The Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild is not your grandmother’s quilt guild.
Its members discuss “quilty happenings” on an online forum and Instagram, but the most energetic activities are the monthly meetings at the Redwood City Public Library in the heart of Silicon Valley.
The Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild encourages modern quilters to come together to share their quilts and quilting techniques. Modern quilting does not have a single definition, although it is often characterized by the use of brightly colored fabrics on neutral-colored backgrounds, by the altering of traditional quilt blocks, or by having designs inspired by modern art.
Despite disagreement about the definition of modern quilting, The Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild is “a very accepting group of people,” according to Gerre Davis, a longtime member. Guild members vary in age and have a wide variety of life experiences. Many are engineers who use quilting as a creative crafting outlet. Others are stay-at-home moms with tremendous artistic talent. Members are united by their love of fabric and the high value they place in joining a community with other quilters. And, as guild member Lynette Bartel said: “It’s a lot of fun.”
Hear more from this quilting community in the video above.
