Redbird Quilts 2025

Supported Charities

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• Redbird
• Domestic Violence
• Quilts of Valor
• Portico

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Meetings are held the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month* from 10:00 to 3:00 at St. Mark's United Methodist Church,

1267 N. Rutherford Blvd., Murfreesboro, TN 37130
* No meetings on the 4th Thursdays of November and December.

Visitors are welcome!

*If the Rutherford County or Murfreesboro City schools are closed due to inclement weather, our meeting will be cancelled. To check current closure status, check links.

Brief History of the Quilting Bees

In late summer of 2006, Edith Brophy, Susan Emory, and Kitty Rogers met at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church after services and began discussing quilts and quilting. Edith and Susan were new to Murfreesboro, while Kitty was a longtime resident and full of information for the other two.
Soon after the meeting, the three decided to work on forming a daytime quilt guild in Murfreesboro. Using their contacts, quilt stores, and local resources, they soon established the guild and began weekly meetings in August 2006. Their first meetings focused on planning the mechanics and structure of a new guild.

The group began meeting at Northminster Presbyterian Church on W. Clark Blvd. They outlined plans for monthly gatherings, and the name “Quilting Bees” was selected. The four women volunteered to serve as the initial officers for a two-year term. Meetings occurred on the first Tuesday of each month, including business discussions and a program. It was decided that a second meeting would be held on the third Tuesday of each month. During that time, members could bring their machines to sew for charity projects. Large tables were available for basting quilt tops to the batting and backing. All meetings included a Show & Tell segment where quilters could share their work and admire others' creations.

The first meeting of the Quilting Bees was held on September 5, 2006, at Northminster Presbyterian Church. Thirty people attended, and eight of them joined that day. Later that month, the second meeting focused on making flannel teddy bears for distribution to patrol cars of the local sheriff’s officers. Nineteen bears were sewn and stuffed that day, with an additional nine bears already constructed and ready to be stuffed.

The first month of the Quilting Bees was successful in bringing together quilters in
Murfreesboro and the surrounding area. They continued to meet at Northminster Presbyterian Church until 2011, when a change in rental terms required the membership to search for another facility in the Murfreesboro area. A facility that met our needs was identified, and the Bees relocated to the Blackman United Methodist Church.

In 2012, a proposal was made to relocate due to poor lighting and a floor layout that was not conducive to group sewing. The proposed location was St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Murfreesboro, TN, where several Quilting Bees were members. The Quilting Bees began meeting at St. Mark’s in 2013, where they continue to meet today.