the one quilting group i belong to has been getting together for almost 10 years!!! Some of the members attend the church that it's held at. There are some of us (like me) that come just to quilt and enjoy one another.
We found a bunch of cross stitch quilt tops that were shoved in a closet and forgotten, so we have had a line of projects to keep us busy.
I think the one thing that has made it successful:
We don't have to bring anything except our favorite thimble and needle. We have 3 frames set up and there always seems to be something going. One of the women doesn't like to quilt, but she does cross stitch. The room we've taken over is "ours"
There's no cost involved - we just show up. We generally enjoy one another's company.
I do belong to another group that meets during the evening, and that one is harder for me to go to, but it is less women, and I personally don't care for the current quilts they are working on. They also do a lot of stitch in the ditch and i hate that kind of hand quilting.