Celebrating the Life of Quilt Historian Cuesta Benberry

The Atlanta Quilt Festival is pleased to premier its inaugural Marva Swanson Lecture Series. Marva Swanson was a co-founder of the Atlanta Quilt Festival who tirelessly promoted quilt education. It is in her spirit that we offer a series of lectures during the Festival in 2024.

Lynette Warren provides an overview of the life and extensive research on quilting conducted by Cuesta Benberry.  Ms. Benberry was a powerhouse in quilt history and research.  Benberry affectionately called her work “minding her Ps and Qs,” Ps being patterns and Qs being quilts.  An elementary teacher and librarian by trade, Benberry’s research helped usher in the scholarly study of quilts and quilt history.  Benberry began studying quilts, quilt patterns and their history following her marriage and her interest in the quilts of her husband’s family in Kentucky.  From the initial interest in family quilts grew a fascination with all quilts. Her participation in…