1996 Carole Spahn directed Organizational Meetings & Charter

1997 - 1998 Carole Spahn

I am married to Tom.  We have three daughters and one son and seven grandchildren - 3 boys and 4 girls ranging in age from 15 to 3.  We have lived in the Village since May 1993.  I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio.   We lived in Detroit, MI area for 15 years.  The rest of the time we were in Cincinnati until we moved to Tennessee.

My interests besides quilting are:  my family, golf, bridge, poker and reading.  My only sewing experience was a stretch 'n sew class back in the 70's.  I made tee shirts for all of my children, my husband and myself.   I tried to make skirts and vests for two of my daughters for Christmas one year. The zippers got me.  They went in a bag and I gave them away about 10 years later still unfinished.   And my sewing machine was retired except for some mending.

I have always loved quilts.   My first quilting experience was in the 80's in a suburb of  Detroit, Michigan.  I took a class at a quilt shop and made a small sampler quilt which included six blocks and a border.  When it was finished and the class was over, the teacher said take it home and quilt it.   Since I had not a clue as to how to begin to quilt it, it sat in a closet until my first grandchild was due.  I then took it out and quilted it the best way I knew.

My next venture was another class in the early 90's in Cincinnati, Ohio.  I took another class and made a quilt for my second grandchild.  I actually finished that one the same year.

My first winter in Tennessee, since I was not golfing, I made a quilt from Leisure Arts magazine, which was a plain white fabric with a sashiko pattern about 20 by 30.   My daughter loved it and asked me to make her a crib-sized version for her baby who was born in '96.  I did it, but it was very difficult  doing this in a larger size.

In 1995,  Rita Fritz, Jill St. Ives and I took a quilting class from Allison at the Quilting Corner in Oak Ridge.   It was a sampler quilt, hand pieced and took about a year to finish the top.   Mine was queen size and every piece including borders was cut out individually and hand pieced.  Twelve years later, last week, I took it to Kathy Drew at Gina's to quilt for me.  I wanted to hand quilt it since I had hand pieced it, but after basting it, and starting to quilt it, I knew I would not do it justice AND I wanted it finished in my lifetime.

Rita, Jill and I had such a good time doing this project, I wondered if there were any others in the village who enjoyed this hobby.  I had never belonged to any kind of quilt group, but I thought it would be fun to share this activity.  After putting an announcement on Channel 3 to see if there was any interest, we had our first meeting in October 1996.  Between 15 and 20 people came that first Friday.  Everyone who showed up that day, who was interested, became a member of the first board.  By January we had more than 30 people.  And the rest is history.

Reluctantly, I was elected the first President.  Thanks to having a great board, we became organized.  From the first year, we were doing quilts for Aids babies.  The workshops were started to teach each other and work and laugh together.  We laughed a lot those first couple of years.  The Village Quilters has been a wonderful experience for me and I hope to keep on quilting and learning.

1999 Marie Decess

2000 Nancy Rein

I was president in 2000.  It seems like a long time ago.  The activities that I remember the most during my stay were:

1. Heading up the committee to design and make the Tellico Village quilt that hangs in the Yacht Club  
2. Partnering with the Farragut mayor's wife to put together a quilt show in Farragut. 

Things were a lot slower back then and we were meeting in a small room in the rec center.   We did not do President's quilts at that time. 

I have been quilting about 20 years.  I saw a quilt kit in Good Housekeeping magazine and ordered it.  This was the first quilt I ever made.  I continued to quilt, but I had little time due to working and traveling a lot for my job. Once I retired, I began making  more bed quilts, but I enjoyed the smaller quilts that I could piece and quilt by myself. I am a machine quilter and rarely hand quilt.   I guess that is why I enjoy our sweatshop sessions so much.

2001 Joan Francis

2002 Barbara Jones

2003 Suzi Dale

2004 Mary Garner

2005 Harriett Lewis

2006 JoAnn Bergren

I began quilting 25 years ago, but work got in the way and so until I moved to Tellico, I suspended quilting.  When I arrived and finally got my own sewing room, I really had to relearn many things. Fortunately, I still had a stash of fabric to work with.  I am a very traditional quilter and I love working with pastels.  My new love is hand appliqué. I can sew and stay awake watching TV.  I have sewed all my life starting with making most of my clothes, but now quilting and quilting with friends is my great joy.

I was president in 2006.  I joined the guild in 2001.  During my year as president, we changed our meeting place from the Yacht Club to the Lutheran Church.  We also held a very successful quilt show, more than doubling attendance.  Ginny brought us the news about our being the sponsoring guild for the Ricky Tim's seminar and we happily agreed.  

2007 Ginny Hatfield

Jim and I moved to our beautiful Tellico Village in August 2001. I soon found the wonderful ladies of our quilt guild that good friend Carole Spanh formed. It was considerably smaller at that time and we met in the Rec. Center. It was a little tight. As the guild grew and moved to various locations, the spirit of giving and loving our art grew with us.

The year 2007 was quite an active one. A group of 5 members on the Rec Center committee worked with the POA developing the Quilt/Art room that we enjoy today. It was quite an adventure, and everyone who utilizes this space loves it. With the lighting (we can actually see) and space, it is a wonderful environment to develop our talents.

One of the highlights of the year was the Ricky Tims Super Seminar. Guild members worked very hard for 3 years to make this dream come true. It was held at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium in September, for three days. Along with Ricky, Alex Anderson and Libby Lehman were the presenters. We also had “Bob the Thread Guy” from Superior Threads to demystify thread and its uses. This seminar and all the fun it entailed was the best I have ever attended. Many of the “girls” stayed downtown and had a ball.

Because of this success, the base was laid for AQS coming to town for their big July quilt show for 2009, 2010, and 2011. (Thanks Ricky for your letter of recommendation for Knoxville).

The memories and friendships formed will last a lifetime. It has been my pleasure to serve as president for the 2007 quilt year, with my wonderful board and committee heads. This guild never has to look for volunteers. Just ask for anything and hands go up. Thank you for a wonderful year.

Ginny Hatfield

2008 Arliss Barber

2009 Jolie Fisher