Lincoln, Nebraska
1986
2007.031.0010

Inspired by the image of an 1830s quilt on the cover of a catalog from the American Museum in Bath, England, Mary Campbell Ghormley made the quilt using templates created with the help of her husband, Roger. She spent more than 360 hours quilting this masterpiece and won the Best of Lot award in the senior citizen’s quilt division at the 1987 Nebraska State Fair.

A longtime quiltmaker, in 1970 Mary won Best in Show for her first entry in the Nebraska State Fair. She soon began teaching quilting and was a founder of the Lincoln Quilters Guild and the Nebraska Quilt Project.

This quilt previously appeared in the book and exhibition “Nebraska Quilts and Quiltmakers.”

In 2015 Ghormley passed away. In her honor, her family established the Mary Ghormley Memorial Lecture Series with the International Quilt Museum.