Their contribution sends an important message as those quilts are the first Special Exhibit that guests see when they come to Road to California. For 2019, that quilt guild was the Coastal Quilters Guild of Santa Barbara and Goleta, California.
The Coastal Quilters Guild of Santa Barbara and Goleta began in 1988 as an idea from a small quilt shop in Goleta, H&H Country Store. They wanted to get quilters together to form a monthly group. Six women showed up at their first meeting, with four of them bringing children along with them.
The first quilt guild meetings were held during the day and grew quickly. They decided they wanted to try to meet without the kids playing around. So, they changed their location to the Goleta Library in the evening. Today, quilt guild meetings are held in the evening on the second Thursday of each month at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Goleta.
Supporting the community by donating specialty quilts to various organizations is one of the Guild’s popular programs. Each year, the quilt guild chooses an organization to focus on. In the past they have contributed over a hundred “Fidget Quilts” to patients with Alzheimer’s who receive daytime care through the Friendship Center. Because many patients with dementia suffer from anxiety and agitation,” Fidget Quilts” can help to calm them by keeping them engaged and occupied.
Some of the other philanthropies they have supported included donating over a hundred quilts to CALM (Child Abuse Listening and Mediation) and to Sarah House which provides residential care for people who are very low-income at the end of their lives. For 2019, they are focusing on quilts for veterans.
To encourage friendship and quilting skills, each month the quilt guild sponsors a “Block of the Month,” where a member wins all the blocks made that month in a drawing at the guild meeting.
The Guild also sponsors a friendly “Challenge” competition. Each year, a theme is chosen for members to interpret and create a quilt which is displayed at future guild activities. For 2019, their Challenge theme is “Don’t Touch.” Members are to create a Public Awareness sign with a reminder: “Just Look, Don’t Touch.”
Thank you, Coastal Quilters Guild of Santa Barbara and Goleta, California, for supplying such a stunning, visual welcome to Road 2019.
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