Remembering Adelia Club

Summertime and I'm busier than ever when I'd love to be lounging at some beach or combing the thrift shops. I spent time today organizing materials for the Remembering Adelia Club that some quilt shops are offering to customers this fall. It's a 6-month club that gives quilters a chance to get together on a monthly basis and make some of the little quilts from my new book. I did the same thing with my other two books, Prairie Children & Their Quilts and American Doll Quilts, as well and quilters really enjoyed it. Quilters tell me that sometimes it's a little easier to actually make the quilts if you have a plan and work alongside other quilters with the same interests. You don't really want that wonderful book to just sit on the shelf of your sewing room, do you?

Members need to purchase the book when they join and then stitch along with other quilters once a month while the teacher gives a little lesson on life and quilting during the Civil War.

Did you know that while a huge percentage of men from both sides were away during the war, the women were left behind to manage not only the homes, but the farms and businesses too, making life extremely difficult for most of them? Women may not have been active on the battlefield, but they certainly experienced the repercussions of the war. How were their lives affected in other ways? Adelia tells HER story.

If you're a shop owner, e-mail me if you'd like to begin a club at your shop. If you're "just" a quilter and need inspiration to make a few of the quilts or sewing accessories from Remembering Adelia, tell your local shop about it or offer to help them organize one. Or e-mail me to see if there's a shop in your area that's starting a club. What's more fun than getting together with other quilters to make a little quilt from the book? Ok, I can think of a few things, but none where you learn a little bit about history and get a free pincushion pattern too.

What a great way to get started making some of your favorite little quilts from the book and also see how other quilters' projects turn out. It's always fun to see how everyone interprets the quilts differently to make them uniquely their own.

These "housewife" needle cases make great gifts for friends.