Even though you belong to online quilting and fabric art groups, most quilters enjoy getting together in person with a local group periodically.  My daughter Beth finds these bi-weekly Friday gatherings a break in her schedule and a source of inspiration.
They share, they try different techniques, they enjoy refreshments, and they sometimes go on day trips.  These are something like the old time quilting bees when women gathered at one another’s homes for quilting and socializing.
Beth often discusses her group’s gatherings in her Meandering Threads blog: 
*Check out her December 3, 2007 entry which describes a workshop at Sue’s house where …read more

As the public health therapist sat with my husband and me at the dining table, going over the details of hubby’s upcoming knee replacement therapy, my daughter and granddaughter arrived home from errands. 
As Beth and the therapist looked at one another, recognition dawned.  What a coincidence!  The therapist had recently joined Beth’s fiber arts group, but had not connected Beth to us due to the different surnames.
                      Quilting and fabric/fiber arts are everywhere.  You’ll run into friends at quilting shows.  You’ll discover face to face someone you’ve only corresponded with via an online group.  You chat with someone in the …read more

 
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If you’ve been following the Fiber Explorers’ Round Robin pages (they’re making books for this session), my daughter Beth has posted more at her Meandering Threads blog, under a post, More Round Robin Pages.
It’s always fun to see what Beth is making and the pages others in the group create for her “Nature” book.  Here’s one another group member made for Beth’s book.  Beth thinks the leaves were made with Shiva paint sticks.
This is the last round for the robin, so next meeting they’ll have all the pages for each book completed.  Then the fiber artists will figure out how to …read more

Food and recipes seem to accompany quilters and constitute an important part of their life, along with their quilting activities.  Pioneer quilters shared recipes and served food at their quilting bees.  In the evening families often joined them for supper and  a social event.
Nowadays, quilters put together cook books and share recipes at their get-togethers.  We often find favorite foods in quilting newsletters, like the Fat Quarter Quilters Newsletter.  I’ve subscribed to this and receive a weekly update on fabrics and quilting ideas.  Deb and Jill usually include a recipe.  This week it’s one for Angel Food Cake.
             You’ll find more …read more

A friend and I were chatting about quilting today as we ate our lunches in the teachers’ room.  (She’s a primary grade teacher and I’m a substitute teacher.)  She mentioned that her quilting group met tonight.  When I asked her about the group, she said they’d been meeting for 21 years, quilting together and sharing this activity.
She also teaches quilting to youngsters as an after-school activity.  I know they enjoy this class because I’ve heard them chatting about the fun they have.
Quilters gravitate to one another, no matter what the age.  How exciting when young quilters want to learn this …read more

Previously I mentioned the Round Robin my daughter’s local group was conducting. Occasionally Beth posted a photo of a Round Robin fiber art piece she was working on.  The artists are displaying the finished pieces as the Round Robin Collection at their exhibit at the Artistic Roots Art Center at Campton, NH.  Beth also has photos of these for viewing at her blog, http://meanderingthreads.blogspot.com , along with other exhibit pieces.
For those unfamiliar with Round Robins, they consist of works passed around a group (either a local group where quilters meet regularly or an online group in which they mail the pieces to one another).  Each artist adds something to the piece before sending …read more

Fiber art and quilting exhibits need not be large events coordinated by regional, statewide, or national organizations.  Quilting groups of any size can display their work and share their art with friends and neighbors in their locality.
My daughter’s group, Fiber Explorers, consisting of six friends who work in diverse styles, will exhibit their work throughout October at a gallery in Campton, New Hampshire.  They will hold a reception on opening evening, Oct. 3.  (Of course, I’m excited about this event as I see my daughter developing her own style in the quilting and fiber art world.)
For more information, visit http://meanderingthreads.blogspot.com …read more

Another series of quilt blogs will revolve around quilting and life, lessons learned, inspirations gained…something I’ll call The Quilting Spirit. 
I enjoy learning where quilters get their ideas, what they’ve learned from quilting and patchwork, how it’s connected them with other quilters.  Is there a common thread that runs through quilters of the ages, whether it’s within a family, a community of friends and (nowadays, with the Internet), quilters around the world?
What is a Quilting Spirit?  Your Quilting Spirit?  If you have ideas on this rather nebulous and all encompassing topic, I’d enjoy hearing from you.
To me the Quilting Spirit could …read more

Quilters who haven’t participated in a Round Robin quilt exchange, and even those who have, like to see the before and after photos of these projects.  My daughter and other members of her small art quilting group recently completed their quilt hangings.
It was interesting to see what had happened to my daughter’s after the five other ladies in the group added their touches to it.  Last night Beth posted the before and after photos on her blog, with an explanation of what else she might do to it.
If you’d like to learn more about Round Robins, check out her photos …read more