Blessings of the Group

The view from along the Marginal Way in Maine.
Something peaceful for photo Friday.





The second time I joined the EGA in 2002 - the first time running into a group that wasn't so welcoming - I found a home. I was delighted and inspired to meet other people who shared my passion for fiber and thread and things that could be accomplished with a needle in hand. It was particularly wonderful because I hadn't found anyone else to share stitching time with me. Seeing what wonderful projects everyone was working on each month made me want to do more, do better, and learn new things. Not to mention the classes and teachers and projects. Oh my!

I was happy to move back to northern Virginia in 2005 and find an EGA chapter that had the same wonderful kind of members. This was good.

Then I met some online stitching friends in real life. One relationship turned into a true friendship and when we meet or talk we always come back around to the stitching even if we have other things to discuss first.

And then I took a class at my LNS. I met two other women in that class and briefly thought I'd made some new friends, but they disappeared into the ether as so often happens in our busy world. But this class inspired me to go to the shop's morning stitching group on Thursdays. And when I joined them, it was frequently two or three of us and the shop owner.

But something happened. More and more people started showing up. And returning. Now there's too many of us to fit around the table. I eagerly look forward to my Thursday mornings each week. We're never sure how many of us will be there. But it's a certainty that someone will have a finish or a new project to share. That we'll all start talking at once and things will get loud. Or maybe we'll all be concentrating on our work and things will get quiet. And then someone will point out how quiet it has gotten and off we'll go on a new round of talk and laughter.

And even though the shop is closing, the group is going on. We're making plans. A new place, but the same time. And maybe we'll make some more new friends. Because we've all come to rely on this group. We understand the quirks of stitchers. Too many new projects (Wait a minute. There's no such thing as too many.) A one-project-at-a-time stitcher. The need to fondle silk threads. The love of color. What was this designer thinking? Just one more stitch, then I'll make dinner. Just let me finish this thread.

May you all be blessed with such groups.