The Black Hills Quilters Guild was established on March 17, 1977 with 21 charter members. The membership now numbers about 300.
There were three quilt shows (1974-1976) held under the direction of a local quilt shop before the Guild was officially established. In September 1977, the new Guild took over the responsibilities of hosting the quilt show and displayed about 100 quilts. The show now displays between 400-500 quilted items every year. Some of our quilters have won awards in other quilt shows across the country.
Community Outreach has been an important purpose of the guild nearly from the beginning. The Project Warmth group was started in 1985 to provide quilts for a family that lost their home in a fire. Twenty-eight quilts were given away during 1988. Shortly after that, the hospital asked the guild to provide quilts for Pediatrics and Newborns for parents who did not have a blanket to wrap around their child to take them home. Now this effort has grown to provide quilts for Women Against Violence Inc. (WAVI), Black Hills Children's Home, families receiving Habitat for Humanity Homes, as well as other community needs. There are usually around 300 quilts given away each year. During the quilt show, the guild sponsors a silent auction of small quilted objects to support Monument Health Hospice House (as of 2023, over $43,000 has been raised for this worthy cause).
Education has also been an important purpose of the guild. In the early years, retreats were held infrequently but they have been offered annually since about 1990. Instructors over the years have included many nationally known teachers such as Judy Mathieson, Klaudeen Hansen, Jinny Beyer, Ellie Sienkiewicz, Karen Kay Buckley, Bill Kerr, Janna Thomas, Linda Hahn, and Sue Heinz. The retreat is now a regular event lasting for three days, usually held around the end of September or first of October. The guild supports a lending library available to the members which has grown to include over 500 books, stencils, an Accuquilt GO! Cutter and dies, CD's and Videos. Another educational opportunity is Guild Guild Skills presentations at our Gatherings which give an overview of a quilting technique or skill. The Guild also supports a number of Special Interest Groups where quilters with a common interest in a particular area of quilting can share ideas.
Besides the shows, the outreach and the education, the BHQG provides a variety of social activities throughout the year which provide the perfect environment for friendships to grow. Learning, working, and playing together cultivate the friendships born of a common interest in quilting.
