In Which Judy and Nancy Join the Guild

About a year and a half ago, Bonnie Hunter was going on a road trip and inquired how close one of her destinations was to Near Philadelphia.  She was speaking at a guild there and thought I might want to come over.  It was about a forty-five minute drive, and Judy and I were up for it, so off we went, Googlemaps in hand.

Well, it turned out to be about the friendliest bunch of quilters you could imagine!  One of the members even confessed to reading my blog!  We had such a nice evening and decided on the spot that we wanted to join, if they'd have us.  Well, it turned out that the fire code required the membership be limited to 100 (though there could apparently be countless guests!) and they were filled to capacity.  Undaunted, we put our names on the waiting list.  We were #6 and #7.  We continued to attend meetings, paying the guest fee, as frequently as we could.  Both of us thought the president to be about the sweetest, funniest person and she always made us feel so welcome.  The show and tell each month was amazing, and there were a lot of good bed quilts, and not a whole lot of arty offerings.

New members would be accepted in January and so we held our breath.  Numbers 1 through 5 were admitted.  And then they were full.  So we remained on the waiting list for another year, now #1 and #2.  We continued to attend.  We spoke about the guild with such enthusiasm that I know Joe and Bill were envisioning Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton on their way to the Racoons meeting complete with funny hats and secret handshakes.  At a recent meeting, a letter of resignation was read from a member who had moved to Florida.  Judy poked me with delight -- "You'll be in!" she whispered.  "Not without you," I told her. 

Two weeks ago we both got The Call.  There were openings and we were the first to be invited to join!  I literally jumped up and down!

Last night we went to the meeting and paid our dues.  We received membership cards and little fabric insignias to make into name tags.  The rules and regulations will be provided to us in January.  Meanwhile, we'll get to work on our name tags and the raffle quilt kits we picked up and brought home.  We're ready -- more than ready -- for whatever rights and responsibilities full membership holds.  And can't wait to learn the secret handshake!