I'm in Macon so still a little too far. There is a great store in Ellerslie. I went there last spring as part of the middle Georgia shop hop. Sundays Best is the name. You should definitely go there. They have a lot of classes and other groups that meet. Check out their website and you will see what I mean. There is also a shop in Columbus that was fairly large with a good selection of fabrics. Between the two stores you should be able to connect to a group or guild. Good luck!