Hosting the Needle Nomads

The Needle Nomads is my crafty group. We are knitters, sewists, crochet artists, quilters and more...
I hadn't hosted in a while but I've recently hosted twice. The first time included the usual coffee, snacks, chit chat and also a class in the quilting technique known as paper piecing. We have several newer members who have been asking for a class so that they would be able to make blocks for the memory mini-quilts we create for departing members of the group.

When we have these classes, quite a few of the ladies bring their sewing machines with them. The hostess provides her own machine for use, tables, and cutting mats, scissors, pins, etc. for those who don't bring a machine. Everyone learns together.

We had a large group of 14 for this class. Fortunately, we'd just finished our latest jigsaw puzzle so the "puzzle table" was available. I also have my large card table and 4 chairs. Even so, several of the ladies made use of the 3-seater, 2-seater and 1-seater sofas and chair in the living room.

Marble floors are hard on the feet, but they allow me to put heavy objects on a large towel and slide it around the apartment.  This is how I moved my sewing machine and table to the living room. I wish I'd taken some shots during the class but I was too busy. A couple of the ladies are experts with this technique. I learned this technique recently but I'm getting better with each block.

There is often only one outlet in a room which limits our ability to plug in half a dozen sewing machines. However, we have long multi-port power cords and it seems to be OK to plug in a lot of items all on the same line. 

The result of the day's class:

Half of the group topped off the class with a walk over to the nearby mall for a fabulous lunch! 

One of our members has returned home to Japan. She is a felter. She received her memento mini-quilt recently and she quickly got busy making gifts for all of us. 

The photo below shows a closeup of some of the gifts she made of various fruits available here. She's a true artist. In addition to fruit, she creates all sorts of animals, birds, anything! We are the proud owner of a small felted sirsak fruit.