Miami County Quilters Guild
For Quilt Guild inquiries call: 913-406-2680
Co-Presidents
Regina York - day meeting
Jackie McLean - night meeting
Secretaries
Pam Pearson
Rebecca Potter
Co 1st Vice Presidents - Membership
Lorna McCrea
Laura Davids
Cee Kueser, Treasurer
About Miami County Quilters' Guild
Meetings are held at the Paola Community Center, 905 East Wea Street, Paola, KS.
We meet the first Thursday of each month at 10am and 6:30pm, giving our members the opportunity to attend either (or both) meeting depending on their schedule, except certain months of the year when we have a combined meeting of the morning and evening groups. If Paola USD #368 is closed due to bad weather on a meeting day, the meeting will not be held. The meeting will be rescheduled for the following Thursday or members will be notified otherwise.
Membership in the Guild includes a monthly newsletter, free Block of the Month pattern, free or reduced rate classes from local and regional quilt experts, and guild member discounts at area quilt shops.
Each new member will receive a guild pin and membership directory/handbook. Every year each member will be provided with a new membership directory and handbook. Dues are $30 per year, $20 of that is the actual membership fee and the other $10 is given in Opportunity Quilt tickets.
Our guild functions through the time and talents of its many volunteers. We hope there is a project, committee, or task in which you will participate.
2024 Officers
Co 2nd Vice Presidents, Programs
Helen Kennon
Cindy Toburen
In 1979, Miami County had an active group of quilters, in Churches and a Quilting Bee but no one was teaching quilting here. Quilting was being taught in the Kansas City area. Nada Thoden, Miami County Extension Agent, and the Extension Council decided to start quilting lessons in 1980. The first group of teachers were Susie Miller, Carmella Harbison, Bev Mills, Mary Karr and Vera Kaiser. The group met with Norma Lowe of the Kansas City area for instructions of teaching Quilting. Nada Thoden and the teachers, went to work making patterns and set up classes to start in January 1980. The response was great. Classes were held in Osawatomie, Paola, Louisburg and Fontana with about 100 participating for four months. As the classes were finishing their quilts, Nada and the teachers decided to have a Quilt Show. Thus the first Drag n Brag Quilt Show was planned for the last weekend of September. Nada, the teachers and students with the help of Herschel George, Miami County Agricultural Agent and Darrel Kaiser hung 97 quilts at the Paola High School. Over 900 people viewed the quilts and Governor John Carlin of Kansas attended the first Drag n Brag Quilt Show.
Nada had so much response for more classes for Beginning Quilting and the first group of quilters wanted to take Advanced Quilting lessons that she organized more lessons for 1981. More teachers were added to the first year teachers. The new teachers included Junita Clayton, Dorothy Kuhlmann, Ann Haspels, Joyce Meek and Linda Seuferling. Over 100 students signed up for these classes. It was decided that the second Drag n Brag Quilt Show should be held at the High School on the last weekend of September. The second Quilt Show had 125 quilts made by the students of the Extension Quilting Classes. Herschel and crew were asked to help hang the quilts again. The show was also viewed by over 900 people. What a success!!!
In May, 1981 after the quilting classes had finished there was expressed interest in starting a Quilt Guild. About 40 quilters met at the Kansas City Power and Light building on May 20, 1981. Dorothy Kuhlman was acting Chairman and Beverly Potty was acting Secretary. Junita Massey, Albert Wallace and Joyce Meek were appointed to select a slate of Officers for the June meeting. It was decided to meet once a month in the evenings for the summer. Martha Handford and Virginia Branum were asked to plan programs for the summer. It was planned to bring our projects to Show and Tell at the meetings.
The Guild met on June 18, 1981 elected Dorothy Kuhlman, President; Virginia Branum, Vice President; Beverly Potty, Secretary; Joyce Meek, Treasurer; and Junita Massey was appointed Historian. Martha Handford volunteered to write a set of By-laws. The other business of this meeting was to have a name contest for the group, set dues and our first lesson was given by Martha Handford on how to make mitered corners using bias binding. The July meeting voted to take buses to the Kaw Valley and the Kansas City Quilt Shows. Dues were set to start in September and everyone was asked to help with the Quilt Show in September. Martha Handford gave a lesson on applique bias binding in a circle. The August meeting the by-laws were adopted and the meetings were to start in September on the first Thursday of the month at 10am and 7pm. Six doll quilts were to be given away for door prizes to girls ages 5 - 12 years old at the Quilt Show. The same officers continued for the year 1981-82. Dorothy Kuhlman gave a lesson of appliqueing circles, a doll quilt was demonstrated using different color fabric to make balloons and embroidery strings.
The Miami County Quilters Guild has met every month since May 1981. We have had quilting lessons, quilt speakers, Christmas parties and Field Trips. We have given to our community, including but not limited to, Quilting Books to the County Libraries, Quilting Video's to the Extension Office, Dolls and Doll Quilts to the needy children of the county at Christmas, Quilt talks and demonstrations on Quilting at the schools and help with Kansas Day Celebrations in Paola. Our members have given demonstrations at County and State Fairs.
The Extension held the third Drag n Brag Quilt Show on the last weekend of September 1982. On Saturday, Helen Ericson of Emporia, gave a talk on Sunbonnet Sue's. She wrote a book on the history of Sunbonnet Sue. The Guild made a Celtic Quilt to be given away at the Quilt Show. This had been a lesson given by Alberta Wallace. The Guild members each made a block and quilted it. The Quilt Committee put the blocks together and bound the quilt.
The Guild took over the Quilt Show in 1983. We have tried to continue to show quilts to keep the Art of Quilting alive in Miami County. We give thanks to Nada Thoden for her guidance....
MCQG History
Audit Chair - Ben Hevelka (team of 3)
Barn Quilt Liaison - Diane Burnett
Beginning Quilt Class - Terri Couture
Block of the Month - Jane Drugg
Bylaws -
Card Chair - Karen Kice
Challenge - Joyce Johnson
Community Service Projects - Dianna Cook
Charity/Disaster Quilts - Ginger Vail
Facebook (private) - Karen Kiss, Brenda Mosely
Food pantry Virginia Adams (Osawatomie)
Dianna Cook (Paola)
Evening (Louisburg)
Greeter AM - Branda Jenkins
Holiday Party Chair 2024 -
Hospitality - Jeanne Ainsworth
KCRQF Representatives - Diane Burnett & Jackie McLean
KCRQF Board Members - Nancy Hart-Kline (Secretary)
& Jerri Jones (Vendors)
Kid's Corner Miami County Fair - Diane Burnett
Kid's Quilt Camp - Laurie Jacklovich
Newsletter Editor - Kelly Schroeder
Opportunity Quilt Ticket Sales - Regina York
Opportunity Quilt - Marilyn Chandler (2024)
Cee Kueser (2025)
Quilts at K-State Extension Paola - Jerri Hefling
Quilts at Paola Library - Joyce Geiger
Quilt Show Chair - Branda Jenkins
Scholarship - Regina York, Heather Christie
& Sharon Schroeder
Social Media Administration - Nancy Hart Kline, Karen Kiss
& Brenda Mosley
Webmaster - R. Michelle Pixler
ZOOM Sewing Day - Brenda Mosley
Historian
2024 Committee Chairs
