We had a fun meeting when members were encouraged to bring in their favorite "quilting tool" and tell the rest of the members about it. It was really good to see and hear about tools maybe used in a different way than intended. Or new tools you had thought of but didn't have. The tool could be either a real quilting tool or something not generally thought of as a quilting tool. We had a great time.
And I agree about asking LQS owners if they would like to come and do a presentation. The ones we have had are allowed to bring items/fabric for sale especially if they talk about a new quilting tool or ruler. One shop owner demonstrated a way to make 2 color bindings, gave us all a handout and was a great speaker.