Bill and Meredith Schroeder founded the American Quilter’s Society in 1984. Quiltweek in Paducah, Kentucky, opened in 1985, and attracts entrants and an audience from around the world. The top awards at the show are purchase prizes. The quiltmaker(s) win the prize money; the quilt becomes part of the AQS collection. The Schroeders used this collection of quilts as the foundation for the Museum of the American Quilter’s Society (now the National Quilt Museum). 

The American Quilter’s Society has expanded since 1984 to include Quilt Exposition in Tennessee, American Quilter and The Quilt Life magazines, an online retail presence, and a book publishing company. Image used under Creative Commons license