We meet as a group (in non-pandemic times) once a month to hear terrific speakers on quilting topics, to share our creations with our fellow quilters in Show & Share, socialize with our quilting friends over sweet or savoury treats and tea or coffee and conduct Guild business in a short meeting.
Sometimes, we have a Guild activity, such as, learning a new skill or voting on Viewer’s Choice for the quilt creations resulting from the Block of the Month for the year. At Christmas, we celebrate with a fabulous pot luck dinner and in May we hold a birthday bash for the Guild. We are always looking for people who want to help us grow our Guild and getting on the Executive is the best way to get the most out of the Guild.
Outside of regular meetings, we also have periodic full or part day workshops taught by our very skilled members or a professional quilting teacher.
Our Guild makes a wide range of contributions to our community using our quilting skills. Each year, Guild members contribute to the creation of one or more charity quilts to give to various charities, such as the Royal Victoria Health Centre Foundation in Barrie and COPE Service Dogs for use in their fund-raising raffles. At Christmas we make pillowcases filled with goodies and useful items for homeless men or Santa Sacks filled with Christmas presents for needy children that the Salvation Army serves. Throughout the year, a number of our members meet a couple of times a month at a local church to make up baby quilts to cover the isolettes in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at RVH that go home with the babies at the end of their stay or members make these quilts at home from kits made up at Comfort Quilt sessions. These sessions are a wonderful opportunity to increase your quilting skills by learning from seasoned quilters. We now make pillowcases for Easter Basket Dreams, a local group working to bring some Easter joy to children and youth living in 5 Simcoe County shelters. Our members donate some of their creations to POGO (Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario) which brings information and resources to babies, toddlers and teens and their families dealing with childhood cancer. Guild members have generously responded to a request from Hospice Simcoe for carry bags (used by families to bring their loved one’s belongings home) and catheter cover bags to help them provide dignified care for people in their care.
So if you are looking for a place to make new friends of other quilters, share in the joy of creating beautiful quilts and contribute to your community using your quilting skills, Kempenfelt Quilters’ Guild would love to have you join us.