In Texas, August is our back to school month! 

And, while the kids are getting back into the routines of school, this also means that there are so many opportunities to meet and gather with other like-minded adults. Whether you are desiring to dive into a community or jumpstart your own creativity, choosing organizations where you are able to be an active and involved member is a great way to meet other people and try new things. 

"Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.” — Anthony J. D’Angelo

One way to foster creativity through community-based activities is to join a book or crafting club. Book clubs are a worthy investment of time as they form a community around something bookworms find so very sacred: literature. You can find book clubs at your local library, your local bookstore, or even online in book-centric community groups.

Similarly, a crafting club can be such a rewarding investment. You not only have the opportunity to create something that you love, but you also have the ability to learn more about that particular craft and you are able to learn from people more skilled in the craft than you. There is a deep well of knowledge that can be found within in a crafting club. You can discover crafting clubs at your local library, community centers, local craft stores, local guilds (or organizations dedicated to a specific craft), or even online groups and clubs. 

Wouldn't it be incredible if these clubs were one and the same? I have discovered that reading and crafting is not as much of a solitary experience as I had originally thought. I love creating within a community because I am able to not only bounce my ideas off other creative people, but I am also able to learn and grow from their creativity. Being a part of a community where people experience life differently is such a necessity for growth.

Creating quilt blocks to match the covers of the books you read is an incredible way to remember the books you read. Stories help us to tap into our creativity, something I believe each person is capable of, and making a quilt block to remember those stories is a great way to practice using your innate creativity. A bonus that quilt blocks offer is taking your quilt block to author signing events and having the author sign it. 

If you love this idea, but you are unsure of where start, check out the Quilter's Book Bundles. They are a kit that includes the materials you will need to get started to make a quilt block that matches the cover of a book, such as the book, fabric that coordinates with the cover of the book, matching thread, a simple quilt block pattern, an erasable pen that can be used on fabric and paper, and a handcrafted wooden bookmark.

I have had the privilege of starting and cultivating an online community of people who are passionate about literature and quilting and it has been one of the best decisions of my life. So, let me tell you a little bit more about the community I have started and give you some tips for how to start your own!

Creating my own reading and patchwork club

Back in February 2024 I started a Facebook group called Books and Blocks Club. The idea behind the group was to read books and make quilt blocks based on the books. At the end of the year you can sew all of the quilt blocks together and have a quilt composed of all of the books you read that year. 

This was something that I wanted to do within a community and not just by myself. I wanted to get book recommendations from people I knew and I loved seeing how different all of the quilt blocks were.

There were many people who read the same book and it was really cool to see how different the quilt blocks were for the same book. 

Book Blocks: Danielle Turner. Jamie Mandigo. Lyndsey Helley.

And that is the beauty of creating within community: you may all read the same book, but how you interpret the book and the creativity with which the book inspires you is going to look different for each person.

You can read more about my experience making my book blocks here and here. 

Starting your own club for quilty bookworms

Having a space dedicated to merging my two favorite hobbies has been one of the most life-giving things I've done recently. And, I want that for you too. So, here's some steps you can take to start your own reading and quilting club!

Choosing books for your group to read

Instead of choosing one novel for everyone to read each month, I decided to choose a theme. 

For August, the theme is books. So, the challenge is to read a book with a book on the cover and make a quilt block representing that book. Even though I don't always read books with that meet the challenge of the month, it is such a fun way to have engagement within the group.

For your group, you can decide on a specific book that everyone will be reading and then discuss the book. I would recommend to have a different theme for each month and then choose several books that would fit that theme.

So, for August you could choose a school or university setting for the theme and then choose about 3-4 books that are set in a school or university. You could also decide on a genre for the month or have a specific genre for the entire group, i.e. dark academia for the month of August or a group that focuses on reading fantasy novels, respectively.

Deciding on a quilt pattern

I love the creative freedom to use either a pattern I have designed or one of my favorite patterns. 

However, if you would like for your group to use a singular pattern here are a couple of ideas:

1. Book Nerd by Angela Pingel

2. Book Nook by Pen + Paper Patterns

3. Tall Tales by Quilt with Kate

Or, you could use a traditional quilt block! You can get a free PDF of the Ohio Star quilt block here.

Please remember that these designers have put a lot of work and effort into their patterns. Each person in your group should purchase their own pattern. If cost is prohibitive, check out Quilter's Cache where you can find MANY different quilt block patterns for free!

Additionally, you can decide to create different blocks for each book or you can have variations of different blocks.

Last year I decided to make a different quilt block for each quarter of the year, so four different kinds of blocks for the whole year. I ended up with 144 blocks and it was a lot. So, this year I am only making quilt blocks for books that I rate 4 stars or higher. I also decided to use the same background fabric for all of the blocks.

Structuring your group meetings

Online vs In-person

As my group is online only, there are no specific meet ups (yet), but I am trying to coordinate online sewing sessions. The group is open whenever people want to interact with it.

You'll need to decide if you want a locally focused group where you meet in person or if you want to include people from all over the world.

Social media is a wonderful tool to collect interest and to also interact with your group outside of the meeting times. Even if you decide to meet in person, you can still use social media to share events and create polls for your group.

Meeting Commitment

For your group, when deciding whether to join a group or not, it is important for members to know what the time commitment is going to look like. The standard meeting frequency that I've seen has been monthly, with maybe one or two meet ups in addition to the monthly meeting.

Meeting Location(s)

Members will also need to know times and locations of each meeting and if it will be a revolving meeting (meaning that the meeting will take place at a different venue each time) or a fixed meeting (meaning that the meeting will take place at the same venue each time). I have been a part of book clubs that have met at coffee shops, wineries, and even the meeting room at work.

Meeting Schedule

For the meetings themselves, you need to be clear about what will occur at each meeting. So this means, you'll need to decide how much time will be spent on chatting about the book and how much time will be dedicated to sharing quilt blocks or making quilt blocks. You could have people already make their quilt blocks before meeting and then use the time at the meeting for members to do a "show-and-tell" with their quilt blocks.

Additional meetings/meet ups

It is also a possibility to schedule a sewing date outside of regular club meeting times. I find that the more communications and meet ups that happen in between meetings, the richer the community will become. 

If you are a local club, it would be a great idea to schedule member outings for author signing events. I have taken my quilt to many author signing events and it has been such a wonderful experience to share with the authors the blocks that I made to represent their books. I've even had several authors sign my quilt blocks. 

Add fun activities to your meetings

Creating an community-driven atmosphere for members is such a fun way to invite members to become more invested in your club. There are a few ways you can do this:

1. Bring themed snacks/drinks to the meetings.

If you are meeting at a venue where you can bring in outside drinks and snacks, make sure to do so! People love consuming food and beverages with other people. It's an added bonus if you are able to relate your food and drink choices to either the theme you've created for the month or the specific book you will be discussing.

2. Read a book by a local author and have the author come for a Q&A. 

My neighborhood book club read a book by a local author and then had the author visit during the book club meeting. This is a great way to support local and indie authors.

You can also reach out to your favorite authors, either through their website or their publisher, and see if they would be willing to do a Q&A for your group online. Look especially for authors who are already on tour. I have contacted several authors and they are currently working on their next novel so they are not available for Q&As, however authors who are already promoting their new books would be more likely to meet with your group.

3. Host book and/or fabric swaps.

Hosting book and/or fabric swaps is a great way to make room for new books and fabric. If you are meeting in person, the process is going to be much more straightforward as you decide on the time and place and everyone will bring books and fabric to swap with each other. 

I have attended a book swap hosted by my local coffee shop and it was incredible. For each book brought, one ticket was given. The tickets could then be redeemed for another book at the swap.

Online swaps are a little more tricky because of scammers. You will really have to know who is in your group and make sure that you don't allow scammers. This is a big reason why I have been hesitant to do a book/fabric swap within my own group, but I screen each person who requests to join. If you decide you want to have an online group, I would suggest to make the group private and screen each individual person. This will take a lot of time, but it will be worth it. 

Encourage members to participate in the meetings and events

You may have heard the adage before, you get out of it what you put in. Well, sometimes, people need extra encouragement to step into a community-driven club, especially people who may be participating for the first time. I've got a list of some ideas that you can use during your meetings to help encourage your members, whether first-time visitors or founding members, to participate in your club's meetings and events.

1. Icebreakers and group sharing

Every Sunday I post in my online group an engagement post. The post is to share what people are currently reading. It's something that members look forward to sharing and it is also a great way to learn about new books, and also books that fit the prompt for the month.

When you are in person, you can have some silly questions to ask at the beginning of the meeting that are focused on either the books members are currently reading or the projects they are currently working on. I love silly questions like, the main character of your current book helps you escape a deserted island...who is going to help you?

2. Encouraging members to bring quilt blocks to meetings and/or share progress photos

Show and tell, especially with craft-centric groups, is a great way to not only share what each person has been doing (and oohing and ahhing over it), but it also provides inspiration for others. Sometimes people can get stuck in a creative rut and it is really helpful to see how others interpret a prompt. Seeing the creative work of others offers people the opportunity to visualize what it is they want to do and then give them the motivation to do it.

3. Providing prizes for participation

For my online group we have monthly giveaways. I have reached out to independent quilt shops to ask them if they would be willing to sponsor a giveaway for a specific month. This has been such an incredible experience because these independent quilt shops, and the incredible work the do, is highlighted all throughout their sponsor month. I love supporting small, local, independent businesses because I know that small businesses are where people go to find community.

4. Creating social media hashtags to share their book blocks and reading updates

I have found that a lot of people love to share the work that they are doing on social media and hashtags really help to provide continuity for the project. Think about creating a social media hashtag for your group so that members can use it when they post about their book and craft related projects.

5. Distributing a discussion guide so members can follow along

A lot of novels will have a specific discussion guide at the back of the novel or you can find discussion guides on the author's website. If you would like to follow a discussion guide but there isn't one available, you can download this free discussion guide I have created. Click here for the guide.

A Community of Learning Creatives

There is so much joy to be found when combining the hobbies of reading and quilting.  An even greater joy is finding, or creating, a group of people who also love these fulfilling hobbies. If you haven't already joined a book or craft club, I highly recommend it. If you have found that there aren't any in your area, create one!