*quilting group thursday

Today was the day for our quilting group's once-a-month meeting.  From May until November we see each other once a month and then in January we start class up again and see each others smiling faces weekly!  Our group is special, in such a way that we don't just show up to take a quilting class, but we are all great friends. I would like to think all quilting classes are like that, for I cannot understand how quilting and friendship would not go hand in hand.

We met today at the lovely home of Francis and her dear husband.  Francis hosted about 18 to 20 of us ladies for fun in the way of  fellowship and food.   Speaking of food, we had congealed salad today - not common these days, but should be.  One of the ladies at my table noted that it may be because it is so much work! But work well worth it I say!  At all of our get togethers we have show and tell which really encourages each other in finishing our own WIP (works in progress) or start a new one.

 pieced by Ila

 One of Joan's daughters (12 yrs old) made this one

pieced by Francis

Today we also needed to finish up our last 'group project' as well.  We started a project about a year ago that we named: The Pass The Bag Quilt.  Each quilter in our group was to go through their stash, or buy fabrics they really liked and wanted in a quilt that would be made for them by the hands of each quilter in our group.  We started out by putting our names alphabetically on a list and the first person on the list gave their bag to the next person  and so forth and so on.  Upon getting a fellow quilters bag you were to take it home, and choose the fabrics in which you were going to make your 'signature' quilt square.  I chose to make the flower basket with some patchwork.  As we met monthly over the course of the past year we would bring our bag that we were last given and our finished quilt block, show it , and then give it to the next person on the list.  This took place for  a year or so until our own bags made it back around to us with 13 completed quilt blocks made individually by each quilter in our group.  You can see my block in the yellow quilt below (which is Wendie's finished quilt), my block is in the middle of the quilt.  I will post some pictures of my quilt when I get it together as well.  Today as we all gathered around, we needed to put signatures on each block that we made for our friends out of their individual fabrics.

 

This is Wendie's quilt, she had pieced all of her blocks together

 

Donna signing my block that she pieced together

 

Francis is signing the block she made for me..

Many more were signing throughout the morning.  We had 13 blocks times 13 ladies that needed to be personalized with signatures and sayings.  I pray when I get moved to Flordia that God provides me another wonderful group of ladies to quilt with.   Many days I feel like I am hanging out here in NC, just waiting for time to pass so we can move that is until I have a morning like today.  Then I am reminded to grow where I am planted for I have not been transplanted yet.. so I suppose I better embrace growth and keep growing...