Stephen Vance, Staff
The Georgian Quilters Guild recently celebrated a special anniversary – 20 years.
The Guild held their first meeting in October of 1996 after 25 people responded to a newspaper advertisement. In the early years their meetings were held at the Knox Presbyterian Church before moving to Meaford Hall in 2007.
Over the years membership in the guild has grown to more than 50 quilters.
“We enjoy sharing ideas, learning new techniques, and working together on projects,” said the organization.
Members of the Georgian Quilters Guild have been involved with many community projects over the years, including the design and quilting of Meaford’s 150th anniversary wall-hanging, displayed in the Meaford Public Library, and they also applied their skills to two Dresden Plate quilts, containing 600 signatures celebrating the hall renovation’s fundraising drive, which hang in the foyer at Meaford Hall in 2006.
“Community Outreach has always been a focus for our group, with quilts donated to raffles and auctions supporting worthy causes such as Participation Lodge, Tim Horton’s ‘Camp Day’, and Quilt for a Cure Cancer Research initiative,” said the Guild.
In the past three years the Georgian Quilters Guild has donated quilts to the Keystone Beginnings Program, Owen Sound Women’s Shelter, Keystone Teen Residence, and to Syrian Refugee Families in Meaford and Thornbury. They have also made quilts for fire victims both local and not so local, as well as for Alberta flood victims, Japan tsunami victims, My Friends House, local residents with illness, or who have been in an accident accident, and place mats for the Day Away and Meals on Wheels Programs.
The Guild meets once a month to participate in interesting informative programs and to hear speakers on a wide range of topics related to quilting, fabric, new techniques, and trends.
Photo: Past President, Jill Degen, and and Jean Wheeler (seated) a charter member of the Georgian Quilters Guild.
