Marti Michell

(Originally published in SCHMETZ Inspired to SEW #81, September 2020. Written by Rita Farro.) It is generally accepted that the quilt industry as we know it began in 1976, with America’s Bicentennial celebration. But, it wasn’t a simple matter to recreate the patchwork quilts of our pioneer grandmothers. If you think about the early ’70s, fabric stores were full of polyester knits and there were absolutely no books on the subject. No fabric, no patterns, no rotary cutters, no templates. But, lucky for us, as the automobile industry had Henry Ford, we had Marti Michell. Thanks to her innovative thinking, boundless energy, and creative spirit, the quilt industry was basically reborn in the 20th century. Recognizing her immense contributions, the Quilter’s Hall of Fame inducted Marti Michell in 2020. The ceremony has been postponed until July 2021. (Marti will forever be the Pandemic Inductee.) Marti didn’t set out to become a quilt industry icon. It’s more like it just kept happening . . . . Click HERE to read the full story at www.issuu.com.