My mother-in-law passed away.
Martha Lena Fields was 81 years young and was the victim of a bad heart valve. She was the mother to five children, grandmother to fifteen grandchildren, great-grand mother to 28, and great-great grandmother to four. If she and Lawrence Dale Fields hadn't met, Jamestown would be without one-fourth of its residents.
Needless to say, I've been busy. On top of that, Bill and I have had the opportunity to purchase her old home place and we're in the thick of painting and re-doing and trying to decide if we're going to stay in our present home in the "family enclave" or move into his mother's old house. It's an old farmhouse, the kind where quilts and grand kids could dwell peacefully together with a rocking chair front porch perfect for shelling butter beans or shucking corn when it comes in from the garden. There's enough land that we could even have a cow to raise organically. The possibilities are there, but right now indecision reigns. My best guess is that we won't know what we're going to do until we're about halfway through the renovations of the home place.
So that's why I didn't have a blog last week. I'm going to make it up to you this week -- you're getting two. I'm going to continue with the blogs on the Southern Album Quilt, but I'd like to pause from this with this blog and extrapolate on quilt groups/guilds.
I belong to a Sit and Sew, a Bee, and a "Group." The Sit and Sew is at Dragonfly Quilt Shop on Eastchester in High Point and it's exactly what it advertises to be. You call the shop ahead of time, let them know you're coming, show up at 6 p.m. on Tuesday night, and sit and sew until 8 p.m. It's a stitch-and-bitch session, which every woman needs at times, but the women that attend are experienced quilters. If I'm in a tight spot or don't know what to do, this is the group I turn to and ask opinions and questions and get really good answers. There's no charge for this group. And like everything that is at Dragonfly, it's awesome.
Then I belong to a "group" and I use that term loosely. It meets at High Point Library the last Saturday of the month from 1 - 2:30 p.m. and this is the group I feel most ripped off about. It's led by a nice lady, but she's not a quilter. She's a librarian who is interested in quilting. The rest of the group are quilters. Now I love the members of this group. This is the most diversified group of quilters I've ever had the opportunity to hang out with. There are men and women of all ages and all racial and ethnic backgrounds in this group. There's no pretense. Everyone wants to help each other. So why am I not tickled pink by this group?
It was supposed to be guild.
I have attended both of the Greensboro Quilt Guilds and have either A) left in tears; B) been ashamed that quilters act like that towards each other; C) been so put off I felt like I didn't belong and wasn't a good enough quilter to darken that guild's door; D) been so angry I couldn't see straight; or E) a mixture of all of the above. So I cut off quilters' guilds as a part of my life. I figured once Bill and I retire to the North Carolina coast, I'd join one of those guilds. There are five quilt guilds between Shallotte and Myrtle Beach, close enough together you can throw a rock and hit all five. I met with some of them while we were in Shallote and they all are really nice.
But there are perks to belonging to a guild. You get a membership card that allows you discounts on your purchases at fabric shops. There are meetings and educational opportunities and trips to quilt shows. When I called the leader of this quilt group at the High Point Library, I asked if the group would become a guild. I was told yes. And for the last four meetings I've attended, this was discussed. Then the City of High Point had to rear its ugly head. They said we were a part of the library, couldn't raise money, issue membership cards, or become a guild.
I was not happy. Not at all. Not one iota. And neither were the other members.
This is an unusual group and I was slobbering at the mouth to see it become a guild. Most quilt guilds are comprised of white middle-to-upper class women who are a bit snooty. This guild would be soooooo different it would rock their socks.
But we're not going down without a fight. Ben's talking to the library and the City. I'll keep you updated on what happens.
Now let me talk about my Bee. I belong to a group called the Quilting Cuties and we've been a Quilt Bee for nine years. It started as the block-of-the month club at Hancock Fabrics and after corporate decided not to have a BOM any longer, we still continued to meet and Hancock's on High Point Road is still gracious enough to let us meet the third Saturday of every month at 10 a.m. and not charge us a thing. I always promote a notion and we all spend some money before we leave.
I love, love, love this group of ladies. We've seen each other through marriage disillusions, issues with kids, job loss, parent loss, and weight loss. These women are experienced quilters from all over the Piedmont. Ellen Freeman led this group for nine years. She has since moved to the beach (lucky girl) and now I have the privilege of leading this group. This is the group that really taught me to quilt. This is the kind of group that any quilter needs to belong to. The Bee provides fellowship, fun, and encouragement. And Bees are older than guilds. There's a quilt bee in Kansas that has meet for almost 125 years.
Bark that up your Quilt Guild tree....
Linda and Ellen with Show and Tell
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