My first reaction was "You've got to be kidding!", but of course you weren't. I would have brought in the quilt I won from one of the local guilds, which has PP American Beauty blocks, pieced spacer blocks and a beautiful needle-turned appliqued floral border. The LA stitching on the quilt is exquisite. Then, when they "accepted" me as a member, I would have spit in their faces. Quilting is something you do for the love of the craft. If I wanted my quilts to be judged, I'd enter them in quilt shows.
I belong to one older, established quilt guild which has the funds to bring in nationally known teachers. They are very clique-ish. I tried getting involved, served on the Board, helped with activities, but was still an "outsider". I decided to go when the speakers interested me and forget the rest. The second guild is a smaller guild. I am a founding member and we just celebrated our 5th birthday. We have less than 100 members, and I am on the Board (for the second time). I make it a point to greet visitors if they arrive alone and to walk them through all the activities (Strip Club, Lottery Block, Raffle, Show & Tell). So far, we have avoided cliques.
Originally Posted by
tessagin
Went to join couple guilds and the reception, awkward and rude sent me out the door 20 minutes after I got there. The second one had an orientation. You had to present a completed quilt by a certain date. Your skills depended on you being voted into the guild. Forget that, I am not a perfectionist by any means and I do things at my own pace.