Quilting in a small town

I moved to a small town about 10 years ago. My husband recommended that I join in some local groups to meet people. I found out about the quilt guild and decided to join. The quilt guild is called Vereins Quilt Guild to reflect the German Heritage.

I attended a meeting and joined the group. I had been quilting for about 3 years, so I was a pretty new quilter compared to most of the members. I remember wishing I was 40 years old, so I would not seem "so young" to all of the other members. The guild meetings consisted of a business meeting, "show and share", and then a speaker who would follow with a program.

"Show and Share" gave me a chance to get up in front of other quilters and show my work. This was a new step for me. In the corporate world, I had presented info in front of groups of a 1000, but the information was not personal. At quilt guild, we would stand on the table, and show our quilts. The other quilters would "oooo and awwww" at your project. Sometimes I would get questions about the piecing or quilting designs. It was a really good way to receive positive encouragement.

I eventually became the treasurer of the guild. I modernized all of the books by putting them on Quickbooks. I held this position for 1 year. The new treasurer put all of the books back in the paper format. It was disappointing to me since I thought the computerized version was the way to go. I think I was sort of a fish out of water. I was young with new ideas, and I was trying to fit in with a group of older women who had definite ideas about how things should be done.

I helped with the quilt show that were produced every two years. Eventually, jealousy set in. The quilts I entered in the quilt show won numerous prizes, but I heard grumbling about my work. I was working at the local quilt shop and it was said that the quilt show should have been called the "quilt shop" quilt show. It was implied that was the employees at the quilt show were the ones who won the prizes at the quilt show. I decided to withdraw from the quilt guild.

Fo me,it was never about winning a prize or making someone else look bad. Quilting was a gift from God. I decided I wanted to use my gift to glorify God.