President:

Amanda Ayala-Taylor was taught to sew by her grandma as a young girl, but didn’t touch a sewing machine again until 2013. While visiting her mother who had just started to quilt, Amanda’s love for the art was immediately and intensely rekindled. She rushed home, bought a sewing machine, took a beginner’s class, and let the quilting bug run wild. Amanda has been a dedicated quilter ever since. She joined the Austin MQG in 2021 and served on the Events Committee from 2022-2023. She loves the creative and inspiring spirit that this community fosters, and looks forward to creating many more precious memories with her passionate quilting family.

Treasurer:

Chelsey Parker grew up in rural West Texas with a quilter for a grandma and made her first quilt at 10 years old (and it won the county fair!). She has explored other crafts over the years, including tufting and ceramics, but has always come back to quilting.  Chelsey loves to use secondhand materials, especially a vintage floral fabric, and utilize appliqué and free motion embroidery methods. She's excited to be Treasurer of the AMQG and bring her two favorite things, math and quilting, together to help support this amazing community.  Chelsey currently works as a Planner for Tecovas (I♥️Excel!) and lives in South Austin with two tiny dogs, Monica and Phoebe. 

Secretary:

Brooke Miller (she/her) started quilting later in life as a way to escape the pressures of graduate school. She quickly surrounded herself with a creative fabric community that taught her everything she knows. When not at her sewing machine, you can often find Brooke making art for local festivals or at the capital, fighting for a variety of liberal causes. A native New Yorker, Brooke currently lives in Austin with her partner, her kid, and her Cat: Misoprostol (Miso for short). 

 Vice President of Communications:

Meems (aka Mimi) has been doing fiber arts since age 6, knitting misshapen barbie rugs galore. Several years ago at her first craft retreat at the beloved Mountain Laurel retreat space she got to see the quilt-making process up close and personal, and was hooked. Since then, Meems has soaked up all the quilting knowledge she can, through guild meetings, classes, lectures, QuiltCon, and more. She loves working with ACR finds and other secondhand materials. Meems has been a member of the guild for a little over a year now. 
She always looks forward to the monthly newsletters and finding out what events and opportunities are coming up. Meems is excited for the potential to give back to the guild through the Communications position.

Vice President of Programming:

Tessa Gonzales has been sewing since she was four thanks to her Nonnie giving Tessa her first sewing machine. Growing up with an artist for a mom and living in art communities throughout her early childhood gave Tessa a passion for all things creative. If it can be sewn, she’s probably tried to sew it. Tessa has been teaching sewing classes in Austin at local shops since 2011, and attended the first ever QuiltCon by herself in 2013 in hopes of making new friends. (She did!) Tessa has been active in the Austin MQG by helping host events, being a guest speaker, establishing the outdoor quilt show at Austin Creative Reuse, and was the VP of Programming from 2019 - 2021.

Vice President of Events:

Kelly Casey comes from a family of quilters. Her mother and aunts learned to quilt from both her grandmother and grandfather. Kelly's quilting journey started about eight years ago. She make quilts for friends and family members, and to provide comfort to people she will never meet through service quilts. Kelly tries to reduce her carbon footprint by using thrifted fabric, trim, and scraps, though she does love a splurge at a local quilt shop. Kelly feels like she has found her tribe in the Modern Quilt Guild. She enjoys the constant inspiration and learning and would like to see the guild become more interactive with the community, and to invite fiber artists from different backgrounds to join by encouraging a fun and safe environment for all skill levels.

Vice President of Community Outreach:

Emily Chiyeko Weerts (she, hers) is inspired to be creative by a long line of talented crafters in her family, including her grandmother who honed her skills while incarcerated during WWII. As a quilter, Emily is starting to explore outside of her HST comfort zone, diving into more FPP, curved, improv, and hand stitched projects. Emily's quilts tend to be bold like her; look for bright colors, busy patterns, and statements about justice, inclusion, and feminism. A community builder at heart, Emily is often coordinating an upcoming workshop, organizing a retreat, or generally convincing folks that they too can be a quilter. With decades of professional experience in Austin's nonprofit sector, Emily is excited to support the guild's service projects to help give back to the community.

Vice President of Social Media:

Morgan Thomas is an Illustrator, Creative Director and, as of a little more than a year ago, a quilter. She caught the sewing bug after witnessing her friends quilt at crafting retreats, and honestly, she was a little jealous on their fun. Drawing and comics have been at the forefront of her creative practice, so she incorporates those skills into her quilts. She values the guild as a place to see art and meet like-minded artists. Leveraging her years of making social media content professionally, her goal is to continue the outreach done in the monthly meetings to everyone online making the community as accessible as possible (and show off the incredible quilts).