I also had a bad experience with a guild. It was full of cliques and I never felt welcomed ... at all! I wish I could find a group like Shelbie is part of! But sadly, there is only one guild within reasonable driving distance, and that is the one I joined ... and left. When I worked full time, I had a quilting buddy there. We worked on our hand piecing projects during lunch, sometimes went fabric shopping at lunch, and swapped fat quarters. That was really fun! So, like MaryMo, I guess I'll keep looking, too, but not with much enthusiasm. I just hear too many negatives.