The Teakettle Quilt Guild (TQG) annual Quilt Show will be held April 20 at Glacier Gateway School at 440 Fourth Ave. W. from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. Donations of non-perishable items for the Columbia Falls Food Bank would be appreciated. There will be about 100 quilts on display.
The first meeting to organize this guild was held at the Montana Veterans Home in Columbia Falls on Jan. 19, 2000, with 40 interested quilters attending. Many names were suggested for this new guild and “Teakettle Quilt Guild” was unanimously accepted. The Columbia Falls Chamber of Commerce asked TQG to produce a March 2000 “Quilt Walk” and Quilt Show. Quilts were displayed in various businesses each March for the next three years. The Quilt Walk proved to be a difficult task and was not continued, but the Quilt Show has continued. The exceptional involvement of all guild members has resulted in this organization’s growth.
The featured quilter this year is Gloria Day, a talented appliqué quilter. Gloria will have a display of her numerous beautiful quilts for everyone to enjoy. Visitors to the TQG Quilt Show can meet Gloria and visit with her about her quilts.
The six vendors specializing in quilting fabric and supplies at this year’s Quilt Show will be Backdoor General Store, Bigfork Quilts Etc., Hanging by a Thread, Quilt Gallery, Quilt Kits to Go and Smokey Bear Creek Retreats. These vendors, along with guild members, will present hourly quilting demonstrations that are open to anyone who wants to learn about quilting or quilting techniques.
Guild members have been busy making reasonably priced quilting items for the boutique. Many placemats, table runners, pot holders, quilts and handmade items will be available.
Each year the TQG sponsors a raffle quilt with the proceeds donated to local charities such as the Columbia Falls Food Bank, Wings, Hope Pregnancy Center, Abbie Shelter, Head Start, Montana Veterans Home/DAR for games, Community Kitchen (St. Richards), and the Lions Club. The 2013 raffle quilt “Montana by the Light of the Moon” drawing will be held at 3:45 p.m. during the Quilt Show. Raffle tickets will be available, $1 each or six for $5, with a raffle basket full of Montana-related items to be given away also.
Monthly guild meetings are held at 10 a.m. on the third Saturday of each month except July when a barbecue is enjoyed by all. Visitors are welcome. Every Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. TQG members also have a “sew day” at the Teakettle Building on Nucleus Avenue.
“Care quilts in a bag” are donated to the Flathead County Children’s Services and are given to children from the north valley area being placed in a foster home, and then the child can take their quilt with them wherever they go. Since TQG started this project in 2004, more than 250 quilts and bags have been donated. TQG also participates in the Linus quilts program.
The TQG quilters sponsor a $500 scholarship for a student from Columbia Falls High School along with offering a kids quilt class for 10 youth, ages 10 through 14, each June. Kits are prepared by the TQG quilters and each youth finishes a quilt to take home and enjoy. The Teakettle Quilters work with each student. Pre-registration for this class is available at the Quilt Show and then at the Columbia Falls Library.
For more information email [email protected]
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