Quilters in community

Yesterday I finally was able to attend a monthly "Quilts from the Bluffs" work day, where quilters gather to work on quilts for Project Linus, local hospitals, and other organizations serving people who could derive comfort from quilts.   ( Kudos to Jeanine, who heads the project.)  There's something for everyone, no matter what you like to do--cutting, piecing, quilting, binding.  I wasn't able to stay for long, but I did bring home several quilts to bind.  (Isn't it funny how some people hate to bind, and some of us don't mind at all?   It's good to have a group of quilters because you're bound to have at least one who likes to do just about anything you need done, and no one has to do something that isn't quite their cup of tea!)

Community has been such a big part of quilting over the years.  It can be a very solitary sort of process and art, or it can be very communal and collaborative, or a mix of both.  Quilting bees and guilds have traditionally brought quilters together for a variety of purposes-to quilt tops for a woman who is getting married,  to share ideas and company and brownies (oh, did I type that out loud?), to share and swap blocks, or to make quilts for comfort or commemoration.  

Creativity is an essential part of a quilter's toolbox and technology has allowed us to be creative in how we do community, too.  Face to face is still my favorite, though I am kind of a geek, but I'm grateful for the tools that technology offers us for communing--online forums, online classes, videochatting, blogs, videos on YouTube, and who knows what else that might be found in the days to come.

What's your favorite kind of community with your quilting?