Clubwise - April 06, 2002

Every week, we bring you the latest on the UAE's clubs, associations and groups. We choose one each time and profile it, highlighting its purpose and activities. We also bring you bits of news from other such groups. So that you know what is happening when, where and why. This week: The Dubai Quilting Guild

Started in May 1999, The Dubai Quilting Guild was formed by a group of like-minded women who enjoy quilting and meet regularly. Once a month, usually on the last Sunday of the month (holidays providing), the women get together to share and enjoy their quilting experiences.

At a regular meeting members "show and tell" about their latest work and discuss upcoming charitable projects. There are also demonstrations for new and quick-quilting techniques as well as software for quilting. The other exciting part is a fabric swap where members exchange wads of their fabrics with other members in a short time span of a few minutes.

Block of the month is another part of the meetings where a set of 12 members get together and sew the same block each month. After a draw all the 12 blocks are given away to a single member. Each member gets a chance to receive all the 12 blocks. There are also door prizes at every meeting. Visiting quilters from others countries are regularly invited to give lectures and demonstrations and hold workshops making the guild truly an international one.

The guild organised a "quilt-a-thon" in 2000 and held a successful quilt show last year. Both these charitable projects not only brought the guild in the limelight but also helped contribute to the community. The quilts completed during the quilt-a-thon were donated to the children's ward of the hospitals in Al Ain.

The quilt show last year collected a sum of Dhs 10,000 and donated the proceeds to the charitable organisation connected with breast cancer awareness. Besides these charitable projects the guild also conducts meetings keeping in line with current festive occasions.

"We are more organised as a guild at the monthly meetings now. Besides being a group of women that get together with a passion for quilting, we try and contribute to the local social, cultural and charitable causes. We have got together with the Omani guild and have visited the tribals in the desert to see and learn from their handicrafts. We also donated quilts to them‚" says Jaquelyn Dunand, president, The Dubai Quilting Guild.

"We also have another show up our sleeve for this year and many more things to come. We are really looking forward to a lot of exciting times in the coming months."

Being a part of the social and cultural fabric of Dubai that patches together different nationalities with the common passion for quilting, the guild invites anyone who is interested to join this multi-national group.

Membership fees for a year are Dhs 110 with a monthly entrance fee of Dhs 25. Guests are welcome to attend with any member for a nominal fee of Dhs 35 per meeting. The meetings are usually held at the Crowne Plaza on Sheikh Zayed Road from 9.30am to 12.00 noon. The guild has a website www.geocities.com/dubai_quilters where more information is available.