Yesterday, I participated in a charity “Sewcial” sponsored by the East Cobb Quilter’s Guild. I packed a donation quilt project I was working on and went to see what the “Sewcial” was all about. After all, I’m a newbie member trying to find my quilty tribe in a sea of 300 members. So far, I’ve met very few members my own age, let alone any who retired early.
Well, I met a pair of irreverent quilters who interviewed me to see if I was eligible to sit with the “bad” quilters (meaning them). My kind of quilters! A little while later, another quilter joined my table – turns out she’s my age and retired early, as well. She attends the Thursday evening meetings and shared that this group has a very different vibe than the more formal Friday morning bunch. I also learned that most of the membership lives in the far north and northwest suburbs. Many of the quilters in attendance at the “Sewcial” are members of smaller bee groups within the larger guild. Not one knew of a bee group in my area and told me to reach out to the bee coordinator. Apparently, I’m an anomaly in that I live right on the edge of ATL proper. If there’s not a bee group, it might be time to start one!
One thing I was not expecting yesterday was for the media to be there covering the event. One of the ATL TV stations was there, as was Cobb-ED TV (local government/community channel) and the Marietta Daily Journal newspaper. If you follow the link to the MDJ article and click through the online photos (photo#5), you’ll see me fixing one of the irreverent quilter’s Singer Featherweight.
Article link in MDJ (did a screen grab so you can see photo in case paywall inactivates the shareable link)
Here were are on Fox 5 Atlanta https://www.fox5atlanta.com/video/1197518
You’ll see my quilt project and me stitching on my Baby Lock Jubilant about 1/2 way through. I’m also the thumbnail cover model! Hah!
Come Stitch With Me, LLC 
oh that’s really cool! I’ve thought about attending a sew day with a local guild but haven’t gotten up the nerve yet…I’m quite socially awkward! LOL I guess that’s why I started a ‘meetup’ in my neighborhood. Hopefully you can find others closer to you that you can meetup with on a regular basis.
Sew days are a great way to meet new people. It’s hard going to an event where you don’t know a soul or when the folks you do know can’t make it that day. Having a sewing project to do helps ease some of the awkwardness. I’m more of an introvert, but I’ve made a concerted effort since retirement to put myself out there, no matter how uncomfortable it makes me. Good luck!