About Cotton Patch Quilters Guild of Kern County (CPQ)

Organized 1979 - Charted 1980 - Incorporated 1985

Cotton Patch Quilters of Kern County is a nonprofit organization. Our guild includes quilt makers of all ages and backgrounds. We share the love of quilts; the art, design and history that goes into the creation of each one. Our meetings include talented guest speakers, show & tell, as well as workshops. As a group we take bus trips to quilt shows held in other cities and enjoy the creativity of our fellow quilt makers. Every other January CPQ hosts a quilt show at the Kern County Fairgrounds. We invite you to join us and look forward to meeting you!

Who We Are - What We Do

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Newsletter Editor: Betty Davenport
Membership Chairman: Kathie Delmarter
Membership Co-Chairman: Isabel Carrera
Webmaster: Richard Sparks - Sparks Arts

2007–2008 Officers

President Betty Colbert
First Vice President Deborah Mills
Second Vice President Cindy Seitz-Krug
Treasurer LaVonne Templeton
Secretary Bob Miller
Parliamentarian Sheila Plane
Night Leader Alice Meister
Member at Large Betty Davenport
Member at Large Barbara Brown
last updated 3/28/08

2007-2008 Committee Chairman

Who We Are - What We Do

Cotton Patch Quilters of Kern County is both a philanthropic and educational organization with over 300 members. The purpose of the organization is to preserve and continue the traditions, culture and history of quilting; to promote fellowship among persons intearested in all aspects of quilting; to contribute knowledge and promote the appreciation of fine quilting; to sponsor and support quilting activities; to encourage quilt making and collecting; to contribute to the growth and knowledge of quilt making techniques, textiles and patterns through educational meetings.

We support and provide quilts to the following:

• Bakersfield Hospitals - Two Guild groups – Loving Hands and Clubhouse Quilters – make small quilts to cover incubators in neonatal wards at our local hospitals. We call these quilts Isolettes® after the brand name of incubators used in the hospitals.
• Painted Turtle Camp - We make quilts, lap robes and turtle pillows for the Painted Turtle Camp at Lake Hughes, California – a camp for children with cancer.
• Home of the Brave - Our latest project is making quilts for families of American fallen soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. The program, called Home of the Brave, was started by Don Beld of the Citrus Belt Quilters Guild in Redlands, California.

Cotton Patch Quilters also supports and participates in educational and community activities such as:

• What a Cowboy Knows (a local historical gathering).
• Mini Quilt Show at Pioneer Village (Kern County Museum), where Guild members display their quilts in historical buildings and serve as docents, dressed in period costumes, explaining to visitors information pertaining to quilting.
• Kern County Fair – Each year the Guild presents a “Best of Show” ribbon and a $25 prize to one quilter who enters a quilt in the fair. The purpose of this award is to honor a quilter whether he/she is a member of the Guild or not.
• Home Show – Along with home and garden vendors, the Guild displays quilts as well as provides information regarding the craft and encourages interested parties to attend a Guild meeting and possibly become a member.
• Workshops – The Guild has multiple workshop opportunities throughout the year wherein a guest teacher or a Guild member will conduct a day-long teaching seminar. These workshops provide the opportunity for Guild members to actually work on a quilting project either by hand or machine. The Guild typically holds 8-9 workshops annually and members pay an additional fee for attending these sessions.
• Quiltfest – Annually the Guild sponsors an “open house” event, called Quiltfest. The community is invited to attend the event which showcases various quilting techniques and local vendors, such as our three local quilt shops. This is a great introduction to quilting for the beginner quilter, those more experienced in the craft or those who just admire quilts!
• Quilt Show – Every other year the Guild holds a quilt show, displaying over 200 quilts all made by Guild members. The 2-day show is held at our fairgrounds, the only venue large enough to house us! This is also a community event and is open to the public, drawing about 1200 attendees. In addition to the quilts displayed, approximately 25 vendors “set up shop” to sell quilting fabrics, patterns and quilt-related tools. A food vendor is also onsite to provide snacks and meals.

Additional Educational Opportunities

• Block of the Month
• Charm Swap wherein members trade fabric squares
• Fat Quarter Lotto – a monthly drawing that provides those participating the opportunity to win fabrics for use in future quilting projects
• Bus Trips to sister-guild quilt shows
• Guild library, which boasts over 300 books on the subject of quilting, all available for borrowing by members.