World Wide Quilting Page
Question of the Week
Question for the week of March 16, 1998:
Our question this week comes from Sandra Blankenship
How do guilds organized the making of their raffle quilts and how do you encourage all members of the guild to participate?
Llynnda Doerner :
You cajole,beg,embarrass,threaten,cry
even try hunger strikes and nothing
will work. Just rely on all the old
faithful members and be thankful for
%
Marlene Clausen, Heritage Quilt Guild :
We make one bed-size quilt per year to raise money. We start a year in advance. A member (or 2-3) offers to be the organizing committee. They choose the pattern and either ask members to doante small amounts of fabric or buy from one of our guild members' quilt shops (we have two). The volunteer(s) piece the top, it then goes to another member for basting. Guild members then take turns quilting. The quilt MUST come to each meeting so we can monitor progress. The quilt is, somehow, always finished by our annual quilt show. A photo is taken, $1 tickets copied, and a packet of one photo and 15 tickets given to each member. We have done this for several years and usually make about $1000 for each quilt after expenses.
Avril :
I choose a block and prepare a "baggy of the fabric with instructions for all members. Each member takes a bag and supplies a piece of their own fabric for the center. When they are returned I join and sash the blocks and sandwich everything. It is set up in a frame and all hand quilters contribute to the quilting. Someone else is then in charge of ticket printing and sales and we take the quilt to speakers meeting etc. to sell tickets.
Pat :
In our Guild, we make several raffle quilts. One big one for the 1st place winner, and several smaller ones for other place winners. But we also make a second big one that will be raffled off to a member of our guild. A member gets her name in the pot for the 'members quilt' each time she participates in the production of the quilts, or the sale of raffle tickets or other related tasks.
When a plan is made for the making of the quilt, packets are given out with whatever uniform fabrics are required and the instructions etc. These are due back very quickly, and mostly this is no problem. When the quilt blocks have been pieced, and the quilt sandwiched and marked, the quilt is sent around to various members and small groups who have signed up to take the quilt on certain days and work on it.
Volunteers are usually forthcoming for these tasks, as well as to do the piecing and finishing. Of course, our Guild has 450 ro 500 members at any one time. That helps.
tricia d'ambrose :
every member can contribute in the making of a raffle quilt. by selecting a pattern, from picking out fabric, from designing raffle tickets, etc. everyone has something they are better at they can bring this talent to the guild.
Kayce :
Our guild has a committee that selects the pattern and fabric, then enlists help from the members for cutting, piecing, and quilting. We encourage participation by including the progress reports in our meetings and welcoming any and all volunteers. Everyone was a beginner once and they can be as valuable an asset as the seasoned quilter with the perfect stitch. I know this because my guild told me that last year when I became active with the raffle quilt! I helped piece and mark the quilt. We basted it at a meeting dedicated to basting any and all quilts (raffle first) and then passed it on to quilters one week at a time. Remember to make the whole process visible and fun and you'll have no problem getting volunteers! I learned so much working on ours and then helped sell tickets. It was a real source of prde to look at the finished product and be able t say 'This was made by our guild' and know I had contributed.
World Wide Quilting Page * Question of the Week