I've read a couple of the posts about the trouble that so many of you are experiencing with acceptance in your Guild. Truly, I'm sorry to hear this. In my opinion, Guilds should be open and accepting of all quilters and all quilting styles and all quilting levels (the newest one to the quilter with decades of experience). I know mine is.

For anyone that is struggling with their guild, I invite you to join mine: The Chenango Piecemakers. EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

We have around 100 members right now and we run the gamut from the most novice quilter to the professional. We have some who quilt for fun, and some who teach, some quilt as part of their job, one of our members is a certified judge. We have traditional quilters, art quilters, hand quilters, machine quilters, long arm quilters and everything in between.

Yes, I know you don't live near me (truth be told, NO ONE lives near me!! I'm very rural! LOL) but you don't have to live in Norwich, NY or Chenango County to be a member in our guild.

We have several long-distance members (WV, VA, PA, WA, OK, and some from several hours away, but still in NYS). They do everything by mail, and occasionally make the trip here and stay with friends or family. Some come just to go to our retreats or our show or an annual event. Many participate by sending things in the mail. Some just enjoy getting the monthly newsletter.

I'd be happy to answer any questions anyone has and would welcome any new members, no matter where you live or what your quiting style is.

You can check out our website, too: http://www.freewebs.com/chenangopiecemakers/index.htm

PS: I'm one of the Co-Presidents....

Hollyquilter

Thanks for the invite, Hollyquilter. That is so thoughful of you to reach out to all of us on here. I am checking out your website now. What a great idea to let other people who do not even live close be apart of something so great.

I've never heard of a long-distance quild. What a neat idea Holly!!! And it was nice of you to send out an invite to all of us. :)

Thanks for the long-distance invitation. Your guild sounds wonderful and I'm happy you belong to such a great group.

:( Sorry you've had a bad experience. Beach Cities Quilt Guild in southern Orange County, CA has what they refer to as friendship circles. If there is something set up like that it's helpful to meet others. I too felt adrift until I got in the group Family Jewels. Now there is always 4-8 of us at the meeting to sit together, etc. We meet once a month outside of the guild, usually at someone's house. We take turns hosting and once in a while go out for lunch. Mostly we're social but we do get a little work done and share tips and ideas.

Hi Holly, YOu may be long distance to some but I am not far from you. I live on the border of NY and Pa South of Binghamton Ny. I took a class from the very lovely quilt shop in your town . "Sew Nice" and that is exactlay what it is. Your guild sounds like a very nice group of ladies (and men). Do you have any men in your guild? I use to belong to Broome Co. quilt guild but quit because I no longer drive at night. Marge

Hi, mic-pa: You must be around Conklin or so.....

Sew Nice is a great shop and they vended at our Show last weekend.

We have one male in our Guild and he's an accomplished sewer. It's great to see what he brings in.

We have several members that come up from the Binghamton area. If you're interested in joining, you could probably catch a ride with any of them....

Happy quilting!

Thank you for the kind invitation, Hollyquilter. I'm checking your website. I still consider this my main quild, but I'm open minded and willing to learn anywhere anytime.

Happy Quilting,
Sharon