Winter 2024

Guild leaders Rita Jacques, Joan Costello and Carole Brower use their sewing skills to create quilts that warm both the bodies and souls of our community. E ach month, Monterey Peninsula Quilters Guild members gather in Seaside. During their lighthearted “Sewcials,” participants chat while stitching pieces for community members. “We make hundreds of quilts and other things for people who are in need or who need comfort,” says Joan Costello, guild president. 8hough the nonprofit has been active locally for decades, the launch of pandemic-era video meetings expanded its reach nationally. About 230 members regularly take part in online sem- inars, in-person workshops, monthly meetings, an annual 4acific +rove Uuilt show, and friend - ship groups that bring enthusiasts together to sew and socialize. Costello and her collaborators are espe- cially proud of the guild’s community projects. Together, they sew special pillows for cancer patients. They craft blankets for neighbors navigating housing instability and domestic violence. 8hey’ve delivered Uuilts to newborns in neonatal intensive care units and to families rebuilding after house fires. 8hey also award grants to local educators who teach sewing and quilting in the classroom. A collection of thank you notes demon- strates the impact of members’ efforts. “People mostly talk about knowing that someone cared, and nothing shows that bet- ter than something handmade,” Costello says. “‘Someone took the time to make this for me, when -’m having a hard time.’ 8hat is what we hear again and again.” For more information, visit www.mpqg.org . Local Quilters Guild Strengthens the Social Fabr ic B Y R ENE E B R I NCK S SHORT CUTS COMMUNITY 82 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 4 Photo: Kelli Uldall