Today I was blessed to spend several hours with three different quilters and we mostly talked about our lives as quilters. It got me thinking about why we quilt and how that effects ourselves and others. One of the things that impressed me today is how eager a quilter is to share what they are doing. That sharing is a two fold thing. First and foremost most quilters have a strong need to gather together and share their current projects. In this sharing the quilter not only gives other quilters much needed inspiration but also is enriched with the accalades coming from a group of their peers. What is it about these lovers of fabric that are willing to shop till they drop for the ultimate design, color and texture and then take that fabric home and cut it up into almost bite size pieces. Then reassemble it again into these great works of art. We quilters spend most of our waking hours thinking about how to make the next project and then grabbing every conceivable time to get our quilts finished. We have a multitude of reasons for our quilt journeys. Every quilter seems to have a different reason why she is a fanatic fabric collector. Even though we all approach quilting differently we also have the need to come together to share our experiences. Many moons ago quilting was a necessary part of living with quilts being the primary means for warmth for everyday living. That is still partly true today but now we have the luxury to engage in quilting as a hobby for personal enrichment. It is amazing to me how quilters have their own language and it is universal pretty much crossing all lines of society. When the quilting subject comes up we become animated, we use abreviations that only work for quilters and we can’t stop talking about our quilt journey. I find this to be such a breath of fresh air in todays society where the norm is to be connected more with cyber space than another human being. There are so many parts to being a fabric fanatic. The look, the feel, and sometimes the smell of crisp cotton are just a few of the reasons we are addicted. One of my quilting buddies will iron her fabric over and over again because it gives her a peaceful sensation. Another likes to go into her fabric stash and just touch each piece, it calms her down. It is like the gift that keeps giving that is how I feel about fabric. I make my quilts for all kinds of reasons. At first it was making gifts for my family and freinds. I made so many quilted pillows that my siblings begged me not to make them anymore because the pillows were taking over their houses like bunnies multiplying. So then I started making quilt projects for good causes and eventually my quilting turned into an artform just out of the need to grow and create with fabric. So back to today. I believe that quilting has several parts to it. The intial idea, the process to completion and then sharing it with others. This last part I think is the hardest because most quilters are very humble about their quilt projects. Sure they are proud of their works but also very aware of their own journey which is literally a learning curve at the very least. So sharing their quilts can be intimidating. But the good news is that for the most part quilters love to see what other quilters are doing. It is a secret club that isn’t so secret and they are looking for others to join in. When we gather there is always a true appreciation of each others projects no matter what level of quilter you are. There is another thing thing about quilters that is so impressive and that is there are no class distinctions among quilters. Whether you hand sew, machine sew, or are a traditional or non traditional quilter it is part of the universal quilters of the world. We are connected with people who quilt just about from every country now. Wow maybe we should turn the world over to the quilters and it would be more of a peaceful place. Probably that wouldn’t work because we would be in our sewing room ignoring what the rest of the world is doing because we need to finsh our next quilt to share with our quilt group. What a funny lot we are but I can sincerly say I love being part of my larger quilting community. So I challenge you to become a part of your local quilt guild or sewing group. You will be enriched just as much as you enrich others, we need each other.