NQA Chapter Showcase

Nestled between the Blue Ridge and the Appalachian Mountains, the beautiful Shenandoah Valley offers much to tourists: mountain resorts, historic sites, famous caverns, Skyline Drive, and the Shenandoah Valley Quilters Guild (SVQG). The Shenandoah Valley Quilters Guild, (VA 20), was created twenty-five years ago by a small group of enthusiastic quilters; this enthusiasm continues as over 100 members meet the third Saturday of the month near Harrisonburg, Virginia. The Guild goals are to promote the various aspects of the art of quilting, educate and develop the skill levels of members, and make a contribution to the community, relative to quilt making.

Special social events include an annual picnic in August and a spectacular Christmas party in December. This year many members are enjoying a "UFO challenge...finishing unfinished objects". Participants sign up for 6 UFOs they plan to complete within the year; bimonthly a project is finished or else a "fat quarter" penalty is issued. At the end of the year, a raffle is held and the winner inherits a basket filled with fat quarters. Members are finding this both challenging and satisfying, as we finish up some of those "20 years in process" projects!

Biannually, the Guild holds a quilt show on a weekend in June. Over 400 viewers attended the show to admire and possibly covet, the over 150 quilt show entries! In 2012, the Guild made and raffled a quilt (designed by two members), titled, "Sunset over the Blue Ridge". This raffle raised almost $3000, half of which was given to a local Literacy Program.

Several months a year, the SVQG devotes its programs locally. We make breast cancer pillows, chemo caps, and have donated hundreds of quilts to non-profit hospice organizations and to a rehabilitation center. A more recent project is adopting Samantha Dolls (made and donated by a local church group) and make quilts for both the doll and a child under hospice care who will receive both. We are also involved in the Rotary International program, Wrap a Smile, and have donated over 100 kids quilts to that project. We are also involved in a quilt exchange with a Sister Guild in Russia, called Hope. Other months we host both local and nationally known quilters to share their expertise and display their quilts and crafts.

The Shenandoah Valley in Virginia has much to offer visitors. We are especially proud to have in our area the well-known and exceptional Virginia Quilt Museum, housed in a historical building in downtown Harrisonburg. Check out our web site at www.SVQG.org and come visit our Guild meetings on the third Saturday of the month.