Jan in VA

After you find the place to meet and you are all gathered, whether 4 or 14 of you, start the "meeting" with everyone getting to know each other. Here's how the first guild I helped start did it. We gathered in a circle, granted there were at least 18 of us that day, and each person "interviewed' the person to their left for 5-6 minutes....
were they married,
how long quilting,
what they liked most about quilting or their style preference,
where they lived,
children?,
hobbies other than quilting, etc.
And then at the next gathering the interviewer "introduced" the interviewee to the rest of the group. This way, each person met 2 new friends, one they are interviewed by, the other they have interviewed themselves.
By our third meeting we felt familiar enough with each other that we decided to form a new guild and elected officers. Interestingly, the gal who started the whole thing was NOT elected and was upset. But she soon learned that the majority was right in their choices because she was very new to quilting and running anything like a guild, and all were happy. That guild in Texas is still going strong nearly 30 years later!!

Another example I personally started was just a friendship "bee". That consisted of current and former students of mine who were are afraid they'd miss out on something cool if they didn't get to see each other at least once a month. So we met at my house every "first Monday" evening for nearly 8 years, until I moved.

Just because you start it by setting the meeting time and place doesn't mean you have to be the one to lead it.
I wish you luck in setting this up and in whichever direction you all decide to take.

Jan in VA

Peckish

I belong to a quilt group. We don't have officers or rules. We have meetings where we just talk about quilts; we don't do any actual sewing. We've become great friends over the years, so our conversations now involve our work, homes, families, etc. We have show-n-tell and talk about things we've learned, classes we've taken, problems we've had with a technique or a fabric, etc. We meet in our homes and usually everyone brings a snack of some kind. These meetings usually last about 3 hours.

We also have all-day sew days about 4 times a year, where we bring our machines, fabric, tools, etc. and sew all day long. We utilize community rooms that are available for free at our local fire stations, libraries, and public utility company. I would suggest such a venue for your meetings at first, until you get to know everyone.

Don't feel nervous. Just explain to everyone exactly what you explained to us - you're a beginner quilter, you'd like to meet up to learn skills and make friends. They may even have some suggestions about venues that you're unaware of. Quilters are a kind bunch the world around.

Dina

My suggestion is that when you hear from a few of the quilters, tell them the same things you have told us and ask them how to get together. One of them might know of a good place to meet, just to meet. Or, you could invite them to your home, like you were thinking. That would work fine for a small group. You may not even want to get together to sew the first few times, maybe just sort of a Show and Tell"? (I know others warn about meeting at your home, but I don't think it is such a bad idea. However, ask them where you all could meet first. One of them might be full of ideas.)

I admire you for stepping out and just know this will work well for you. Quilters just seem to be friendly helpful people, and somehow I know that is what you will find.

Dina

Cybrarian

Hi Gerrycnx, I've helped lead 2 school mission trips to Mercy Christian school in Ubon Ratchathani south of you- they have connections in Chang Mai- so I realize the public sites and furniture/electric are very different than some other countries. I would agree your first meeting would be best at a local restaurant that would be agreeable to you being there for a few hours without cost. If not could you start at a restaurant then go to a local park or other public space? A local school may also allow you to use a classroom? Do you have any connections with locals that may have some ideas for a first meeting? Then you can brainstorm with whomever shows up on how you proceed-whether there is interest in and the ability to sew together- or if there are other ideas to exchange information and help each other. You are really putting yourself out there to connect with others, and that will be so appreciated by those you connect with- good luck!

Material Witness

If you had a club, you could meet for a show and tell, with snacks. Have one person teach a technique or watch a tutorial. Agree on a pattern or block of the month to do together, and then meet regularly to compare and ask questions. You don't have to actually do the cutting and quilting there at the meeting.

Gerrycnx

Thanks a lot. All of these help make me feel more confident. It is very interesting to know how it works for you and the fact that usually it is just like a friend gathering make me feel good about it. I love to sew by myself...but i love to speak about it ehehehe.

Let's see if anyone will reply to my messages on meetup...so we can all decide togeter how to grow into it.

twinkie

I would definitely meet in a public place for the first time. You could meet in a park or a restaurant or even in the craft shop if there is room. After talking about forming the group, if there is interest, I would find out what day or evening would be best for those in your group. I would then invite them to your home if you feel comfortable with them. The first meeting I would try to get each person to tell a little about themselves and their quilting experience . If there seems to be interest and a group is formed, you might put a notice and the bulletin board of the craft shop you mentioned.You might check on the internet and see if there are ideas for setting up a quilting group. If you do find interest, I would ask the "quilter" with the most experience if they would like to share an easy technique or quilt idea. You might also ask each one to bring a small amount of fabric or an item used with making quilts. These could be placed in a small bag and each "new member" would swap these bags with another member. Each person could also bring their favorite snack item. Just a few ideas. Also, many sewing machines are portable and each one could bring their own if you intend on working on a project.

MargeD

I think DOTTYMO has an excellent idea, to first meet in a coffee shop, café, etc. I wish you luck in finding some quilting friends. I do miss my old quilt guild, but haven't found another one to take it's place and I've heard that there are over 200 members and that's too big for me. When I was President we had 150 members and I thought that had grown too large, although there were smaller groups, I just never connected with a group within my time frame and location. Good luck, and Welcome to the Quilting Board where you will meet very nice, friendly and knowledgeable quilters who are happy to help whenever.