Next Meeting: April 12, 2025
Time: 1:30 – 4:00
Location: Pleasanton Middle School
Guest Speaker April 12, 2025: Julia McLeod
I’m an international award-winning quilt maker living and working in Northern California, just east of San Francisco.
Born and raised in England, I worked as a textile designer in the woolen and worsted mills of Yorkshire and Scotland before taking a job with a luxury tailoring company on London’s Savile Row. A design position at a menswear company in New York City brought me to the US, and I’ve been here ever since. I discovered quilt making on travels through the small Amish towns of Pennsylvania. Some of the first quilts I made were for my young children.
Since 2016 I have specialized in making silk quilts, sourcing my fabrics from neckties, clothing and furnishing fabrics. I have a passion for reuse and recycling, which leads me to rescue vintage blocks and textiles. These reclaimed fabrics become the starting point for my quilt designs.
Lecture: Everything but the Cotton
Let’s explore the world of quilts that were made with what I call ‘Not Cottons’.
When quilters don’t have access to a stash of quilter’s cotton, what do they turn to? This one hour lecture, trunk show and Q & A session shows quilts – antique and modern – made of wool, silk, polyester and more. The trunk show of my own work shows what you can create with neckties, saris, kimonos and other unusual, ‘not cotton’ textiles.
Workshop canceled for April.
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For upcoming guest speakers, please see our Programs Page.
For all AVQ events, please see our event calendar.
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President’s Welcome:
Amador Valley Quilters (AVQ) is a creative group of people who like to explore all aspects of the quilting world. There is something for everyone in this guild, from traditional to art quilting, handwork or machine, and every combination you can imagine. Our main charity is Community Quilts thru which we make and donate over 600 quilts per year to local agencies.
The Events calendar lists what’s happening and when. Enjoy one of our Second Saturday General Meetings. We meet either in-person, usually at Pleasanton Middle School on Case Ave in Pleasanton or on ZOOM depending on our speakers. The location of the meeting is listed in our newsletter. Our
meetings start at 1:30 p.m. but either arrive early or log in a little early to get help with ZOOM, talk to a member, ask questions, make friends etc. We have interesting tables at our in-person meetings where members can take some books out of the Library, buy some recycled quilting or crafting magazines, investigate workshops and ZOOM retreats, and pick up a community quilt or a Block of the Month to work on. Membership information and forms are available in the Forms tab, or via the link on this main page.
Some of the Outreach Programs AVQ sponsors are:
-“Quilting Then and Now” events at the Alviso Adobe Museum
-Quilts of Valor donations to area veterans
-Community Quilts program
-Donations of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit quilts to local hospitals
We welcome quilters of all skill levels, from learning to sew to professional quilters on the national and international level, and of course we love to have those who just like to admire the beauty of fabric and thread. Hope to see you soon!
Becky Callahan
President, 2024-2025
Amador Valley Quilters, Inc. is a charitable organization under Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.