MATRIOTISM
Celebrating 250 Years of Inspirational American Women Through QuiltsEast Cobb Quilters’ Guild Challenge
BRAVO TO OUR WINNERS !!!
1st PLACE
Shattering the Glass
Quilt Maker: Vickie Lord
Agnes Northrop (1857–1953) was Tiffany Studios’ leading designer of floral and landscape stained glass windows. In a time when women artists were often overlooked, she was one of the few publicly credited.
Vickie was drawn to Agnes Northrop’s gift for turning rigid glass into fluid, luminous art. In a male-dominated field, she built a respected career and defined a signature style, supported by the skilled Tiffany Girls. Their collaboration shows how great art emerges from many hands, united by vision. For this quilt, she reimagined her landscape in fabric—jewel-tone textiles replacing glass, stitched lines recreating her design’s structure. At its heart is a “shatter”—a moment where beauty fractures, just as she broke boundaries limiting women’s artistry.
2nd Place
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Inspired by:
Alice Walker
Ode to Alice Walker
Quilt Maker: Melinda Rushing
Alice Walker is a vital voice in American literature. As the first Black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction with The Color Purple (1982), she brought the struggles and resilience of Black women to the forefront. Her honesty and lyrical prose have inspired generations, expanding cultural conversations and affirming the transformative power of marginalized voices and literature.
3rd Place
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Inspired by:
Rosalynn Carter
Rosaylnn Carter
Quilt Maker: Margaret Williams
Former First Lady of the United States and co-founder of the Carter Center, Rosalynn Carter was devoted to improving the quality of life for people around the world. She worked as an advocate for mental health, early childhood immunization, human rights, and conflict resolution. She founded the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers which promotes the mental health and wellbeing of family caregivers. As an environmentalist, she established the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail to expand pollinator habitats for monarch butterflies and other pollinators.
4th Place
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Inspired by:
Rachel Carson
The Power of One Voice
Quilt Maker: Gail Scogin
Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring (1962) launched the modern environmental movement and led to the establishment of Earth Day in 1970. As a biologist working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, she understood the devastating impact from the widespread use of pesticides, especially DDT. With poetic language, she warned that if we did not change direction, we could one day encounter spring without birdsong.
5th Place
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Inspired by:
Matriotism over 250 years of American history
250 Years of Matriotism
Quilt Maker: Steve Agnello
Steve’s inspiration for this quilt was to highlight the women chosen by our members to represent the spirit of Matriotism over the 250 years of America’s history. As he researched these women’s contributions, a pattern emerged. Throughout our history, Patriotism has inadvertently resulted in wars, oppression, inequality and other dark periods. Women have been motivated to respond to the needs of society through action.