I didn't see this thread until I saw the second one, so came to see what the issues were.
I LOVE the guild I'm in; it's one of the only reasons I want summer to end. We are off the months of July and August.
Let me preface my story with by saying that I am becoming a recluse - I actually like being alone and am not generally a "joiner."
An accuaintance and I joined at the same time, which undoubtedly made those first few contacts easier. That said, we live outside of the community the guild is in, so are not familiar with a lot of things that are discussed. Each month, one of the topics is who the guild should send cards to, for illness, loss, congrats., etc., We almost never know the people they are talking about.
When we joined, the guild had a limit of 50 members, and we were going to break that ceiling. So there was discussion of expanding the membership, and (obviously) it was decided that there was no reason not to allow it. This is a fairly small community in a rural area (near where the Amish accident happened a few weeks ago, if you heard about it on the national news).
While I might think of "cliques" that exist, I think it's more a case of people knowing each other for many years and working with and on projects together over that time. I think that it's only natural that they would be closer to one another.
There are a couple of older women who are a little snippy, but I don't believe it's anything against us, I honestly think that is how they approach everyone and everything.
We have good meetings, great show and tell (where comments are always kind, but not artifically forced), do an opportunity quilt (more commonly known as a raffle quilt) that is planned and constructed the first year tickets sold and drawing the next, "helps" (where if anyone is stuck on a project they can discuss it and look for help), bastings if needed on alternate weeks, a program committee that has brought in some of the LQS and other folks who have a specific talent, and 2x a year we do a dish-to-pass at the local senior center. Love that, seniors are invited to eat with us and enjoy the show and tell portion.
We've done a couple of bus trip shop hops, nothing huge, but got to see some shops that are a little further than I'd normally drive. One of them has become a favorite shop for me.
Once a month we have a sew-in day, anyone who wants to come brings whatever they want to work on and a dish or snack to share.
The majority of the women are friendly and welcoming, those that aren't I steer clear of. I've made friends and the accquaintance with whom I joined is now a good friend.
It's been a great experience for me, and I hope that more people will try one - or more - with an open mind. I'm sorry this has gotten long, guess I'm just so excited to have a great experiene to share.