This week we drove to Louisiana and back to help my daughter move into her new life for grad school. On the way there, we stopped several times and I am reminded to say: Please flush when you are done.
I admit on the way back, that I teared up. More than once. I am so sad at leaving her so far away. It looks like she has found a nice place to live with a nice roommate. But I will still worry about her. My husband gave her his car (a Honda Civic) and had it serviced this summer with new tires, and a check up on everything, to make sure she would have good transportation to and from school. We took her car, a 97 Lexus with over 200K miles, and will probably see it through the end of its life.
I visited the quilt shops there and on the way back to buy some material to make a quilt for their living room–once that matches their colors (lime green and burnt orange). Neither color figures prominently in my stash. Especially not the lime green. 🙂
As you know, I have been here about a year now. I have been a bit frustrated by the quilt guilds I have joined since moving here. There seems to be a lack of people who volunteer for anything. Volunteering myself just means that they ask me to do more and more. And while I generally enjoy being active, to do some things you need to know the area or the people in the guild. I am learning the people, but it’s also hard to get to know them when they just come to meetings, leave, and don’t volunteer to work any of the events. It’s kind of a vicious circle, isn’t it? And of course, I don’t agree with everything the guild does. For example, I would say to drop the refreshments at meetings. Do we really need those extra calories? Anyway, I am wondering if I wouldn’t be better off without a guild. Thoughts, anyone?
And while you’re thinking, here is my stash report:
Busted this Week: 4.25
Busted year to Date: 134.25
Stashed this Week: 10.00
Stashed Year to Date: 108.50
Net Busted for 2011: 25.75
Want to see more stash reports? Visit Patchwork Times.
Life takes a turn 
Hi Nancy…having a chick leave for so far away is hard to take sometimes. Or it can be the other way around…when we moved to NC we left our chicks in Mass. Now to the guild situation…we have a good guild and everyone is pretty good about volunteering…not too good about taking president or other big jobs. Some just come and leave as you said, but for the most part it’s o.k. It must be frustrating for you, moving, working, having kids come and go. I wish you the best, and I love your mysteries for those touched by war. Nancy in NC.
Hee-hee-hee… I’m rather anti-guild myself right now. I’ve been writing about it on my blog, and I’m surprised how many bloggy quilters feel the same way. Good luck!
Hi Nancy – glad to find you on the web. Know what you mean about guilds. There are times I would agree, but I would miss all the good stuff. I’m wondering if you still do longarm quilting for customers. I have a nice red & white (not one spec of green) queen size top finished that is crying for a little custom quilting. If the right person (like you!!) quilted it, it could well be my 2012 Quilt Show entry. If you still have the Quilt Sampler magazine from Fall/Winter 2008, it is the cover quilt. And…re tears returning from your daughter in LA, I cried thru 5 states when we left Teresa in Vermont for the summer …she had already graduated CofC…yep, Charleston all her life til then.
Let me know about the quilting,pls. I could mail it to you, or bring it to White Oak in October. Janice Augustine
Guilds are good and bad. I agree with you that some people just go to the guild and then go home. Those who work usually get commented on and not always for the good. I belong to 3 guilds and for 2, I am one of those people. Sewing with a friend or group of friends is sometimes the best situation.
I am an intensely shy person, who gets very anxious about meeting new people, let alone a crowd of new people. Also, I work with women in my profession, so I tend to stay at home, quiet, and spend the time that would be spent at the guild meeting, doing something I want to so at home. So, I’m not a guild person, either.
For the most part I enjoy my quilt guild. I do find that the same people are the ones to volunteer but I think that happens in any organization.
I like the guild for the specail projects we do like brown bag pass, keeps me connected during the winter while we are in AZ. I do wish they would do more community service work. I have the senior center ladies for that tho.
Nancy L
WA/AZ