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History
In 1978 Ruth Janesick, a Raleigh quilter, attended the Kansas Quilt Symposium
and returned home full of enthusiasm to bring a quilt conference to North
Carolina. As a Continuing Education teacher at Meredith College, Ruth presented
slides of the show, which interested the department head so much that she
contacted members of several Raleigh groups: The Museum of History, The
Museum of History Associates, The Raleigh Fine Arts Society, Modecai Historical
Society, the fledgling Capital Quilters Guild, and some of the Meredith
College staff. After an organizational meeting, these six groups decided
to host the first North Carolina Quilt Symposium.
They secured a Grant from the Raleigh Arts Council, organized a committee
to administer the conference, hired teachers, did national publicity,
and held the Symposium in May 1979. It was a great success, with 97 full-time
students, 87 day students, a quilt show, and national teachers (including
Michael James, Jinny Beyer, and the Hamiltons). The closing ceremony
was held outside, with a reception and folk singers (“Aunt Dinah’s
Quilting Party”).
The group finished with a profit, which they attempted to give back
to the Raleigh Arts Council. However, since the money had been in the
form of a grant, it was not returnable. They were told they must either
divide the money among the six participating groups, or incorporate into
an organization. They chose to do the latter, with the express purpose
of promoting an annual Quilt Symposium in North Carolina. The Charlotte
Quilters Guild, with 12 members, offered to hold the next one, so two
women from that guild were added to the existing board. There were 16
members in the original Charter, representing the initial organizing
groups, the majority of whom were not quilters.
As non-quilters’ Board terms expired, quilters were appointed
to the Board, representing different areas of the state. Greensboro was
to host the third Symposium, so two members of that guild went on the
Board. At some point in the first 4 or 5 years, it was apparent that
the number of members of the Board was too small, so the Articles of
Incorporation were rewritten to allow for 21 members.
The large guilds were always represented: Raleigh, Greensboro, Charlotte,
Greenville, and Fayetteville, often by two members. They were appointed,
not elected by their guilds.
List of Symposia
| 1979 |
Raleigh, Meredith College |
| 1980 |
Charlotte, Queen's College |
| 1981 |
Greensboro, Guilford College |
| 1982 |
Greenville, East Carolina University |
| 1983 |
Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University |
| 1984 |
Hendersonville, Camp Kanuga |
| 1985 |
Fayetteville, Methodist College |
| 1986 |
Raleigh, Peace College |
| 1987 |
Greensboro, Guilford College |
| 1988 |
Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University |
| 1989 |
Fayetteville, Methodist College |
| 1990 |
Charlotte, UNC Charlotte |
| 1991 |
Raleigh, Peace College |
| 1992 |
Hendersonville, Camp Kanuga |
| 1993 |
Fayetteville, Holiday Inn |
| 1994 |
Raleigh, Peace College (by NCQSI Board) |
| 1995 |
Asheville, Blue Ridge Assembly |
| 1996 |
Wilson, Barton College (Greenville, Pamlico River, and Twin Rivers
Guilds) |
| 1997 |
Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University |
| 1998 |
Raleigh, Peace College |
| 1999 |
Brevard, Brevard College |
| 2000 |
Charlotte, UNC Charlotte |
| 2001 |
Wilmington, UNC Wilmington |
| 2002 |
Asheville, Black Mountain |
| 2003 |
Capitol Quilters, Peace College, Raleigh |
| 2004 |
Durham-Orange Quilters, Peace College, Raleigh |
| 2005 |
Pamilco River Quilters/Greenville Quilters/Colonial Quilt Lovers,
Chowan College, Murfreesboro |
| 2006 |
Forsyth Piecers and Quilters, Convention Center, Winston-Salem
winners & photos |
| 2007 |
Western North Carolina Quilters Guild, Mars Hill College, Mars
Hill
winners & photos |
| 2008 |
Quilters by the Sea Quilt Guild, University of NC - Wilmington |
| 2009 |
Capital Quilters, Peace College, Raleigh, NC |
| 2010 |
Charlotte Quilters, Johnson and Wales University, Charlotte, NC |
The present NCQSI Board consists of 21 members from throughout the state.
Representation from all regions has been of primary importance. The board
meets two or three times yearly, and its primary purpose is to continue
the annual symposium. In addition, it has promoted the art of quilting
across the state by helping Guilds hold shows, bringing a national traveling
show to the state, and providing cash awards for Symposium Quilt Show winners.
When a group wishes to sponsor a symposium, application is made to the
NCQSI board two years before the projected date. Once a contract is signed
with the hosting guild, the Board provides start-up seed money, as well
as general advice and counsel during the planning stages. The seed money
is returned to NCQSI along with a percentage of the profits, and full
committee reports from the hosting guild in August after the symposium.
NCQSI provides additional money to the hosting guild at the completion
of symposium for community projects for which they have presented specific
plans to the board for approval. The following gifts have been given
by NCQSI to the communities of the hosting guilds:
| Symposium ’83 |
Forsyth Piecers and Quilters of Winston-Salem purchased a quilt
for the College Union of Contemporary Art at Wake Forest University. |
| Symposium ’84 |
Western NC Quilters of Hendersonville helped in the purchase of
a quilt for the Folk Art Center in Asheville. |
| Symposium ’85 |
Tarheel Quilters of Fayetteville purchased books about quilts and
textiles for the Cumberland County libraries. |
| Symposium ’86 |
Capital Quilters of Raleigh purchased a quilt for the permanent
collection of the NC Museum of History. |
| Symposium ’87 |
Piedmont Quilters of Greensboro presented the award to the Greensboro
Museum for preservation and maintenance of the museum quilt collection. |
| Symposium ’88 |
Forsyth Piecers and Quilters of Winston-Salem purchased quilt history
books for the County libraries and four college libraries. |
| Symposium ’89 |
Tarheel Quilters of Fayetteville purchased books for the Public
Library System. |
| Symposium ’90 |
Charlotte Quilters Guild of Charlotte purchased books and magazines
for the Charlotte Public Library System. |
| Symposium ’91 |
Capital Quilters of Raleigh presented two wall hangings—one,
the North Carolina Peace Lily to Peace College, site of two symposia,
and the other to the Sertoma Arts Center, co-sponsor of the guild
and their meeting site for 10 years. |
| Symposium ’92 |
Western North Carolina Quilters Guild of Hendersonville presented
a quilt to Kanuga Conference Center, representing various symbols,
buildings, and views of Kanuga, site of two previous symposia. |
| Symposium ’93 |
Tarheel Quilters Guild of Fayetteville made quilts from the time
frame 1897–1916 for a restored home, part of the Museum of the
Cape Fear, a branch of the Museum of History in Raleigh. |
| Symposium ’94 |
NCQSI Board of Directors in Raleigh—no award
given. |
| Symposium ’95 |
Asheville Quilt Guild of Asheville donated a quilt to the NC Arboretum,
depicting scenes of the mountains and the Arboretum. |
| Symposium ’96 |
Greenville, Pamlico River, and Twin Rivers Guilds |
| Symposium ’97 |
Winston-Salem |
| Symposium ’98 |
Capital Quilters of Raleigh made and hung two quilts at the Historic
Oak View County Park. |
| Symposium ’99 |
Western North Carolina Quilters Guild bought six sewing machines
for Transylvania Boys and Girls Club, as well as teaching time. |
| Symposium ’00 |
Charlotte Quilter’s Guild donated a quilt named “Snakes,
Snails, Slugs and Other Garden Bugs” to the Children's Department
of Independence Regional Library. |
| Symposium ’01 |
Quilters by the Sea Guild of Wilmington designed a Story Book Quilt
Project. Participants select a children’s book whose story
involves a quilt, then make a small quilt to accompany the book.
The books and quilts are donated to local libraries for use during
children’s story hour. |
| Symposium ’02 |
Asheville Quilters Guild, with the help of guild matching funds,
will sponsor a traveling trunk show with teacher, to visit schools
throughout western North Carolina, where they will spend 3 weeks
at each school and work with classes to make a quilt. The Traveling
Trunk Show is sponsored by Western Carolina University and Mountain
Heritage Center. |
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