Quilters’ Guild of East Texas - Giving Back to Our Community
Quilters' Guild of East Texas (QGET), a 501C3 organization based in Tyler, Texas, is comprised of over 200 members. Our goals are preserving the heritage of quilting, assisting members in developing a high quality of excellence in quilting, being a source of information and inspiration, providing a gathering of people with a common interest, and serving our community.
To that end, the QGET has provided monthly educational programming, offered workshops and sponsored an annual Quilt Show every year since 1981 (except for pandemic years). We have also held sew days, sponsored retreats, encouraged small group formation, supported charitable sewing projects, and donated many hand made items and thousand of hours of service to our community.
During our annual Quilt Show the QGET has brought visitors and revenue to the City of Tyler. In 2025 and 2026, we rented the W.T. Brookshire Convention Center and during our two-day Quilt Show, had an estimated 1500 guests each year, many of those from out of town. Our goal is to increase and improve our Quilt Show in upcoming years, bringing even more revenue to the city.
Our volunteers have contributed significantly to our community with the following ongoing projects:
Annual Quilt Show:
2024 - 124 volunteers logged a total of 2,133volunteer hours
2025 - 100 volunteers logged a total of 1,903volunteer hours
2026 - 95 volunteers logged a total of 1,036 volunteer hours
Quilt And Pillowcase Donations: All quilts and pillowcases that we donate are hand made by our members, and most of the materials used are also donated.
Total Volunteer hours by our members for these projects are:
2024 - 9,187hours
2025 - 9,131hours
2026 - 7,152.25hours (YTD)
1. Cuddle/Comfort quilts: Many of these quilts are donated to children and families in crisis in East Texas and beyond.
2024 - We donated a total of 265 Cuddle/Comfort Quilts to the following:
- Children’s Advocacy Center of Smith County
- Royal Family Kids Camp
- Project Linus
- Apache Nation Mission
- Hurricane Helene Relief/North Carolina
2025 - We donated a total of 305 Cuddle/Comfort Quilts to the following:
- Children’s Advocacy Center of Smith County
- Royal Family Kids Camp
- Hill Country Flood Relief
- Hope & Dreams for ALS
2026 (YTD) - We donated a total of 294 Cuddle/Comfort Quilts to the following:
- Children’s Advocacy Center of Smith County
- Royal Family Kids Camp
- Camp V
2. Drawstring pillowcases: These pillowcases are made especially for children in crisis situations, with added drawstrings for them to use as carry bags.
2024 We donated a total of 210 pillowcases to the following:
- Children’s Advocacy Center
- Project Linus
- Apache Nation Mission
2025 We donated a total of 204 pillowcases to the following:
- Children’s Advocacy Center
- Hill Country Flood Relief
2026 We donated a total of 325 pillowcases to the following:
- Children’s Advocacy Center
- Royal Family Kids Camp & Teen Outreach Camp
3. Tyler Rose Quilters for Valor - This is our local chapter of the national Quilts of Valor organization dedicated to “wrapping” our veterans who have been touched by war in patriotic quilts. We have awarded 498 quilts between September, 2022 and August 11, 2025, in 92 award ceremonies.
4. Dog Beds: Our members make dog beds for local shelters. We have donated 129 to Pets Fur People, SPCA of East Texas and Nicholas Pet Haven and Smith County Animal Shelter.