SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17TH

These are the Twisted Stitchers. Meet Kaye, Nancy, Kathleen, Lindy, Bobbie, Karin, and Me.

Once a month, on every third Friday, I get together with 6 other women from my guild to sew. About a year ago, I think either Lindy or Kaye mentioned getting together to work on miniature quilts. It was something that interested us. We asked a few of our guild friends if they would like to join us. So we started meeting every third Friday at each other's house. We called ourselves Third Friday Stitchers at first.. mostly so we could remember when the meeting was. It eventually changed to "Twisted Stitchers".
To me, this group represents the heart of quiltmaking. Groups like this are what separates quiltmaking from the art world. I don't know of other crafts or arts where people get together to share their knowledge and do their 'art' together. These women mean so much to me. We look forward to our time together. We talk, laugh, share what we have been working on, share things we have learned with the each other. Our time together is a great time to decompress from the daily grind of sick spouses, parents, jobs, kids. We have even managed to work on a few miniature quilts! But, we realize that this group is way more than just one aspect of quilting. We mostly get together for the sheer fun. I would highly recommend having a small group of friends meet on a regular basis. We have all kinds of quilting interest. Lindy and Kaye work in a library together. They like civil war and muted thimbleberry type fabrics. Kathleen is an art college graduate and is the most 'artistic' of the group. She likes to work with window screen and fabric. She is doing a series with antique textiles and screen that is fabulous. Bobbie and Karin went to high school together. Kathleen and I were also in the same high school class, Bobbie and Karin were a year behind us--all in the same large high school, and none of us figured this out until a couple of years ago on a trip to Paducah! Karin love brights and curves, she is a wonderful baker, and saved me yesterday when she brought cookies to our get together. I hadn't gotten that far, and didn't have dessert. Bobbie likes civil war and the sort of fabric also. She has a new grand daughter. and is lucky to not have to work outside of her home. Nancy is a retired kindergarten teacher. She moved here from New York when she and her husband retired. She has a studio in a local art gallery. She works in black and white and had a one-woman show last year.
We had to meet at my house on short notice because Kaye didn't feel well. I didn't know what to make, so I bought a box of Betty Crocker's Slow Cooker Helper. Chicken and Dumplings. I chose this because it took the least amount of time to cook.. I added chicken breasts and cooked in my crock pot for 4 hours, and then dropped the dumpling dough on the top... it was wonderful. We had a great time.

Today, I am trying to address my Christmas Cards. I didn't even mail any last year. But, I feel like I should at least attempt to send cards to the people that thought of my family.

I hope that you all have a good weekend!!