Guilds

Well, I finally got mom to take the plunge!  She's quilted for many years, but has pretty much taught herself everything (other than attending a total of three classes in 15 years or so).  She's been a "lone wolf." (God how I hate that saying.  It makes wolves sound cool by being by themselves.  They're of the dog species, so they really stink!  NOTHING a dog of ANY kind does is cool.)  She's at a place where she really needs the communion with other quilters as well as it being a way for her to tie her passion for quilting with her love of helping others together.  Making baby quilts and other type quilts for charity is a very exciting thing for her and she's jumped in with both feet to participate!
. 
So, she's joined the Webster Quilt Guild in Webster, New York and went to her first meeting yesterday.  She told me while she was installing her Top Tension Guage from Superior Threads on her machine  tonight that the ladies were wonderful, welcoming and friendly.  They were eager to make her feel at home, and because my dad drove my mom (he likes to say he's doing it for her so she doesn't have to worry about getting somewhere, but mom and I both know he loves everything about quilting, except making quilts himself, so he really wanted to go), he stayed and the ladies were tickled at this and welcomed him with open arms, even encouraging him to join so he can come to the meetings and officially help with stuff we need men's help with.  Mom is trying to get him to join and start quilting.  I hope she gets him to.  I know he's really busy with work and whatnot, but I think he'd enjoy it if he took that last step and started sewing himself.  But I digress, as usual. 

Anyway, the ladies of the quilt guild were eager to get mom involved and she had several ask her to join different projects they're doing.  She said that she felt overwhelmed with all the information that was given in an over four hour meeting (it was the first for this year, so lots of stuff had to be covered), but with the gentle guidance of a couple of long-term guild members at her table, she got her feet wet by joining the Block of the Month program, signed up to bring treats and hostess in December, signed up to help make Christmas tree ornaments for the Webster Library's Christmas tree, and agreed to make two baby quilts for the guild (at least) during the year.  I think this isn't too much and she feels very happy about it.  There are other guilds she wants to look into now, but dad has encouraged her not to get herself involved in too much stuff right away as she's got a growing business and that needs to be her number one priority regarding quilting right now.  I let her know this was a good idea and she agreed.

I think I'll go sprawl on her bed with her right now.  I also have to remind her that she's getting together with Jay's significant other tomorrow and they are going to design and start making a t-shirt quilt.  (Jay's my big "brother," mom's oldest son).  Mom really wants to learn this and make it part of her quilt business, although she's not 100 percent keen on making commissioned quilts, she does see where making a certain type from start to finish could be...profitable and fun, so she's going to try it.  She also thinking about maybe trying private sewing or quilting lessons in the future after some consultation with a particular customer.  She homeschooled her kids when they were young and has always enjoyed teaching.  So, I've suggested that she put the idea on a back burner for now and focus on improving her quilting skills even more so that she can have more very pleased customers like she did recently.  She's getting really good at all kinds of quilt patterns and has already invented a few of her own. 

Well, I'm going to go now for sure.  I have to remind her to see if there's a way to post photos to this blasted blog.  I'm telling you, I'm thinking of trying to talk her into getting her own website so she can easily add extra pages and whatnot to her private site without all the headaches.

Night all and remember...

Paws are best used for quilting!