A diva meeting and packing.

Saturday was our Basement Diva meeting and there was over the top show and tell. It was reveal time for the Mary Ellen Hopkins Challenge.

I admired Lynn's "Hidden Wells" flimsy and she gave it to me. I love the colors and the floral fabrics. At first, I hesitated to take it but I was easily persuaded. I was never drawn to make this  pattern myself when it was presented at "Quilt Sitters Circle" some years ago. At the time I was not interested in anything that required making one kind of block and cutting it up and making something else that was a kind of a surprise. I have long since gotten over the need to control all the results of what I am making and I like the surprises.

Meeting with this group of quilters has been fun and irrational inspirational(aren't typos fun or maybe revealing).  As I look back over the quilts I have made since I became part of the group a few years back I realize the importance of having a group of quilting friends. I have gained so much as we have shared ideas and expertise. We help each other with quilting tasks and our challenges and mini workshops have helped me to  enlarge the range of my quilting skills.  We offer encouragement about quilting and family situations and we solve the problems of the world. Most valuable of all are the friendships that have developed over time. 

Yesterday, I took my Bernina out of the sewing table and put it in the case and folded up the sewing table. I have been packing and I need the space to get the boxes out of the way. If I need to do any emergency sewing I will be able to put one of my machines on the dining room table. I do have a couple of small things I might sew.  I want to have something small ready for the next Basement Divas meeting when Jan is going to show me how to add piping hot binding. Yes, it is a real mess right now but I'm working on it and soon it will at least be safe to enter the room.



Just in case I need some mental  health time, I have the backing handy to sew together for the Mary Ellen quilt; it is there, on the chair, in a large Ziploc bag.