I mistakenly joined a local guild about this time last year and I say mistakenly because I did not take the time to find out what they offered and what they did for the community. I was gung ho, had money to blow, and was promoting the guild like no body had seen. It caused a riff with an officer of the group and my integrity was questioned so I dropped out of it. This happened a couple months after I had joined. The second month I was there new officers were elected which was all pre-arranged as to who would get it.
Anyway it took the out going President over three months to get with me and trying to smooth things over. She is a very nice lady who has become my friend. She told me she did not care if I came back to the guild but wanted me to start back coming to her shop once a week and be a part of that sew/craft group. I had stopped that as well because the officers of that guild show up there as well. Well I started back up going to her place and I have not returned to that guild.
It's there lost and not mine because I have time and money that I could be pouring into that guild and now I'm doing it with another guild in a neighboring town. Everyone made me feel welcome and was invited to join one of the sew groups once a week outside of the two monthly guild meetings we have. I also am a member of one of the committee's for that guild.
This guild has alot more going on than the first one I joined in the last year with classes, social events like yearly birthday bash, valentine event, dogwood festival, secret sisters club, big sister little sister (where an advanced quilter has charge of a new member for a year to help them out)....that started just this year because of me. Have yearly quilting retreat and we travel to quilt shows as well as LQS Hops couple times a year.
My biggest gain though is being a part at least once a week with the sew/craft group in this guild. We meet on Wednesday's at this lady's quilt house which is a trailer on her property where we all meet to sew and socialize. I have formed many new friends there.
As for the local Tuesday night meet with my friend things are going well because she pretty much told them if they did not like me there they could leave that everyone is welcome at her place to sew, craft, and socialize. I have made new socail sew "acquaintance" friends there and things are going well.
Seriously quilt guilds are a good venue to learn about sewing and quilting and even socialize but to me it's not a club to make "best friends". To me a "best friend" is someone who literally would give up there life for you and you would do the same for them.
Social friends in such situations are just acquaintances who have some of the same interests and that is as far as it goes.
I quickly step away from clicques and such. Like some of you I really prefer sewing by myself most of the time and I did not join it to find friends. I did so to contribute to the community and also learn things about sewing and quilting.