WTxRed

I'm closing in on my 2nd year of quilting and it's been a blast!

About 10 months ago, there was a new local guild formed and I and several others who are 'new' joined. Us newbies have occasion to visit and we were thinking we'd get another 'look' at quilting, some skills, etc. and walk away from meetings feeling like we were learning, growing, etc. We've already seen meeting attendance fall about 30-35%. Our next closest guild is at least 70 miles away.

So here's my real question(s) -

1) what should the guild meetings 'be'? we follow Robert's Rules or Order, have a reading of the minutes from the last meeting, any new business discussion (mostly social at this point), and a 10 minute presentation by a guild member of something they're working on. We usually close up with a show & tell, which is typically the same 5-8 people each month. Interest is starting to wane as it feels to many that we're not 'achieving' anything at the meetings. Is there some defined 'process' new Guild's should follow?

2) what makes your guild (or group) meetings successful in your opinion?

Just so you know - I have lived my whole life under the concept that you don't bring up a problem without at least one option to make it better or to resolve it. I wouldn't mind being on the board or a committee, but I know working Fulltime at my paying job, working part time at my mom's LAQ shop, + all of my chores at home & a DH who has some medical issues, time doesn't really afford me the ability to do a volunteer position justice at this point.

I would love for our Guild to be vivacious, active, interesting and provide a service but I don't know how to get there with the constraints I, and we as a group, have.

If you have any observations, comments, questions, please toss them out here.

Thanks in advance -

Tartan

Hate the business part of the guild meetings. I know it is necessary to have majority votes but I would skip that part if possible. Maybe make a quarterly business meeting instead. Maybe if you already have a spot to meet, how about an hour earlier have a sit and sew for interested members? If you have big tables, how about basting and sandwiching time before meetings.

Prism99

I would skip the reading of minutes from the last meeting. Secretary can email the minutes to members instead.

How many people are in the guild?

It helps to have regular one-hour presentations by non-guild members. We have had local LQS shop owners come with books, fabrics, and projects from their stores. Have also had book writers, pattern developers, etc. make presentations. One month out of the year I'd like to see a "garage sale" meeting where members can bring items for swap or sale -- fabric, patterns, books, magazines, gadjets, etc.

Take a look at meeting times too. I dropped out of our local guild because the meeting times are inconvenient for me. (They meet at that time because it is convenient for most of the members.)

mckwilter

Several friends and I started a new guild (we just had our 5th birthday) because the older, established guild had developed a quilt police force, and we were tired of that. Since we had no money to pay outside speakers, we got members to volunteer to present a 20-minute program on various subjects, like paper-piecing, fusible and needle-turn applique, rotary cutting, basting, etc. We had to keep in mind that there was a wide range of experience in our members. We quickly decided that the reading of the minutes at the meeting was a time waster, so the secretary would draft out the minutes, send it to all the members via email asking for comments and corrections, then email the final copy a couple days before the meeting. Then, it was just a matter of the president asking for any further corrections and a vote to approve the meetings. We handled the treasurer's report the same way -- email the report for everyone to review, then vote to approve at the meeting. Several meetings we had 3-4 stations set up for short tutorials, and each person who was demonstrating had 10 minutes. One that I did was "what every quilter needs in her tool box". All the items were spread on a table and the participants could ask questions about tools that were unfamiliar. Another demo was putting on binding and mitering the corners. This got members involved. We also have a small lottery each meeting -- 5 to 10 items, tickets are 5 for $1.00, and if your ticket is called, you get the item. We also have a lottery block -- a pattern is given out at that meeting and anyone who wants to participate bring completed blocks to the next meeting. All the blocks are turned in and the maker receives one ticket for each block. A ticket is drawn, and the ticketholder wins all the blocks. If there are enough blocks, there may be two tickets drawn. For our first birthday, we had a silent auction -- each member was encouraged to donate an item / basket, and members and guests bid on them. We made over $1,000 on that first silent auction, and have had one at our birthday party every year since. The funds go for speakers for the next year. We also try to have a road trip or a sew-in at least one Saturday a month (most of our members also have full time jobs). It's like a mini-retreat. For the road trip, we will plan two stops (a.m. and p.m.) with lunch. We are lucky enough to have 4 public libraries in our area, and each has a meeting room with tables and chairs that we can reserve at no cost. We have also had 3 retreats and another is planned for this January. At one point, we had a mystery quilt running in our newsletter. All the members were encouraged to participate, and after the last clue was completed, all the participants brought their quilts to the front at the same time. We have also had charm square exchanges, and will probably be having a strip exchange next year.

The problem is always getting people to volunteer to DO SOMETHING.

mike'sgirl

We have various members hosting things like...we make a block picked out by the host to make and then make several. We bring them to guild and put them all in a "pot". However blocks you made, that many times your name gets put in for the drawing. There may be enough for 2 drawings. I won not too long ago. I made a top from my blocks. Another lady hosts a fabric exchange. Thats fun too. You have to have people willing to take on something like these to make the guild fun. We also, along with 6 other guilds, put on a yearly Quiltfest (Jacksonville). We also do love quilts to give away. We have nearly 50 this last time. There are other things, I just can't think of them right now.
I hope you can get some momentum going so it's fun for all. Gina

ILoveToQuilt

1) Adopt a charity and have a sewing meeting to make quilts or finish the ones people make at home.

2)Have folks bring their "unwanteds" (can be scraps, fabric they hate, UFO's, batting) for other members to take and use.

3) Have a "challenge" quilt (our guild has used a "crayon" challenge that was very well received. Guild bought a box of 64 crayons and dumped them into a brown sack. Each guild member had to reach in and choose one crayon. Whatever color they chose, they had to use it in a quilt. We set guidelines - no larger than 36" x 36", any technique, but color chosen had to be used on the front of the quilt. Amazing results!).

4) If guild can afford it - hire a "professional quilter" to do a trunk show and a class on their specialty. If guild can't afford it, maybe there is a member who is willing to "teach" her specialty. Charge guild members for the class - some goes to teacher, rest into guild treasury.

5) Have an "open sew" meeting where members can bring anything they are working on. Members are available to each other to help with questions/problems (a brick & mortar QB!).

6) Have a row round-robin. You begin a quilt with one row of your choice of fabric/pattern. You pass it onto to another member who adds a row and so on. Eventually you get back a completed quilt top. You can add fabric to your row to be used by the others in your robin, but cannot give pattern directions or likes/dislikes. (My guild has done this a few times. We kept the rows and fabric in clean, new pizza boxes. We had one person coordinate the robins. We were a large guild of over 100 members and each robin had 10 members in it. The coordinator kept track of the robins and who was in them and when to pass the boxes - usually at the monthly meeting. Worked very well with delightful results).

7) Quilting "Secret Santa" - at your holiday meeting do a secret gift swap of quilt related items. Set a price $15-$20. Make this a fun meeting. Lots of refreshments, sing carols, etc. At the end of year meeting (June?) have an ice cream social and a show & tell of all the projects you worked on during the guild year.

8) Do you have a program committee? If not, get a group together and discuss different ideas.

9) Technique meeting - set up different "stations" around the room and have someone teach different quilting techniques. Some ideas: different types of applique, paper piecing, hand quilting, FMQ using a DSM, crazy quilting...the list goes on and on. Do this as a round robin. Start groups at all stations, learn for a set amount of time, then switch. By the end of the meeting, everyone should have visited each station.

I'm sure if I really put my mind to it, I could come up with more ideas. Hope these few help. Feel free to PM me if you want more info or ideas.

Take care!

Anita

Jackie Spencer

I would have each member write down what they want or expect from the guild, or things they would like to do or see, or learn. Give them an envelope already addressed and some paper, and a reasonable dead line to get them mailed back in. For the ones that have stopped coming, I would give them a call, tell them how much they are missed, and tell them your sending this to them and ask them to return them in a timely manner. If you want your guild to be successful you need the members input.

ManiacQuilter2

I would go to guild meeting when there was an exceptional speaker.

cjsews

Try to have classes every so often. Have them at different levels, from beginner to advanced. This will give every one something they will enjoy. I agree to skip the meeting minutes. A simple newsletter can relay all minutes, just start with any new announcements. Finish each meeting with show and tell. That is the best part.

Peckish

We have meetings once a month, rotating through our homes, and it's basically chat, catch up on each other's lives, discussions about new products and techniques, more discussions about quilt shows we've attended or magazine articles we've read, and some of us share what we've learned in classes we've taken. We have show-n-tell and a potluck lunch. 2 or 3 times a year we go on 4-day retreats, and a couple of days a year we have all-day sew days at a community center. I did not know these women before I joined the group, but we have all become great friends. No one person is in charge. We do not keep minutes, do not have officers or a treasury. When we do charity work, it's all volunteer and the supplies are donated by whomever wants to donate them. There are no police, guilt trips, or rules. We decided to have a challenge, and it was so successful, popular, and fun that we've decided to have another one.

It's a very relaxed, pleasant group, and I would not miss a single meeting for the world.