On a day to day basis, I quilt alone. But a couple of times a year, my two sisters and I, who are all avid machine quilters, usually get together for a 3 - 5 day retreat, either an organized one, or a more informal one, to sew, sew, sew - until we drop. We challenge one another, give suggestions to one another, and because we're family, we don't feel like we have to entertain one another - we can just SEW. But cooking interesting meals is always a part of it, and watching chick flicks, and sharing some wine. We are also in a round robin with three other quilting friends, and get together with them every two months, but we don't sew the night we get together - we do "show and tell" of other stuff we've been working on, have a potluck meal, and pass our round robine bins on. In October, we'll be all finished with the quilts we have been passing along, and will have the great unveiling. That will be the first time in a whole year we will have seen the centre quilt block we each made , with 5 borders added!!! Life is good!!