Cross Quarter Club is a creative seasonal living club for gardeners and nature lovers based in York County, Pennsylvania. Founded in the winter of 2022 , CQC cultivates spaces to come together, slow down, embrace the season, learn something new, and just to be. There are no entry or membership requirements to join. Our events are rooted in the neo-pagan Wheel of the Year, and we affirm that living in close connection with the rhythms of the natural world is part of our universal shared heritage as humans. CQC is a secular, welcoming, inclusive group for women and non-binary people of any age, race, religion, or sexual orientation.

Our first gathering of the new year was held on Sunday, February 4th at the beautiful and historic Quaker meetinghouse in downtown York, Pennsylvania. Our workshop this season was botanical needlefelting led by Debbie Mancuso from Teaching Museum for the Fiber Arts and Textiles in Felton. As always, we enjoyed a spread of seasonal snacks and drinks and our cherished Sharing Table tradition. Read on for a complete recap!

Welcome & Introductions

After everyone arrived, we took a moment to ground and orient ourselves in the season with a short reading from Fiona Cook’s lovely book, The Wheel of the Year: An Illustrated Guide to Nature’s Rhythms. Imbolc is situated at the halfway mark between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox and is tied to the themes of rebirth and purification, looking forward to the coming spring. This stretch of winter after the holidays can be difficult for many with the cold weather and often more time spent indoors. Lots of people I know enjoy fiber arts such as knitting and crochet, especially during the winter months! This aligns with traditional, agrarian societies in which the slower, non-growing season would be opportune for handcrafts like textile production. So I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the season than a cozy afternoon of learning how to needlefelt wool into pretty botanical designs, like flowers, trees, mushrooms, and more.

Before we got into the workshop, we went around the room introducing ourselves. As an introvert, I am not the biggest fan of icebreakers, but I cherish this time for Cross Quarter Club! We share our name, where we’re from, how we spend our days and one thing we’re excited about this season. I love hearing what everyone else is passionate about, and there are always interesting connections that come from taking this time to learn more about each other!

Botanical Needlefelting Workshop

Our workshop was led by Debbie Mancuso from Teaching Museum for the Fiber Arts & Textiles in Felton. Debbie is a kind-hearted and knowledgeable sheep farmer and educator, working with public and private schools, homeschool groups, and community organizations to provide hands-on instruction on all aspects of the fiber arts and the history of textile production. Look for a feature on the Teaching Museum coming soon to the journal! Debbie brought a rainbow of wool roving for us to work with, shorn from her own sheep and dyed in her historic farmhouse. Debbie gave us a demonstration on basic needlefelting techniques and then we got to work crafting our own botanical needlefelted designs.

Seasonal Snacks & Drinks

A beautiful spread of seasonally-inspired snacks, baked goods, and drinks has become a Cross Quarter Club tradition! This time, we enjoyed a winter charcuterie spread along with freshly baked braided bread, mini cheesecakes (gluten-free!), and hot apple cider.

Read: Cross Quarter Club’s Favorite Recipes

The Sharing Table

We conclude each Midseason Gathering with The Sharing Table, where we put our club values of reciprocity and community care into practice. Each person is encouraged to bring 1 item for the table, but it’s not a transactional thing — it’s no issue if someone doesn’t have anything to share, just like it’s no issue if someone has an abundance to share! Everyone gets a chance to “shop” the Sharing Table before they leave.  Our official theme was a garden seed swap, but other items have always been welcome too. More and more we are leaning into this practice, bringing whatever we have to share, whether that’s books, plants, produce, homemade bath & body products, a favorite recipe, or home decor items. The Sharing Table really is an evolving ritual we have created together and something that I really treasure and enjoy!

Read my blog post: The Story of the Sharing Table

This was our ninth Cross Quarter Club gathering and the start of our third year as a club! It is such an honor and a joy to see the beautiful and vibrant community we're growing, around the simple idea of living with the seasons. Thank you to everyone who came!

Also, thank you to Sara Hummer of Hemlock & Hellebore for creating this gorgeous winter floral arrangement to grace our welcome table! Thank you to Anya Peters of Hedgerow Photography, who will be capturing all of our Midseason gatherings this year. Cross Quarter Club recently received a Bloom Grant from the York County Economic Alliance, which has made the addition of professional florals and photography, along with several other “upgrades” to our events this year possible! So lastly, thank you to the team at YCEA for believing in what we are doing here with Cross Quarter Club!