i am in 3 guilds and i'm happy with them all but i can understand when people say that some guilds have cliques.
all of the guilds i go to have cliques but i didn't join any of them looking to make friends so it doesn't bother me one bit.
everyone is polite and thats all you can ask for.
one guild i joined because of their outreach program in the womens prison. we cut fabric to help expecting mothers make baby quilts for their upcoming birth. we go to the prison with our pre-cut quilt kit and teach them how to put it together.
this guild does not do any classes.
the other local guild i joined does a large scale show every year that draws in huge crowds and i joined solely to do the shows, get my name out as an artist, and sell my works.
the final guild i joined was because they have large assets and can bring in nationally known quilt artists for classes.
i never joined any of these places looking to find friends.