SBQ – July 2010

The July question is a long one, with a lot of detail to it:

Stitching is an activity that tends to be solitary. Sometimes I wonder if we choose stitching because we are more comfortable with pursuits that we do alone, or does our stitching cause us to be loners? So what do you think?

And you know that I can never stop with just one question or thing to think about, so here’s something else that’s been on my mind.

Since we’re stitching alone most of the time, it seems to me that we get great joy from coming together with other stitchers. It can be such a good feeling when we find a group of people who speak our language and understand our stitching excitement and passion. But since not all stitchers are perfect, not all groups can be perfect either. So…if you could create your own perfect stitching group, what characteristics would make it perfect?

For instance, would you all be near the same age, or would you like your group to span a generation or two? Would you enjoy political or religious discussions while you stitch or would that make you shy away? Would you like a big group or a small group? Those are just a couple of variables in groups…tell us what’s important to YOU.

I’m a bit anti-social to begin with, so I guess that I probably like stitching because it’s a solitary pursuit. In fact, most of my hobbies are solitary ones that can be made social, but don’t have to be. I guess it’s because I’m an introvert that I gravitate towards these hobbies, but being crafty does not seem to lend itself to being terribly social. So, maybe the answer is a bit of both.

As far as deriving great joy from gathering with other stitchers, it depends on the stitchers. 😉 Seriously, though, I have a hard time putting myself out there to make new friends, so while it is a true joy to get together with stitching bloggers that I feel like I already know, it’s not so much fun for me to be amongst a group of strangers. That’s probably why I tend not to go to the monthly stitching group if Anna isn’t there. I had the intention of going to the last one without her and even RSVP’d, but ended up having tummy problems that kept me from going. I felt incredibly guilty about not going when I had actually called just that morning to sign up.

The perfect stitching group, for me, would be my favorite stitching bloggers, as I already mentioned. The ones I follow regularly, even though they are scattered around the country and the globe. It would be lovely to just hop in our transporters and meet somewhere on a regular basis for stitching and chatting, although it would be more chatting than stitching, I suspect. I don’t care about age so much: some of my best stitching pals are older than me. In fact, I think that most of them are. Having a open-minded group that would be open to political and religious banter would be nice, though Anna has no qualms about digging into those conversations regardless of the company, which can be lots of fun. So, that’s pretty much it for me. A gathering of good friends is what equals good fun for me!