In 1977, 22 like-minded women met informally at the Edmonds Pancake House to create Quilters Anonymous (QA). Meetings were held at the Pancake House until 1980, and in several locations from then on, until the guild found its current meeting place: Ronald United Methodist Church in Shoreline.

Community service projects began in 1984 when the Preemie quilt program started with University Hospital’s Neonatal Unit. To date QA has donated 24,000 preemie quilts! We also support Evergreen Hospital, Atlantic Street Center, Valley Medical Center, Swedish Issaquah, Fisher House, U of W Medical Center, Evergreen Hospice, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and nursing homes throughout greater Seattle.

The early days of QA established the pattern of two meetings per month (Day and Evening), including guild business, guest speakers, and recently completed quilts. Today we also offer an educational workshop with the guest speaker.

Satellite groups, subsets of members, were formed to pursue shared interests or special techniques in a smaller setting. These satellite groups determine their own meeting schedule and location, but members are often from the same area.

The first QA Retreat was held in the Spring of 1986, in Granite Falls. Today, QA holds two annual retreats (Spring and Fall) at Camp Huston, in Gold Bar. Members attend from one to five days for sewing, relaxation, and camaraderie. In addition, QA now offers Day Camps to provide members the opportunity to learn new techniques from their peers.

Communications have expanded from the initial 5-page monthly newsletter to encompass an online newsletter, our website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Quilters Anonymous held its first public quilt show in 1981 where all members may showcase their quilts. We currently hold the show annually at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe towards mid-March.