First Bee Anniversary

Sometimes you have something very special to you that you treasure and feel like you could never give up.  That's how I feel about Quilt Bee.  If I analyzed why it means so much to me, I could come up with a lot of reasons.  First of all, it means something special I share with my Mother.  Back when we were still meeting at Ladybug Quilt Shop, I would drive up from Elizabeth City to Suffolk and meet her there, and after we would have lunch.  But we moved from EC two years ago, and those who follow me on my main blog know that we have been bouncing around, and do not yet have a new home.  That will be happening VERY soon now.  But, my point is, Mom and I still share this special second Thursday.....Still, it's more than that.....

Last Thursday we all celebrated our First Anniversary of meeting outside Ladybug.  It's been a year of meeting at the church in Suffolk, and if I were to count my blessings concerning Quilt Bee, I have to say that it's largely the leadership of Pat, who is amazing, and gives of herself so much to all of us; it's partly the group of ladies who are all so great and fun-loving and share so much on so many levels; it's partly the fact that Rule #1 is "There are no rules" so Bee isn't stuff and formal like a Guild would be, nor is there any pressure; and partly I would say it's the comraderrie of sharing a fun activity that we all LOVE and doing it in a way that often brings howls of laughter....it truly is an escape from all the pressures of that world out there.  Yep, it means so much to me on SO MANY levels, and I'd never give it up! Thanks Pat!  And thanks to all of you wonderful quilters who come every month.....

Pat sharing some information at a recent meeting.

One of our BOMs that we did when we were still meeting at Ladybug.  We don't do the BOMs anymore, but do other things.

For the Anniversary meeting, we were all given a piece of an inspiration fabric and a paper piecing pattern.  These are the squares that were collected to be given away by drawing.  The inspiration fabric is shown best in the bottom middle of the picture, the blue with cranberry-colored flower.

This was the quilt top Mom showed for show-and-tell.  It was quite a challenge to make, she said!

This is me, showing my latest.

One of many others....I love the twist border on this one!  We  had a donut "breakfast" that day and everyone brought a finger-foods lunch that was delicious.  Normally we don't do food, but it was a special occasion.  Plus we had some GREAT surprises.  It was a very special day!  For more on the Anniversary, go to Mom's blog http://lataneb.blogspot.com