Merikay Waldvogel Selected for Induction in 2009
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WHAT: Induction of 39th Honoree into The Quilters Hall of Fame
SPONSOR: The Quilters Hall of Fame
DATES: July 16-19, 2009
PLACE: The Quilters Hall of Fame, Marion, Indiana
CONTACTS: Karen B. Alexander, President - karenquilt@gmail.com
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Press Story by Karen B. Alexander
The Quilters Hall of Fame is pleased to announce the selection of Merikay Waldvogel of Knoxville, TN as
the 39th Honoree to be inducted into the Quilters Hall of Fame, July 2009.
Merikay Waldvogel, one of the key players in the late 20th century quilt history revival, has served on
the board of directors of both the American Quilt Study Group (AQSG) and The Alliance for American
Quilts (AAQ). She has been a key player in building The Alliance's online Quilt Index. She has also
taken key roles in the Boxes Under the Beds and Quilt Treasures programs that are major
contributions of The Alliance to the study of American cultural history. Waldvogel is a fellow of the
International Quilt Study Center (IQSC) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she has worked
with graduate students and has built an important database of quilt kits.
In 1983 Waldvogel began her collaboration with TQHF Honoree Bets Ramsey to co-direct the Quilts of
Tenneessee project through its mission of documenting the quilts of that state. Together they wrote
the book Quilts of Tennessee: Images of Domestic Life Prior to 1930, and put together a traveling
exhibit, one of many exhibits Waldvogel has curated over the years. They later collaborated on the
book Southern Quilts: Surviving Relics of the Civil War. In 2003, Rosalind Webster Perry and
Waldvogel co-edited the first book of articles about the Honorees, The Quilters Hall of Fame.
In addition to serving quilt history organizations, Waldvogel is recognized as an expert on quilts of the
twentieth century quilt revival. Her own book Soft Covers for Hard Times: Quiltmaking and the Great
Depression is the key work on mid 20th century quilts and quiltmaking. Her collaboration with 2001
Honoree Barbara Brackman on Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 World's Fair was a major contribution
to quilt research.
Her Uncoverings articles for AQSG on Southern Linsey Quilts, the WPA Milwaukee Handicraft Project,
the Anne Orr Studio of Nashville, Round Robin Pattern Collecting, and the early history of Mountain
Mist patterns were all groundbreaking research. Her latest book Childhood Treasures: Doll Quilts By
and for Children highlights Lincoln, Nebraska quiltmaker Mary Ghormley's extensive doll quilt collection.
Waldvogel has written for Quilters Newsletter magazine, McCall's Quilting Vintage Quilts, American
Patchwork and Quilting, and Quilting Today/Traditional Quiltworks. In the Southeast, she is also
known for her writings about Southern women and their quilts in Appalachian Life and Smokies Life
magazines. She also lectures frequently to quilt guilds, historical societies, and museums in the area.
Merikay Waldvogel is a graduate of Monmouth College in Monmouth, IL and the University of Michigan
in Ann Arbor. She was raised in St. Louis, Missouri, but now resides in Knoxville, Tennessee. For
additional information about The Quilters Hall of Fame's Celebration, July 16-19, 2009, send a postcard
or letter to CELEBRATION 2009, P.O. Box 681, Marion, IN 46952 or email us at
quiltershalloffame@sbcglobal.net.
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