Giving back to the Community
Wellington Quilters are proud to support several causes on a frequent basis
Community quilt report for 2025-2026
In the past year, 4 workdays have been held. These were in May, August, November and March. The new venue, Challenge 2000, is a lovely and peaceful space conducive to working on quilts.
The recipients of the community have varied this year, though the bulk of the donations are to the Women’s Refuges. Emphasis is on providing bed-sized quilts for them. Other recipients have been The Nest, the Te Wai program at the hospital, Crafting Threads of Te Aroha and a palliative care person.
Quilts have also been donated to Crafting Threads of Aroha, as they support many Community organisations. The quilts donated to them are mostly lap- sized and children’s quilts.
The Te Wai programme at the hospital received 2 quilts this year. A request from a member resulted in a quilt being donated to a friend of hers who was undergoing palliative care.
Thank you to everyone who donates fabric, energy and time to help make and complete the quilts. Many thanks to Sue Burnett and the staff at Busy Bee for the use of the long-arm quilting machine and other items. Thanks to Judi and Jane for doing the long-arm quilting, which enables a larger number of quilts to be completed.
77 quilts have gone to the Women’s Refuge, 35 to Crafting Threads of Aroha, 2 to Te Wai and 1 to a person undergoing palliative care. This adds up to 115 quilts.
When Shirley Wilson from the Nest spoke at a meeting, 60+ quilts were donated directly to her. They were a mixture from members and Sue Burnett at Busy Bee. It was difficult to get an accurate number, as so many were produced for the meeting. Other Nest quilts have been donated at subsequent meetings. The quilts are directly given to Jan Quayle from the Nest.
In total, this means over 175 quilts have been donated to all these community groups. An amazing effort from everyone.
We have also donated 2 quilts to the Red Cross for a refugee family who have arrived in New Zealand. Capital Quilters donated an additional quilt as well so together we can ensure their warm welcome.
If you would like to donate please contact us by emailing secretary@wellingtonquilters.org.nz
If you would like to participate in a workday please see our events page for the next scheduled one
Jill Bowman 'From devil to angel', Jill says "Many women in prison have backgrounds of addiction, violence, unemployment and homelessness. With support, I am optimistic many will transition 'from devil to angel' as one prisoner described it. This quilt is dedicated to the many women whom I have taught quilting in the drug treatment unit at Arohata'
Shut in Stitchers
Unfortunately Shut in Stitchers has been forced to close as of October 2022, one year shy of our 30 year anniversary. Our teams are very sad to see this era end and will be looking for another charity group that will benefit from our skill and equipment. Donated materials will be re-distributed to the new charity when this is found. Please email us on secretary@wellingtonquilters.org.nz if you have any questions regarding this.
A group affiliated to the Guild coordinated a programme to teach patchwork and quilting at Arohata Women's Prison, near Wellington. The programme was the longest running one at Arohata, started in October 1993. The team of helpers and tutors was drawn from groups in the Wellington area.
The programme was three months long and started with participants making a practise quilt to learn the basic skills. These quilts were donated to animal shelters as beds. Participants then move onto their own projects and were typically very creative with their designs.
While the programme was unable to run under level two participants continued quilting and working together to support one another’s journey.
The group has received funding from the Alexandra Trust in the past; and has been funded by fundraisers and donations. We are no longer accepting donations at this time.