I'm thinking about finding a Guild to join. What are the advantages? Any disadvantages?

I am thinking of attending my first one this week so let me know what you find out.

I'm out of town right now and won't be able to attend the first one until the 4th Mon in October. Sent an email to the contact person. Sounds like they do a lot of charity quilts for veterans, stuffed animal/blankets for EMS and police. Does it sound too good to be true? Will attend Oct and Nov and by then should know. Let me know how you liked your first meeting.

It can be hard to break in as groups have already formed. Join activities such as classes, retreats, committees, etc. That way you get to know a lot of people at once. Also make sure to participate in Show and Tell. I love My guild, it's under 100 folk, and easy to relate to. Wish you well.

Guilds definatly have their pros & cons. If it is a large one, but has smaller evening groups, you can probably find a great group of people to meet w/& share ideas. I've found SOME can be kinda cliqueish(?), especially in larger cities. I've heard a few negative comments on here about a some.

But that said, I belonged to one many years ago that was great, very supportive, sharing & helpful - this board reminds me of a lot of the ladies in that one. However, it was in a rural area & after moving from there many years ago, I tried a guild in a larger city & found out they were somewhat on the snobbish side & had A LOT of 'quilt police'. Now I don't belong to one.

All are different & you'll never know till you visit one a few times. You may find a group of people who become a 'second family' to you.

Good luck & happy quilting

I think of it as a good experience, you'll learn and see different things. May be you just want to attend a couple of times, before joining. They always welcome new people.

I belong to 2 of them, one large and one small. I thought the larger one would be more clickish, but no so. Everyone there is really nice and I enjoy it and get alot of good ideas.

Zhillslady - I LOVE your Avatar - would love to see a close up of it!!

I did 3 meetings at one near me. I'm sure it was just the group, but they were clique...... No, I didn't join...

I was involved in an evening quilt group. It slowly became a social outting so I quit. But it was fun while it was a quilting group.