Piecing Group: A Bee for Hand Piecing, Socializing, and Desserts

My Piecing Group project is all kitted up and ready for me to hand out in December.

Kits ready to hand out

One of the comments from Monday's post asked why my friends are helping me sew this project. My friend Laura, also a member of Piecing Group, explained:
"Libby, we have a sub-group of our quilt guild called the "Piecing Group." There are 18 members, and each month we meet at a different member's house. One person hands out a block (or, like Jan this time, some section of a quilt to sew) to everyone else, and we generally hand-piece them. The following month, the person who handed out the previous month hosts the group at her house as a sort of "thank you." Refreshments are served. We don't do any actually sewing while we're together - it's just a social time to talk, show off projects, etc. So, once every 18 months you get to have other people help you piece a quilt!"

Usually the project handed out is a block. In the case of my project, we've been working on it in sections for awhile (see Monday's post). The half-rows I'm handing out this time are the equivalent amount of stitching to a block of medium complexity. 

As Laura mentioned, our meetings are social events. We always have show-and-tell, and there's usually something awesome. Sometimes there's a design or a how-to question, and we as a group look at the issue and offer advice to the person who asked. 

The scheduling works out really well: When it's your turn to hand out, you spend time making kits, so you don't host that same month. Instead, you host the following month. That way everyone brings back your finished block to your house so the blocks don't get misplaced elsewhere. And the best part is, you don't have to make kits plus clean up your house for guests & make desserts all in the same month. And by the way, the desserts are a big deal. We have some awesome cooks in the Piecing Group. Me, not so much; Costco to the rescue. 

We have a leader who keeps track of the schedule and the waiting list for new members, and updates the schedule as needed. She gently guides the flow of our meetings, but they need little direction. 

I've been a member since 2000 and I've enjoyed working on a wide variety of projects for my friends. Even though hand stitching is more difficult for me now with the inflammation in my hands, I still enjoy participating and especially getting together with everyone every month. 

I'm ready to hand out on December 6th. Our meetings are on the first Tuesday and we skip January because everyone's so busy during the holidays, so I'll host on Feb. 7, 2017. 

Do you belong to a social bee? Have you found something that works particularly well for you, like our scheduling does for us? 

Linking up with Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts