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:

Anna Kehl started sewing in 2011 after taking a beginner’s class at Stitch Lab in Austin, TX. She has been active in the AMQG since 2012 and previously served on the board as Secretary from July 2016 - July 2017. In addition to regularly attending and participating in guild events, Anna was the Co-Organizer of Sewcation 2019. As the VP of Events, Anna is excited about leading the committee of members that help to make guild events go off smoothly! Anna uses her 20 years of experience planning, organizing, and communicating in healthcare to planning, organizing, and communicating for AMQG.

Secretary:

Eve Trester-Wilson is a lifelong learner and maker and has dabbled in everything from calligraphy to knitting to welding and woodworking. She grew up sewing and completed her first quilt in 1998, but took a long hiatus from quilt-making until joining the AMQG in 2015. Eve values the friendships she has made and the techniques she has learned through the guild and is enjoying giving back by serving on the board. Eve is a licensed architect but has spent the past 12 years as the co-owner of MakeATX, the laser cutting studio she founded with Kristen von Minden (a fellow guild member). Eve’s hands-on bookkeeping and small business experience makes her uniquely qualified to serve as treasurer.   

 Vice President of Communications:

Nelia Karimi, a lifelong learner, crafter, and maker of things, has been sewing for 20 years. Nelia began her quilting journey with a Stitch Lab quilting class almost 10 years ago. Nelia loves all parts of quilting: ideation, design, the making process, history, and above all the comfy, squishy end result. The AMQG community of quilters has been a source of learning, friendship, inspiration, and a joy for her since joining AMQG in 2020. 

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.

Community Service Trio:

Maggie Buford is a poet and fiber artist, who doesn’t remember the first time her grandmother taught her to sew, but made her first quilt in 2023 and after making three more, joined the guild in 2024. Maggie began to get serious about quilting after learning to rug hook as a method of connecting with her grandparents. She is currently working on methods of fusing her words into quilts. Maggie is a technical operations specialist when she isn’t crafting or sleeping, which involves her other favorite methods of creative problem solving: Analyzing data and translating business workflows into efficient work applications. Her background includes a Sustainability BA, experience in makerspace program management, and service organizing with plenty of completed volunteer hours. She lives with her dog, Korben, and cat, Flower.

Kristen von Minden: During her very first guild meeting, Kristen was both startled and inspired by all the quilters who were eagerly making gorgeous service quilts for folks they’d maybe never meet.  That sealed the deal—she decided to join, despite never having made a single quilt.  More than 10 years later, Kristen continues to be inspired by her fellow guild mates, and she enjoys the warmth, freedom and camaraderie she feels when making service quilts.  Kristen, along with her proposed co-chair(s), would be honored to take on the legacy started by our dear friend Sandy and to pick up where the incomparable Kelly is leaving off.  She feels passionate about supporting the AMQG as it comes together to make some quilty magic.  

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.