Violette Denney presenting her quilt to the representative of the Olympic Committee from Uganda, as part of the Olympic Quilt Project, 1996. |
The West Georgia Quilters Guild: A Legacy in Stitches
The guild was founded in September 1987 by
Carol Kelley, a quilter, after she moved to Carrollton from
Omaha and, much to her dismay, found that there was no local
quilt guild. The guild has grown to forty members whose goals
are to share the craft, history, and love of quilting with
their community, family and friends. The making of a quilt is
an art that can take many forms. Some quilts are made from
traditional patterns, such as the Log Cabin Quilt or the
Wedding Ring Quilt. Others take on historical patterns, such
as the Crazy Quilt. Many quilters choose to use a combination
of traditional patterns, as well as blend their own interests
and personalities into the quilt's pattern. Among the group's
most important projects are its group quilts.
The West Georgia Quilters Guild is a blend of old and
young, experienced and novice quilters, and with this blend comes a
variety of techniques, patterns, and quilted art. The guild wants
to share their talent with the community and to show how quilts can
tell much about our history. They have accomplished this feat with
many community service projects, such as providing handmade quilts
for charity raffles and for placement in new community
buildings.
The guild participated in a project of international
scope when Atlanta was honored to host the Summer Olympic Games in
1996. In preparation for this event, the West Georgia Quilters
Guild put out a call to all quilters in the state to submit quilts
for a special project. The aim was to provide the flag bearer and
the president of the Olympic committee from each country with a
quilt from Georgia. Six quilts were chosen from guild members and
given to the countries of Uganda, Hungary, Ethiopia, Albania,
Nicaragua, and Turkmenistan.
The guild shares their work with the community at
their annual February exhibition in the Bess Harman Williamson
Cultural Arts Center at the Neva Lomason Memorial Library in
Carrolton. This exhibition features at least 50 quilts and quilted
wall hangings. No quilt is shown twice, except for two Olympic
quilts. The popular exhibit attracts 12,000 visitors each year.
Documentation includes a report, photographs and
newspaper clippings.
Originally submitted by: Bob Barr, Representative (7th District).
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The Local Legacies project provides a "snapshot" of American Culture as it was expressed in spring of 2000. Consequently, it is not being updated with new or revised information with the exception of "Related Website" links.
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