother’s name. Their paths most likely would not have crossed in life otherwise.
A most unexpected event took place at that ceremony. Within thirty minutes of their meeting, Rosalind—who had
only months earlier rescued her grandmother’s Marion, Indiana, home from demolition—asked Hazel if she would
like to use the house as the permanent home of The Quilters Hall of Fame. With Hazel’s fearless “yes,” a whole
new chapter in quilt history began.
How does one create a museum out of a condemned building? With lots of elbow grease! Grassroots America
swung into action once again. Hazel first took her dream to the delegates of the Continental Quilting Congress
while Rosalind approached the citizens of Marion via an article in the local paper. A core group emerged out of
those first efforts that has been that backbone of the restoration of the Marie Webster House all these many
years. Eventually the Marion group would officially organize as the Friends of The Quilters Hall of Fame and
welcome members from all over the world.
The Quilters Hall of Fame became an independent non-profit organization in 1992 with a Board separate from its
original parent, the Continental Quilting Congress. The significance of the Marie Webster House was officially
recognized in 1993, when it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Indiana Register of
Historic Sites and Structures. It has also been designated a Landmark of Women’s History and declared a
National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service—the only one which honors a quiltmaker! In 1992, Amy
Emms, M.B.E. (Member of the British Empire designating an award given by the Queen for “her service to
quilting”) was the first Honoree to be inducted into The Quilters Hall of Fame from its new location in Marion,
Indiana.
The Friends of The Quilters Hall of Fame (FQHF) have raised and donated over $35,000 through their own local
Marion efforts of organizing opportunity quilts, bake sales, merchandise sales, National Quilting Day events and
the fees from the annual Celebration seminar. In addition, more dollars have been garnered from quilters around
the world. QHF has also been awarded donations from national quilt-related organizations, as well as the Build
Indiana Fund, the Indiana Department of Commerce, and Grant County businesses and community groups. But it’s
the countless volunteer hours of core Marion people like Phebe Smith, Debi and Scott Shepler, Madonna and
Richard Fowler, Jean and Rex Chambers, Joyce and Wilbur Hostetler, Sue and Bill Munn, Sharon Felty, Cindy Beck,
Mary and Norman Cheek, Julie Spangler, Elinor Briggs, Marguerite Cox, Jean Strawser, Carolyn Goebel, Wanda
Pratt, Ruth Pearson, and Ann Calland, to name but a few, that is the real success story. Fulfilling such dreams can
often be an uphill battle, but they kept their shoulders to the wheel and didn’t give up. This is grassroots America
at its best.
In July 2004 the restored Marie Webster House officially celebrated its Grand Opening as a museum. Having seen
the organization reach its goal of establishing its headquarters in the restored Marie Webster House, its founder
then stepped down and passed the baton of leadership on. The fulfillment of each step of this vision is
reminiscent of the teamwork exhibited by Hazel Carter and her family when they made their bicentennial quilt
those many years ago. Following generations of tradition, these modern-day quilters and their friends came
together to plan and organize, piece their patch, and add their stitches to help create a glorious finished product:
The Quilters Hall of Fame Museum. The story of The Quilters Hall of Fame will never actually have an ending.
Instead, it will continue to be added to as new events unfold and new chapters get written as new generations of
quilters step forward and leave their mark.
Orlofsky, Patsy and Myron. Quilts in America. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1974.
Other Sources: Archives of the Continental Quilting Congress and phone interviews with Hazel Carter and Rosalind Webster Perry in
February 2003.
All rights to the text and information in this article are reserved by Karen B. Alexander. Readers may print the file and save it digitally.
Readers may not forward the file or post the information on any websites or bulletin boards without written permission. You may
quote up to four sentences without written permission and refer to information if proper attribution is given. Please use the reference:
“Karen B. Alexander, ‘The Founding of The Quilters Hall of Fame’, from the Quilters Hall of Fame website http://www.
quiltershalloffame.net.”
Contact Karen Alexander: karequilt@aol.com or write to P.O. Box 681, Marion, Indiana 46952. A version of this story first appeared in
“Once Upon A Quilt,” an anthology of quilt stories edited by Margret Aldrich and published by Voyageur Press, October 2003. Karen was
elected president of The Quilters Hall of Fame in November 2004 and took office in July 2005.
| The Founding of the Quilters Hall of Fame Written by Karen B. Alexander, Quilt Historian |
| Hazel Carter Founder of The Quilters Hall of Fame |