QuiltCon Volunteer Spotlight

Our volunteers are the heart and soul of QuiltCon. They are dedicated, hard-working, and they do every task with a smile— but most importantly, they are passionate about the modern quilting community and they are so FUN! We couldn’t feature everyone, but here are three of the awesome people behind the blue shirts who helped us make QuiltCon 2015 a success.

Jenn Nevitt, Fort Worth MQG

“I’m the president of our guild and this was my first QuiltCon — but I wanted to be more involved in the MQG. I don’t sit still very well, so I knew I wanted to come and help do something.

I’ve really enjoyed meeting everyone in person who I’ve known from their Instagrams and blogs. It’s easy here not to be shy about it — I said hi to Denyse Schmidt and that was a big deal! And also I just love getting to help people.

Our guild is so small, so it’s nice to come down and meet people and get inspiration and to recharge your batteries. Events like this remind me that I’m doing what I love and that there are other people as crazy and passionate about quilting as I am.”

James’ wife made his sweet apron!

James Brooks, Vancouver, BC, Canada

“My wife was here at the show, but it was my idea to volunteer — we booked a nine-day trip and came down for a vacation. It worked out great, because she doesn’t feel guilty about taking classes and lectures, and I get to help people. It’s something we can do together and it strengthens our marriage.”

It’s a very rewarding experience to volunteer, because you’re making something run smoothly so people can enjoy the show and do things like meet their Instagram friends in person for the first time.

We’ll be here in Pasadena doing the same thing (we’ve booked two weeks next year). And I want to challenge husbands to come out and volunteer next time — half the volunteers should be men!”

Gabrielle Robles, South Bay Area MQG

“This was my first QuiltCon, but I wanted to volunteer because it makes everything more interesting being behind the scenes and seeing what goes into the event. And I was able to volunteer in different areas — I was a volunteer assistant in a workshop and was part of take-down. I also took four classes, so I stayed busy.

The best part of volunteering was meeting a bunch of cool people. There were 20 people in the workshop I helped with, and I ended up having lunch with one of them. Everyone, including the instructor, was really nice.

I want to volunteer in Pasadena, too. But next time I want to help set up the show and get a sneak peek at the designs. Since it’s in my own backyard, we’re already getting things set up at my guild.”