Ladies; Thank you so much for your input on guilds. I may consider joining one but only after checking out the ones near me. Now i know what to look for and will try to find a good fit for me. I do some volunteer work for our library so do not want to be away from home "gallivanting" too much as husbands do get prickly when they are home alone too long. We are both retired but sometimes it is good to get away. I volunteer at the used book store with two other quilters so we do go out to lunch monthly and have fun. They are the ones who turned me on to quilting. One of my buddies is 83 and quilts at the firehouse weekly, volunteers at the store once a week and also volunteers at another place a few times a month. Did I also mention that she knits hats for preemies in her "spare" time? She is a real inspiration to me. Folks like her keep me going although I am just a kid at 73. I am a self taught quilter and they have taught me so much. Glad I found this site as it is a wonderful source. Sorry to be so wordy - i have a tendency to do that.