ideas for quilt meetings
 

I am on our planning committee for next years quilt quild. Looking for suggestions to do at meetings. What do you do at your meetings that doesn't cost a fortune. Thanks.

Have a 50/50 draw each week. Sell tickets and the incoming proceeds are divided into 50% for the guild and 50% to winner.

Check with state and local museums. There may be a textile section with a person who can come talk about history of quilts or textiles in the state.

Utilize talent within the guild. For example do you have any members who are longarmers that can give a talk, or someone who is a real pro at needle turn applique or EQ or something like that. Is there a certified quilt appraiser or judge in your group that can give a talk? Do you have any members that can do a "trunk show"? Survey the guild to find out what they are interested in. The guild I used to belong to was very large and we only brought in a "big name" a few times a year and those were always in conjunction with a workshop that members paid an additional fee to attend so I don't know if that helped to subsidize the cost of the trunk show or talk (I strongly suspect it did). Additionally not every meeting needs to have a speaker. Sometimes we just discussed the usual guild business, like an upcoming show or bus trip, the minutes, the treasurers report then show and tell.

Get to know your quilters..a 10-15 min. show and tell the story of your quilting journey. Some quilters are very well know for their beautiful work...but there are some quilters that have a wonderful heart, not great quilters but have a great story and they are on that quilting journey.

We had a night where everyone was asked to bring in one of their first quilts for show and tell. That was fun , the stories were great. I agree, call on your members . We have had member trunk shows, a judge did a presentation and "judged" a few member quilts. Ask if members know people who would be willing to come and show what they do. We had a presentation on Korean quilting and eco fabric dyeing this year.

If there is a break period, ask any new members to gather in one spot with a few established members who will take them on as mentors to the guild. Speaking as a new member, it is very hard to break into the cliques that exist in guilds without some sort of introduction.

Watson

We always have members do short demonstrations of a technique (sewing the binding ends together at the correct length with a diagonal seam, hand applique, accurate rotary cutting, for example), small project (stained glass wall hanging, scenic wall hanging, etc.) and those are always appreciated.

We've had UFO auctions: sales night (whoever wants can purchase a table for $10 and sell quilting related items): Quilts of Valor distribution with color guard and receipients present.