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Click HERE to download the Guild Constitution (updated 2009)

We are a non-profit quilting group based in Geelong, a regional city 70km south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 
We have  around 180 members from all walks of life including those who have daytime jobs, stay at home parents and retirees.

We are an Incorporated group - A6698

We welcome Visitors and Beginners
Join us at a Guild Meeting, and come back often to keep in touch and see what we are up to
We ask visitors to wear a  yellow Name Tag  to help us to welcome you and get to know you

Our Guild is for ...

those who can, those who think they might like to, those who like to share ideas and expertise, those who want to learn more, those who like to meet others with the same interest, those who are new to Geelong or who like to catch up with people in the Greater Geelong region

We have activities and Challenges to suit beginners and  experienced quilters
We have a Quilt-In each May
We hold an Exhibition every two years

We are very proud of our members who have achieved recognition and success in the wider quilting world

Geelong Guild supports the local community by making and donating quilts and raising much needed funds for community support

Committee

No organisation can function without energetic and dedicated people who are prepared to ...
J  become Committee members     J  take up executive positions     J
J  be on the various sub-committees     J

Our History

As reported  in the first Geelong Patchwork and Quilters Guild Newsletter, September 1985, sixty-three women attended a meeting on 13 July 1985, convened by Heather Strauss, to consider the establishment of a patchwork and quilters' guild. By October it was official - once the  Dept of Corporate Affairs had approved the constitution discussed and adopted at the September meeting. Fourteen members were listed and seven of them formed the Committee of Management.

Guild meetings were held in the Uniting Church Hall, Leopold, 1.30 to 4.30 pm. There were Area meetings in Belmont, Ocean Grove, Newcomb, Portarlington and Geelong West.

Fees back then were ...
entrance fee: $2, annual subscription: $10 ($20 July 1987), monthly Guild meeting: 50 cents, Hall rental: $30; the incorporation fee: $60

Each newsletter included a Block of the Month and a library was building within 12 months.
Workshops and speakers were an important part of Guild activities from the start.

Our Presidents
elected at the AGM in August each year

1985-86      Heather Gomersill (was Strauss)

1986-87      Janet Couchman

1987-88      Suzanne Del Papa

1988-89      Pauline Hucker

1989-90      Pauline Hucker

1990-91      Sue Longmore

1991-92      Sue Longmore

1992-93      Kerrie Maloney

1993-94      Kerrie Maloney

1994-95      Cheryl Andrews

1995-96      Cheryl Andrews

1996-97      Margaret Gaskin

1997-98      Margaret Gaskin

The first Guild Exhibition was held Nov 1986 in the Geelong State Offices.

The newsletter was first called Common Thread in May 1993

Browsing the old newsletters revealed ...

1998-99      Kerrie Maloney

1999-00     Jan Preston

2000-01     Jacinta Pritchard

2001-02     Helen Stewart

2002-03     Glenn Reid

2003-04     Annette Packett

2004-05     Meg Pyburne

2005-06     Debra Blair   

2006-07     Margaret Drayton

2007-08     Laura Rohricht

2008-09     Judy Alcock

2009-10     Linda Ryan

The Guild gained a place in designing something that depicts the Geelong area for the Bicentennial - only 34 areas throughout Australia were given a letter. "We have been allotted the third 'i' in the word Exhibition from Australian Bicentennial Exhibition 1988"

The finished banner travelled during 1988 and was much admired. In Oct, the Guild was awarded a 2" (5 cm) commemorative silver medallion, under the Women Celebrate 88 program, for its contribution to the celebration of Australia’s Bicentenary.

To be continued ...