Sunday, January 23, 2011

The Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild....

...changed my life. Right, Lauren? Lauren said it first, but we all feel the same way.

As much I as love the online modern quilting community, there's not much better than connecting with real people who quilt, and even better, people who love modern quilting as much as I do. I didn't know what I was missing.

It was one year ago today that we held our organizational meeting. Today, those of us who started our KC MQG are celebrating with a blog post-a-palooza...or as Shea, our VP says...a giant love letter to our guildy friends!

First, I have to thank my LA guild friends, Alissa and Latifah for just doing it and kicking off the first MQG. Couldn't have done it without you! Next, Shea, who emailed me and asked me to meet her to talk about getting it going in our neck of the woods. Who knew that a couple of cups of coffee later we'd be on the road to something fabulous. We now have an official guild, with 96 members and growing every meeting. We thought maybe we'd get 10 folks sitting around a table chatting it up. Little did we know.

Something like that doesn't happen without a lot of work and some really talented, dedicated people behind the scenes. I have the most amazing officer team, Shea, Jamie, Jenny and Lauren who put up with my wacky leadership style and work like dogs to make our guild, organized, informative and most importantly FUN! Jamie has a head for money. Thank goodness, because I don't. Jamie is also full of ideas and willing to step in on a moment's notice. She's also a bit of a Bernina wizard, making sure one by one that the members of our guild have great sewing machines. Shea is a stickler for details, reminders and organization. Shea keeps us on our toes and always does it with a smile. Lauren handles our tech needs and keeps us in stitches with her creative mind and free thinking attitude. Lauren simply makes things happen. It's magic! Jenny is our quiet, level headed one. She always seems to be there with an idea or an offer to help. She's the kind of officer that you know has your back. Jenny exudes style and brings a bit of class to our team. How could we not be successful with a team like that?

And then there are our members. They have ideas, they participate, they're willing to do things differently. I'm floored every meeting by their talent and creativity. They inspire. They come from near and far....from Nebraska, no less. They are the Kansas City Modern quilt guild and I'm proud to be a part of them. We celebrate our official one year anniversary as a guild in March with the reveal of our new challenge and then on to year two...who knows where we'll go from there.

16 comments:

FlourishingPalms said...

Congratulations on a great start and wonderful opportunities for everyone in and around Kansas City. I, for one, hope one will take off here in Des Moines.

All the best to your friendly group!

Holly said...

Congratulations on a very successful first year! Isn't it amazing to see a new guild form before your eyes? Keep up the inspiring work!

ellen said...

Happy Anniversary! Isn't it wonderful to see magic happen before your very eyes?

Shea said...

Sigh. I do love this guild. And the friendships I've gained because of it.

Thanks for meeting me at Panera that fateful day. I'm thrilled to call you 'friend.'

Enjoy your Sunday!

Miri said...

Sounds like a great group! Happy guild anniversary!

Alissa said...

Whaaahooo! Congrats on your anniversary and I can't wait to be at your meeting next month!!

Katie said...

That's awesome! I'm interested to hear some of your tactics we are really struggling with attendance and membership in Indy.

wattse2000 said...

Hi! I live in Olathe and I'd love to join your Guild! Are you accepting new members? When and where do you meet?

Beth

wattse2000 said...

I should include my email it's wattse2000@yahoo.com

Thanks!

Beth

Vicki said...

Thanks so much for inviting me to that first meeting. :) And thanks to you and all the other leaders for all the hard work you've put in this past year, getting us up and running! It's been great and I can't wait to see what cool new thing we do next!

Carla said...

Thanks for all you and the other officers do to make our guild so awesome and fun!

Pat said...

Hi, its great to hear something going so great. I din't know we had one in Indy. I live south of Indianapolis.

Mary Anne said...

It is a thrill to be a member of the KC MQG - every meeting puts me in inspiration overload and challenges me to push my personal boundaries....and I am loving it!

Thanks to you ALL for your hard work! You all are amazing!

MightyMom said...

congrats...and I'm jealous.


hey, can you send me links to some of your blog posts that really show YOU off....the book, the mags, the trunk show, the quilts....I'll put it all together with a letter and send to that quilt store.

I'm gonna get you in Dallas by hook or by crook.....when's the book out ie, how much time do I have anyways???

:-)

Suzanne said...

So much good has come out of this idea. Congratulations!

trudys_person said...

I love my modern quilt guild too - Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild! Thank you Holly (myredbike) and everybody who inspired it!!!