For years the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Ky., has been the world’s foremost museum devoted to the quilts of the world. With the creation of the Friends of the Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum society, Carrollton will move one step closer to hosting the newest and most ambitious quilt museum in the Southeastern United States.

In celebration, the Georgia Quilt Council plans to hold it fall convention in Carrollton Oct. 9-10.

The weekend begins Friday at the Bradley Street Gallery, where the Friends will host a meet-and-greet across the street from the future home of the museum.

Along with a special art exhibit, attendees will have a chance to chat with convention speakers and local dignitaries. Judy Schwender, curator of the National Quilt Museum; Doug Mabry, Carroll County historian; and noted author Flavin Glover will speak at the convention on Saturday. Located at the Carroll County Agricultural Center on Newnan Road, tickets are available for $40 at the door.

Carrollton was chosen as the site for this year’s convention in part to raise awareness about the upcoming museum, according to Kimber Pepper, president of the West Georgia Quilters Guild.

“Instead of just having a convention in Carrollton, we decided to go ahead and introduce Carrollton to the quilting community,” said Pepper. “We’re interested in attracting people who are interested in quilting as an art form; we want people to know where the museum is going to be.”

Pepper also seeks to address some local concern that the museum isn’t going to make it off the ground.

“We can set to rest some of the rumors that have been going around, we want people to know that this is real. We’ve got an architect, we’ve got a CPA, we’ve got a lawyer, we’ve got some money in the bank,” said Pepper. “I think that [the convention] is going to help settle some of the questions about where [the museum] is going to be, when it’s coming, and what is it.”

The recent creation of the Friends of the Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum Society was also a big step for the Quilters Guild. The purpose of the society at this point is volunteerism, although the group will soon begin to turn its attention to soliciting donations.

“We can’t accept donations right now, but we do want to have a list of people who have an interest in donating. After the staff is in place and after a curator has been hired, they can connect with these people,” said Pepper.

The organization is being structured so that donations made locally will have a direct local effect. Donations will go toward renovating the building and ensuring it is environmentally friendly, creating the expansive storage enclosures necessary to preserve quilts and textiles, and for education and outreach.

“There’s anticipation that there will be summer programs for the kids,” said Pepper. For adults, there will be “courses by professional instructors who teach techniques, or for a particular pattern that’s difficult to do.”

Beverly Hammack, chairwoman of the Friends, believes that things are moving quickly in the right direction.

“I think the date that they’re talking about is spring 2011,” said Hammack.

Hammack, a Carrollton resident, said that placing the museum in Carrollton was a good idea.

“We think that Carrollton is the ideal place because we’d be a block off Highway 27, a major thoroughfare from Chicago to Miami,” said Hammack. “We think we have a lot to offer here.”

According to Hammack, the Georgia Quilt Council was very impressed with the town, the Cultural Arts Center, and with the artistic community as a whole, among other things that make Carrollton ideal.

Hammack plans to learn from other museums when making plans for Carrollton’s museum, and society members have traveled around the country to see what lessons they could learn.

“We’ve learned some things about storage that will be required, how much storage room we’ll need,” said Hammack.

Doug Mabry, who toured quilting and textile museums across the nation, found that at nearly every museum, storage space topped the list of concerns. His findings are now being integrated into the architectural plans currently being created.

Besides offering both quilts and textiles, the museum also plans to differentiate itself by accepting donated quilts from any time period, rather than limiting donations to quilts made after 1970, as other museums have done. Additionally, in a deal worked out by county commission chairman Bill Chappell, the museum will operate under a unique public/private partnership, in which the county will maintain the building and the grounds, and the museum will handle the utilities.

“Despite the bad publicity that Bill Chappell has gotten, he has been instrumental in helping us,” said Pepper. “He’s the one who called the meeting with Jane Kingsley and said this is something that we want to do, and we want to show our support.”

Organizers expect that the museum will host 40,000 visitors per year when completed, and will provide a much-needed boost the local economy.