i just read cheri's most recent post on the thread we have goin' here. that church "bee" os perfect outlet. my mil does something like that at her church, tho the quilts they make are just tied squares..they are colorful and help bring revenue ro the chirch during the annual sale & auction of them. they also do the "white cross" thing that cheri's group does. i know what you mean about time and commitment. i was invited to join a small guild here in nearby town right after we moved here. so i went to several of the meets. they were so kind and friendly..i was welcomed to join in their show & tell times, potlucks etc...but i finally had to decline after one meet where they were starting to get ready for annual officer nominations. money issues, etc etc...there was no sewing time, no one even brought machines or handwork...the meets were basically business meetings and bring in your show and tell. a club...but no sewing together unless little groups formed and met on their own elsewhere. so..i told them thank you but that i just did not have the luxury of time to commit to joining a "club". i can still go to meetings any time i want to, but it has been several years now. i soooo MUCH prefer the type of thing i was invited to join a few years ago. timing was perfect, i had, basically, dispaired of ever finding a group like this. now that winter is approaching, and outside work coming to an end, i will be able to go to more tuesday meets...maybe even every week! whoohoo!! as long as the roads aren't too bad and the fog not too thick, that is. lol hang in there girl...something will show up. when you least expect it... :)) until then ya got all of us...all 3,000+ of us! :))

i live very rural & tho after a few years here i have finally met other quilters and been invited to join a couple of groups that meet weekly & monthly, i still quilt alone. rural people, i have found over the years w my MANY moves from city to rural and vice versa, rural people tend to stay w/in their own extended family groups. groups that have formed bonds over decades. they really don't reach out and socialize outside of that group unless it is a church group or other "clubs" etc. in fact a member of one of the quilt groups i was invited to join here locally (and here "local" is anywhere from the nearest town to towns 30-50miles away lollol) was complaining recently that she was thinking of dropping out of a club she had joined, because other than their weekly get togethers no one ever met outside of that..no luncheon dates, no visits to each others homes..nothing. not even phone calls to say hi how ya doin'. she recently retired over here from seatle area where she had lived for years..city dweller w active social life now out in sticks w no social whirl of activites so...if i don't make it to the weekly meet for a month or so, as now, i am sitting at home alone quilting alone. the net has become an incredible social tool for me. not only for quilting but for chatting w people fr all over the world. i love the people here at mqp and have made a couple of real friends i feel. we exchange notes, or in my case, tomes lollollol ...as you may have noticed, i am a bit wordy! lol

a guild is a good idea..contacts...i belonged to one last place i lived. but again, rural...fishing and logging region...and w/in the guild there were so many little groups it was like a collection of private clubs that didn't really relate to one another. there are several guilds here...was told by a woman that i met last summer that her mom belonged to big guild in nearest large city and that the arguing & "politics" w/in the guild really took the social fun out of it. so...hope that you meet some one local...go to local events and talk to any one who stands still and you will eventually find someone. that is what i did here ...i sit at home alone ..but any time i can get away fr here on a tuesday ...i have a big happy friendly bunch of quilters to go and play with. and no guild politics or responsibilities. just who brings what, if we decide to have a potluck & shopping or sewing...hmmm...shopping! then lunch of course, unless someone has brought a full meal for us other than the usual cookies cake etc

hi cathy. didn't realize earlier that you were a new member here. was a great little exchange you and i and cheri had going. so nice to meet you and welcome to mqp...great place to learn and to play.