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Do you stitch with a group? I do! In fact, I love my stitching buddies and wish everyone had a similar group. If you don't have a cross-stitch club, why not start one? Here are some tips to get started: Find a location - Our group now meets in the classroom of our local needlework shop, but previously we met in the meeting room of the local public library. Our public library’s meeting room was free; all we had to do was request it, and fill out a form once a year with our meeting dates. If your area doesn't have such a facility, check out churches, fitness centers, civic centers, anyplace that has a large, well-lit meeting room. You can always meet in a home, but we like meeting in a central location with tables and chairs. Set a time - We began meeting on the 4th Tuesday night of every month, and liked it so well we added the 2nd Thursday night as well! Now we meet every week, on Tuesday night, and the fourth Saturday of the month. We start our meetings about 6:30 p.m. and go until everyone is ready to leave, usually around 9 p.m. Of course, your meeting times may be dictated by the location you find, but usually 2 to 3 hours is a good length. Our 4th Saturday meeting is from around 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a break for lunch of course! Advertise - Our club founder wrote an ad for the personal section of the local newspaper advertising the first meeting date, place and time, and just waited to see who would show up. About 30 did! You might be able to get a story in the local paper, post notices at the grocery store, your local needlework shop, local message boards - anywhere you think stitchers might see it. Organize - The Conway Cross-Stitch Club has no officers, no agendas, no dues - and we like it that way! But, your group may function better with officers or more organization than we do. At your initial meeting, find out what the interested people want to do, then go from there. We have no agenda, so everyone comes when they can, stays as long as they can, and works on whatever project they choose to bring. We have one event every year, our annual ornament exchange, and we have also worked on service projects as a club. We stitched gifts and decorations for the Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, and we also help set up and take down the county fair stitching display. Several of us have gone together to stitching festivals - great fun! Also, we usually go to our local needlework shop's monthly stitching bee. 
Why stitch with a group? Most of us think of our stitching as a solitary hobby, but stitching with a group is very beneficial. When I first moved to Conway, I had been stitching about 4 years, and completed several projects. But, I had never stitched on linen, over-2, on canvas, with metallics, silks, on canvas - I'd never even heard of hardanger! At the first meeting I attended (the club had already been going strong about a year), some of the ladies were working on hardanger, and I got hooked. Also, they were planning to go to a stitching festival, and I invited myself to go with them! My stitching has gone further and in more directions than I ever thought possible, all from stitching with a group. Also, the group encourages each other to finish that project, learn that new technique, try a new designer's charts. We help each other when we just can't find that counting error. We ooh and ah over finished projects, and cheer when one of us wins at the county or state fair. Plus, it's great to find a friend for life with the same interests! We don't copy charts for each other, but we do pass on supplies we no longer need, charts we've decided not to do, magazines we've finished reading. I hope you feel encouraged to begin a cross-stitch or needlework group in your area, and be sure to let me know about your successes! I'd love to see pictures of your group stitching together, and maybe even post them here for others to see! Contact me - I'll be waiting to hear from you!
©Debbie Rowley for DebBee's Designs. All rights reserved.
debbie@DebBeesDesigns.com |