A Friendship Group Tradition

Friendship Groups.

a very special kind of quilting group

I am a member of this friendship group

ATeam

In December, we put on our 'Festive Attire'

We have a candlelight dinner by the roaring fire

And we take time away from quilting to remember

how thankful we are for each other.

It's time for our annual Holiday Party

5:30 champagne

7pm candlelight dinner

Please RSVP by leaving a comment below

(include which side dish you would like to bring)

I wish you could all join us, but as you can see...

there's just enough room

for

the

ATEAM

For the rest of the year, we meet monthly to have a restaurant dinner, and dessert at the host's home.

We share projects, techniques, fabrics, magazines, books, stories...

We share our lives.

Some of our members have been quilting together since their kids were born.

For those of you not close enough to a Quilt Guild meeting,

why not gather 11 other quilters

and create your own  friendship group?

I promise you, ten years from now, you'll be thanking me

for suggesting the idea.

Start your own traditions.

BeginAgain

Natalie

JUDY 2008

JUDY 2009

JUDY always requests a drumstick...

bee beautiful inspiration

Inspired

by bee beautiful

I think you might have remembered me saying that if you want to further your quilting skills or your techniques or your points or your embellishments or your, well, you know...

join a quilt guild

but there are times that doing so is impossible

you don't live near a city

or you just don't have one or two or three evenings a week

to participate in person

when julie asked me to join this bee

I was unsure how I might get to know 11 other women across the nation

not only have I come to know them,

but I am inspired by them every day

I read their blogs, I receive their fabrics and ideas

and they inspire me

so when I went shopping for

b e y o n d   t h e   r e e f

fabrics

and Julie said, what are you gonna make?

well, I remembered that charity star quilt block we made

it's liberated stars from Gwen Marston's book

take a chance

try something that you're not so sure of

I can only tell you that in this case

it has been - and will continue to be

a bee beautiful

inspired

year

BeginAgain

2010

natalie.

fabric and book available through beyond the reef

"Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit." Peter Ustinov aka aloha moderne quilt kit

Love.  Habit.  A tender look.  The habit of a tender look.  Of love.

What wonderful words.

I hadn't be

en to my Quilt Guild meeting in years.  I had been to plenty of quilt shows - as a vendor for beyond the reef - but not my own Guild's monthly meetings.  So I decided to meet two women from my Friendship Group, have dinner,a nd then join them at the Guild meeting.

I thought to myself, 'will I know anyone'?  This is the habit part.  Well, of COURSE I knew people!!!  It's the quilting community.  Love.  Habig.  A tender look.  People came to thank me for things I had sent them (from our website - www.beyondthereefpatterns.com or from an email natalie@beyondthereefpatterns.com).  Others called out my name.  People said hi.  I sat in a seat someone had saved for 'someone'.  Hey, I was SOMEONE!!

It was the night that one President stepped down and another took over the job of leading the Guild.  The President stepping down was also in my Friendship Group.  'will I know anyone'...hah.  So my suggestion is to get used to a tender look - and become used to giving a te

nder look.  You never know what you'll find.  With a look.

On another note, speaking of b e y o n d   t h e   r e e f,  the picture above is from a look.  A look at a booth at Market last October that contained two amazingly talented women that make up Prints Charming in Australia.  Here are their fabrics, with a little linen, to make up the quilt (pattern and kit available at www.beyondthereefpatterns.com).  Is that black and white and a little lime and green and  -  oh my gosh, linen?!????  Natalie, what are you THINKING?!???  I know, I know.  But it's still a riot of design, color and pattern.  I promise.  It's stil meeeee.  Lovingly quilted by Sally Inouye of Nipomo, California.  Thank you, Sally!!

a l o h a   m o d e r n e - 50 x 72

I hope you will visit our website somewhere along the way and check out products like this - and others - taht have come out of a

tender look - out of love.

Thanks for thinking of 

b e y o n d   t h e   r e e f

Natalie.

      be.do.create

      2008

     www.beyondthereefpatterns.com

     natalie@beyondthereefpatterns.com