pookie ookie

Nope. Don't belong. They post people's full names and pix of them and their work online. Tsk, tsk.

I used to belong to an informal group of sewers and knitters in the old neighborhood. Informal is good. Friends with rich conversational opportunities... and made to order snacks.

Love The Finishing School. It's a stark contrast to the "exclusive" guild mentioned earlier in the thread.

All this guild talk is almost identical to FRG talk. I guess all organized groups have their issues.

Tiffany

There should be an option for each member to choose should they not want their private information put out for anyone to get hold of. My guild has a members list. It includes address, phone #, and email if they so choose. And if they show any quilts for Show & Tell they have to mark a box stating whether or not they will allow pictures and if they will allow any pictures to be put up on the Internet. There are a lot of ladies in my guild who teach or who make their own patterns and often they want to share but they don't want any pictures until they can get the pattern copyrighted. I think if any guild puts up photos on the Internet they should make sure they have each individuals permission. JMO

Eddie

I belong to my statewide guild and it is wonderful. They are so much fun to be around, I love going to guild meetings and look forward to it each month.

I don't belong to my local county guild, however, since they don't allow men to join. :roll:

Pati- in Phx

Yes. In fact more than one.
One group is fairly small, between 40-60 members most of the time. We meet once a month in the evening. Schedule is socializing, and such for a bit. Then a quick business meeting, drawing for BOM and such. Then our program, usually a speaker or trunk show or such. Short break, door prize drawings and show and tell.
The monthly newsletter is available on line, or you can request a mailed copy. A couple of times a year we bring in a "national" teacher for the program and a workshop the next Saturday. We also schedule a couple of retreats each year. And will be trying to get our quilt show schedule back on track. (Lost our venue for a while. Been researching a replacement and so on.)
We do quilts for AASK (Arizona Adoption of Special Kids) as our primary charity work. But are also doing Quilts of Valor.

The other guild is the big "state-wide" guild. It has over 2,000 members and over 40 chapters all over the state. (Tucson also has a big guild and has opted out of the "state" guild, but Tucson quilters can still join the guild.... and we have a lot of "part time Arizonans in the guild. <G>)
I do belong to one of the Chapters, not all guild members do (some are "Members at large".) My chapter has about 30-40 people in it. And I am this years Chapter Chair.
We meet weekly, in the morning. One week we have some sort of "class" taught by one of the members usually. You can also bring other things to work on if you prefer. One week is sort of "dedicated" to UFOs, one to Applique. The last week of the month is our business meeting. And if there are 5 meetings in a month the 4th is a "Charity" day. (We do quilts for several different hospitals, shelters and so on. We have also pledged a quilt to every Arizona family who has had someone fall in the line of duty in Iraq/Afghanistan. )
The big guild only "meets" twice a year, the Fall and Spring meetings. The board meets monthly to deal with business. And hosts a yearly quilt show. (Averaging over 325 quilts each year.)
You have to belong to the big guild to belong to any of the chapters. and stuff can get a little complex if you want details. <G> But it all has to do with insurance and liability and such. The big guild is a business and deals with thousands of dollars each year so the business parts are important. But not everyone has to deal with that. <VBG>
There are lots of chapters all over the state. More are being formed all the time. And a few disperse. Almost anyone can find a chapter to fit their needs/desires.

There are also other quilt groups in the area, in "Parks" and such, as well as at Senior/Adult Centers and more.

We are really fortunate here in Arizona, especially the Phoenix Metro area.

Pati, in Phx

maryb119

[quote=Tiffany]Roberts Rules of Order? What is that?


Robert's Rules of Order is a way to conduct the business part of the meeting. One person would do something out of order and an arguement would start because "you can't do that right now, you have to wait til........." I got tired of the bickering that went on at each meeting. It spoiled what could have been a fun time and great learning experience. I let my membership expire and I have not gone back.

quilterb

I see I am not the only one who has had a bad experience
with quilting guilds. I am now trying to find one in MD
with not to much drama. If anyone lives in MD and is a member of a great guild let me know.

quilterguy27

I don't belong to an actual quilt guild. I belong to this group and Quilted With Love on Yahoo and www.TheQuiltShow.com. That's it and I guess I get everything I need from you and them. I've looked all over for an actual guild in my area and haven't been able to find one. I did find one about a year ago, but the people were rude and didn't seem interested in having me join. That's fine with me, I'm very happy with my virtual guilds and I think I get everything I need from them.

quilterguy27

WHAT?!? Is this possible? Can they do that? It sounds like discrimination to me. I can relate tho. I tried to join a local group and was turned down flat. Not to mention they were quite rude about it in the process. Maybe I should try to start my own little informal group. Hmmmm? That's an idea. I'll have to do some research.

KiwiQuilter

I don't belong to a guild, but I belong to 2 craft groups which are arranged by individuals not an "organized body".

One group meets weekly (during the week for a couple of hours), but does any craft. Most are quilters, but we also have scrap-bookers, knitters, crocheters, spinners, etc.

The other group meets monthly, in the weekend for about 5 hours on a Saturday.

Both groups tend to do their own "show and tells", and are quite social, e.g. people are open to sharing what they know (crafting of otherwise). Very supportive and kind people. There is no cost in belonging to either group - which is really good, as times are tough. We also get to see a lot younger people too - who don't tend to have a high degree of "disposable" income. The only cost is the craft they are working on - and transportation to the venue/s.

These groups give us a chance to talk to like-minded people. We get to focus on the projects we are working on, and socialize :)

Eddie

Yes, it's written into their guild constitution:
Stunning, I know.