Chisholm Trail Quilt Guild

About Us

Meetings. General Membership meetings are held the first Tuesday of the month, at 10:00 am. See the calendar page for meeting/workshop locations, since it sometimes varies. We have over 150 members, and usually 80 or more attend the meetings.

Purpose. The Chisholm Trail Quilt Guild is organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. The purpose of the guild is four-fold.

1. To foster appreciation of quilts and the art of quilting among both quilters and the public.
2. To increase the knowledge of traditional and contemporary techniques of quilting and to provide an encouraging environment in which quilters can practice and exchange ideas.
3. To educate the public as to the significance, history and preservation of quilting as an art form as well as an ongoing craft.
4. To support and provide for charities that provide back to the community.

Background. The Chisholm Trail Quilt Guild was formed in March of 1999 by forty-three people interested in forming a daytime guild in Williamson County. The first show was in 2001, when the guild joined with the Georgetown Heritage Society and Handcrafts Unlimited to produce the Georgetown Quilt Show. A more complete history of the guild is here.

Community Service. The Linus Connection has been the guilds main community service project for many years. The Linus Connection distributes quilts and blankets to children in Williamson County who need comforting: abused and neglected children; children in foster care, homeless shelters and orphanages; and children in cancer and hospital wards.

Quilt Show. CTQG holds a quilt show in odd-numbered years. A donation quilt is made for each show, and a boutique and silent auction are populated with items donated and made by guild members. The show is the guild's primary fund raiser, and allows the guild to rent meeting space and present programs by well-known quilt experts and local quilters.

In even-numbered years, the guild organizes a challenge quilt competition, where the quilt must conform to certain restrictions. The entered quilts are voted on by members at the December meeting (party).

Retreat. The guild organizes an annual retreat, held somewhere in Texas. The retreats are packed full of fun, sewing, good eats and friendly quilters.

Workshops. The guild schedules workshops throughout the year. This is where you can learn new techniques and skills. The workshops are usually held the day after the regular guild meeting.
A list of all programs and workshops from 1999 to present is here.

Bees. Bees are small groups of quilters, and this is where the social sewing goes on, where friends help with your quilt making, give and receive advice, and so on. There are several bees, mostly meeting on a rotating basis in member's home. Our Bee Coordinator has a list of bees with openings for new members. She can also help with the formation of new bees. The best way to get to know members of the guild is to join one or more of the bees.