Let’s Talk About Fabric, a Bear Paw Quilt Co. Blog

A literal quilting bee. Photo from http://www.nanduadesign.com/

The traditional notion of a quilt bee is a bunch of women sitting around a large quilt frame, all working on the same quilt. I think people typically imagine these women as pioneer types in simple homespun dresses, in a log cabin, sewing away while the menfolk raise a barn.

The modern-day quilt bee is far from the stereotype. A bee is any group of people who meet regularly to quilt. They can work on their own projects or a joint project. They can be any age or race or gender. They can quilt by hand or machine, with a hoop or without. They can create any kind of quilt from elaborate art quilts to simple tied quilts.

Mainly what a quilt bee is, is a lot of fun. I first joined a bee in 1998 after stumbling upon one by accident in a very friendly quilt shop called Grand Quilt (now closed, sadly). I’ve been with this bee every since and the women I met there have become some of my closest friends. We travel to shows and shop hops together, go on retreat together, and have an annual Christmas party.

We normally each work on our own thing, but every couple of years we make a raffle quilt for the West Michigan Quilter’s Guild show. The money from these raffle quilts goes to families with infants in the neo-natal ICU at Spectrum Health. Sometimes we’ll get together and teach each other some new technique, like the day we spent wearing gloves and masks while I taught everyone how to hand-dye fabric, or the day we spent out on the lawn sun-painting fabric.

A bee is like a very tiny guild in that they provide camaraderie and companionship for quilters and a source of artistic inspiration and learning. Where they differ is that bees are usually closer knit and meet more often. They normally don’t have dues and don’t usually take on large endeavors like shows or guest speakers.

Where bees are better than guilds (in my experience) is in the friendships that develop. I moved to the US in 1997 and didn’t know anyone in my new city aside from my boyfriend. Joining the bee gave me a set of friends who I already had a lot in common with.

When my boyfriend and I decided to get married in 2008 my bee made us a gorgeous quilt. Each woman made one or two blocks, one woman quilted it, another bound it, and another made the label, incorporating poetry and ribbons from our invitations! Here’s a picture of us wrapped in our wedding quilt.

To find a bee, ask at your local quilt shop. If there are none that meet during the time you have available, find some other quilters (at the shop or a local guild) and start one of your own! Happy quilting!

http://www.examiner.com/x-858-Quilting-Examiner~y2008m10d1-Quilting-Bees