The Rocky Mountain Wa Shonaji Quilt Guild is located in Denver, Colorado. The guild was formed in February 1994 by Helen Kearney Thobhani. Five African American women who came together were interested in perpetuating the heritage of quilting and promoting fellowship among those in quilting.
The Guild is committed to supporting and educating the community. To this end, the Guild offers exhibits, quilting classes, lectures and quilt documentation through its various programs during the year.
The name Wa Shonaji comes from the Swahili language and means literally – “people who sew”. The Guild’s name reflects both their region of the United States and their cultural heritage.
The members of RMWSQG, though predominantly of African American ancestry, celebrate ethnic diversity in membership as well as in the many different patterns displayed in their quilts.
Guild Motto: “Each one Teach One”
Visit the website to see their members’ virtual exhibits entitled Colorado Architecture – Buildings and Bridges and We the People. You can also see pictures and read about Wa Shonaji’s version of Harriet Powers’ pictoral quilt “the Last Supper” which now hangs in the CrossPurpose Providence Church.
What does your guild have coming up in 2021?
- January 9 – Luana Rubin of eQuilter – “Trends in Contemporary Quilting.”
- February 6 – Trunk Show – Lisa Shepard, owner of Cultured Expressions in Rahway, NJ
How many members do you have?
- Our average is around 50 members.
Are you accepting any virtual members?
- Yes, and because we are meeting via Zoom, new members are invited to join us on our monthly Zoom meetings.
What is your guild’s proudest achievement?
- There are so many. We celebrated our 25th anniversary in 2019. That is a huge accomplishment to have a viable African American Guild still around after 25 years. We have presented an awesome Trunk Show to Guilds around the entire state of Colorado. We not only exhibit/show our quilts, but we also give a historical narrative about our quilts from an African American prospective. Along with that, we have a chorus who sings songs that complement our script and our quilts. We have exhibited at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden, CO; The State Capitol; Aurora Municipal Building, celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King; Lindsey-Flanigan Building in Denver, CO.
Special thanks to Joanne Walton for providing information for this article.
For more information about Wa Shonaji, please visit: www.washonaji.org
