My favorite would be Mabel Obenchain. Most of you probably wouldn't have heard of her, and she passed away a few years ago. She was in her nineties. I had the honor of finishing one of the quilts she had started many years ago. I haven't quilted it yet, but it is a pleasure having some of her work in my collection now.
I helped hand-quilt the quilt you see in the following link a few years ago. It was made in honor of her and was the guild raffle quilt. I believe it brought in more money than any other quilt that has ever been raffled off, over $10,000. Wish I'd won it!! :(
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/o/b/e/Nancy-A-Obenchain/PHOTO/0003photo.html
Here's a little bit about her:
Obenchain worked as fashion editor for Famous between 1968 and 1978. In 1971, she joined with Louise Roote to write her first quilt book. Among the books authored or co-authored by Obenchain are Katie's Blue Ribbon Quilts, Bicentennial Quilts, White House Quilts, Quilts of the Ozarks and Plain and Fancy Flower Quilts. Obenchain told interviewers that she was a mostly self-taught quilter who was fascinated by quilts. To assure accuracy of the quilt patterns she wrote about, she made a sample of each block.
In 1990, Obenchain was recognized for her contribution to the quilting world when she was inducted into the newly established Land of Lincoln Quilt Association's Hall of Fame.