Blue Ridge Quilters Guild of Northeast Tennessee
The December meeting is followed by our annual Holiday potluck or brown bag lunch. Beverages and set-ups are provided by the Guild.
The August meeting, which is the last meeting of our fiscal year, is a picnic gathering in an outdoor setting.
The Blue Ridge Quilters’ Guild has several community service projects in and around the Northeast Tennessee area. All Guild members are encouraged to make “Small Comforts/Preemie” quilts for children of all ages, who are under the auspices of care organizations.
In 2023-24 the guild donated 126 Small Comfort Quilts to CASA, 107 Premie quilts to Ronald McDonald House, and 3 quilts to Habitat for Humanity.The guild’s major fund-raiser, an auction, is usually held immediately following the May meeting during calendar years starting with even numbers.
Our annual Quilt Challenge theme is announced in the fall. All members are encouraged to participate as a way to challenge ourselves to try something different. Rules can specify many things such as: the color(s) or design of fabric(s) used, a theme, embellishments, a certain quilt block, size of quilt, and whether other quilted items may be entered, etc. The final products are presented for judging during the last meeting of our year. Votes are cast by attendees, in accordance with the judging criteria set by the Challenge Committee.
The annual retreat is usually held in March. For three days, we retreat from our daily obligations for non-stop sewing, eating, and talking.
Our motto is “What happens at retreat, stays at retreat!”
A highlight of every Guild meeting is Sew and Tell. At in-person meetings, every member has the opportunity to share quilts (Small Comforts, Ronald McDonald House Preemies, and/or personal.) For the Zoom meetings, members send photos of their quilts to the Chair of Small Comforts, who assembles them into a PowerPoint. As each quilt is displayed, members have the opportunity to talk about their work.