I belong to a group of women who get together every spring and fall and have a retreat. I met them through my sister. She died in 2003 and I don't feel as welcomed as I did when she was alive.
I have a friend on the board here who I've been pming daily for one year and four months. I live on the west coast and she lives on the east coast. We are the best of friends. We encourage each other and praise each other. We both belong to a few of the same BOMs. She is faster than I when it comes to getting a block done, so I write her and ask her for tips on making the BOM. She's wonderful about that. We show each other pictures of our finished projects - she more than me because she is on a roll! I know this is about joining a group, but I just wanted to share that there are all kinds of ways to belong. I'll never meet her, but she's my best friend and when I was in a rut and couldn't sew, she kept sending me pictures of her quilts she completed and would encourage me to quilt and after seeing all her beautiful quilts, I couldn't help but start to quilt again. I feel we have our own group and it's a great one!