Do you belong to a quilt guild?

I just joined an evening guild in December.

Last week joined a day guild. I love the show and tell.

The evening guild is having some workshops. We had one a few weeks ago on the tube quilting.

Karen

No, I don't. The only one that's nearby is an "exclusive" one and they won't let anyone in. I've met a few of them and what they do mostly is compare who has the most expensive machines, gadgets, fabric, etc. I don't like "meetings" as such with all the parliamentary procedure and garbage, I'd rather just have a quilting group or a few ladies that want to get together and sew.
One of the LQS/retreat centers has an open retreat once a month. Anyone can go, it's $15 a day or $35 to stay overnight and have 2 days or you can go for all 4 days. I'd rather do that than belong to a quild.

Raptureready, I'd stay as far away from that group as possible. That is NOT a quilting group, that's something else.

I belong to 3 groups. Joined one of the about 15 years ago. We meet twice a month, once for a business meeting and the other is a "learning session". I have taught to that group many times (it's a very small group).

I joined another group about two years ago that has just about 100 members. That group is so big that we cannot bring our machines to the monthly meetings, so we have a business meeting, a demo of something, snacks and always show and tell. They also put on a yearly retreat, which is a blast. Sometimes we go on bus trips to shows through this group.

The third group puts on events such as Sharing Day, a spring event, quilt show, retreat, etc. This group has over 800 members.

I also go to midnight quilters at a LQS. It goes from 6:00 till midnight. Love it!

I cannot imagine not being in a quilting group. When quilting is your passion, it is so helpful to be with others who share the same passion. :)

Also there is a group of quilter that meets at a church once a month for a day workshop. You just take your machine and quilt. Everyone is so nice and helpful. We all take a covered dish for a pitch in lunch.

wow, 7x! Sounds like you are living the quilters dream and having a blast. Nothing round here.
Living in Flor-heat-a as i call it, there are many quilters, but they migrated a little further south of me :cry:
Maybe i need to move to where you are, ahh...but I have another passion...grandbabies! So, guess this board is my "fix" and i love it :thumbup:

I joined a guild in September and LOVE it. We meet once a month. There is a business meeting, a program, and show-and-tell. There is also a monthly workshop where you can take your machine and learn something new. They sponsor a bus trip every year and we are putting on our first quilt show this weekend. It's been lots of work, but I think it will be a blast. They also do series quilts and lots of charity projects. Great group of people.

Don't worry, I don't go near that group.
I belong to three BOM's and a Strips and Scraps club. We sew, talk and have no Parliamentary procedures of any kind. LOL

I belong to a VERY informal one. Most laid back group of quilters I've met since I started this. Nothing formal, "meetings" are during lunch, and calling them meetings is a stretch. We are going on a retreat in May (I think I'm going, sure hope I can get away from here to do it) and I just love them.

There are some guilds close by that I'm not sure I want to be part of. But there are some others that have more appeal to me.

Just my 2 cents.

I had a similar experience. Reminded me of why I don't do PTA anymore either.

If there were such a thing as the retreat you are talking about around here, it would always be full!! Standing room only, enjoy it, it sounds wonderful.

It is, you have to make reservations or if it's 'spur of the moment' you have to call and make sure there's room but it's a pretty big place so there's usually room for one more.

I'm president of mine. It's very different how I feel about the guild from being a member to being president. At least I did my part to contribute and I will rest on my laurels after this term.

Hi, Flor-heat-a, do you live close to jacksonville??? There are several guilds here, some meet daytime, one I think meets in the evening.

I used to belong to a guild, but was turned off by the politics of it all that I stopped going. The people were not friendly and didn't really want any new members even though they said they did. It was not a good experience.

I just joined the Charlotte guild last night after visiting as a guest a couple times. It is a large and very active group with lots of opportunity to be involved. They have great speakers like Laura Wasilowski and Ellen Guerrant. They are hosting a huge quilting symposium at Johnson and Wales Univ. (that's the chef university!) in Charlotte in June. They've even arranged to have an artisan bread workshop with Peter Reinhart. I signed up to be a teacher's helper for Laura Wasilowski, which means I get to be at her service for the whole time she is there - couldn't pass up that opportunity!! I probably won't join any of the small groups since I live out in SC suburbs. We have a smaller guild here, but they have 70-75 people turn out at their meetings so I plan to join up there too. There's others, but they are too far away.

I'm a second year member of our local small guild. Like Inordyke in Missouri ours is pretty casual, but would like to see ours a little more active. The bus trip sounds fun! I've shared a couple of things I've learned on the Board with them and they enjoyed it as many are not computer savy.

I commend you for being a person that can do that. I have one sister that was president of our painting club for several terms and she was good at it. I have a friend who's a member of every club and organization that there is around here and she's good at it too. I'm just not a person that enjoys it (I think I'm too disorganized) but I have great respect for those who do. It can be a difficult job.

Wow! What a wonderful opportunity. The price seems right for most of us quilters too. Linda

I live between two very small rural communities and belong to both of those quilt guilds, as well as one in a larger city, 50 miles away. I also belong to an art quilt guild. The name is funny, so I will share it. The Underground Art Movement. We meet in one of the lady's basement. I also belong to a committee that organizes and puts on a fabulous quilt retreat in August.

I am not from this area, but because I am involved in so many quilting related things, I rarely go anywhere without running into someone I know through quilting.

It is a great way to make friends, and see which ones to stay away from, we have THOSE, too.

I went on a bus trip last year where the lady running it wrote down everyone's name on a sheet of paper three times, then cut them up and put them in a hat. After we were on the bus for about 15 minutes, she pulled out 12 gifts and just handed them to who ever, but they couldn't open them.

Then she started pulling names out of the hat and that person got to take which ever gift they wanted. We did this until the hat was empty. Twelve people got a gift and before we even knew how much time it took to play the game, we had arrived at the quilt show!

Is this the same LQS that you wrote about on another thread -- the retreat center that just opened a conference room? Sounds like a dream. I looked up how far Danville is from me - about 3-1/2 hours. If I go that far south, I might as well keep going all the way to Paducah.

I've been hesitant to try the local guild because I tend to be shy and don't always fit in with big groups (that's why I like the anonymity here, I guess). The positive comments about guilds may make me give it a try.

I see a road trip in your future! :D

Guilds are supposed to be lots of fun. Sometimes there is "politics" involved and the only thing you can do about it is walk away. You should at least go as a guest to get a feel for how it is, then make up your mind. You should be able to go as a guest to 3-4 meetings.

I kinda do, I havn't paid my $20.00 for the yr. MY BAD!! But life has kept me out of it, I havn't been going to any meetings,sit & sew on wed. mornings I loved. The whole group are super nice people. But I am hesitating abt. pay my dues. I really didn't realize how exspensive it can be. Most of the members can afford to take the classes and go to the retreats but I can't. I can't be a productive member because of money and being a caregiver for my Mother. But the Withlacoochee Quilters Guild is a Great Guild wish I could go. They are a lot of fun if you get in with a good group of people. BillsBonBon

Please don't let negative remarks turn you off of a guild or group. Even if someone else doesn't like a group, it doesn't mean you won't. Different people enjoy different things about getting together with a guild.

I belong to the guild closest to my home, but I have visited all of the guilds in my area. We have approximately 80 members and we welcome beginners who want to learn to quilt. We are not an official guild so we don't have to conduct our business meeting at the guild meeting. We have the business meeting on a different day, but anyone who wants to come is welcome.

Some guilds are not teaching guilds and want only experienced members. You just need to find the right group to meet your needs. If you don't like one, try another.

Raptureready, Your LQS/retreat center sounds great. I wish one of our LQSs did that.

If you can find a phone number to call someone at the guild, you may be able to check and see if you already know someone who belongs. Your local quilt shop could probably give you information about local guilds, and which ones might be more welcoming to new members. We have a greeter who takes visitors under wing and makes sure they feel welcome. :-) :-)

I belong to the Guild in my city. We have about 145 people on the roster but only about 30 people come to the meetings. We have a business meeting, a short break, drawings (fat quarter, block of the month, ticket drawings (for every three tickets you get one super ticket for a drawing for a large (Ott Light, for example) prize). Then we have show and tell, then a speaker if one is arranged. During the summer we have a ice cream social because a lot of people leave here for cooler climates. We charter a bus to take us to Road 2 California each January. Every other year we have a Quilt Show in March (not this year). They have charity quilts for Wounded Warriers and Women's Shelter. Once a month we have a "quilt in" on a Saturday where you can bring whatever you want to work on or get help with.

We also have a Fall Retreat up in the mountains, but I haven't gone to it yet. I understand some women go just to get away and don't even quilt.

So we are a pretty busy group. There are those that have to RUN everything, but you can avoid them pretty well.

So, it is worth it to me

I'm like Debbie. I do better away from bigger groups. Even tho' my schedule is flexible inevitably as soon as I make plans, then "something" comes up.

There is a LQS that opens their space weekly to just come and sew with others but I talk myself out of that too, even tho' I think it would be fun. Besides, I need all the help I can get. I know where the mistake is but haven't thought it thru enough to not repeat it. I have faith, one day I will. In the meantime, I'm just having fun.

I belong to the same guild as zyxquilts, so you've already read about us. There is a board member that I learned was in our vicinity, and she may be coming as a guest tonight. Yippee.

Yes, we have around 300 members. Large enough to bring in top namess. there are lots of Small Groups that quilt together and we donate over 1200 quilts to charity each year.
I can only attend occasionally and have never been able to take a class or workshop because of work.

My ASG neighborhood group has several members who belong to a quilting group so we benefit from their knowledge. We do a variety of sewing projects but include a lot of quilting. Most of our group quilting is for Linus, Vets and local nursing homes and hospitals. Not always full sized ones. Lots of times we do table runners, place mats, laprobes for wheelchair patients etc. Not all our members have the need to do anything larger but it keeps their hand in.

I live in Orange Park and would love to join a guild but I don't know how to go about it. Which one would you recommend?

I joined a guild in January of this year. the ladies and gentleman there don't mind you sharing there knowledge with you. We meet every Tuesday night and have an UFO the last Friday of the month. There is a day group that meets also. They even have workshops and small group sessions. It really feels like one big family. We do a service project every year. I'm still learning the working of the group. I feel good about it though.

Ask the people at your LQS. They would probably be able to give you contact information for the local guilds.

Every guild is different and has its own "flavour". I belong to two guilds and both are very different but unique and interesting. My larger guild of 130 is more affluent and is able to afford more speakers while my smaller guild of 65 spends more time on hands on projects and round robin evenings of sharing tips and techniques. In both guilds, I have been privileged to meet wonderful, talented, caring women who are willing to share their skills, time and wisdom. As our guilds draw members from quite a large area, these are great people whom I would not have met in other places. I respect and appreciate all of them and have made many new friends and associates while learning so much. My advice - go and try out your local guild! We welcome visitors and have members assigned to show newcomers around.

I belong to a quilt guild and have learned so much from the other members. They also have lots of Fun Days and invite teachers in to teach some project. The Show and Tell each meeting is a great inspiration to me. I am a fairly new quilter and need all the help I can get.

One thing I know for sure, keeping a guild interesting and current takes a lot of planning and highly motivated people to plan.

I still work full time and the local guild meets on Wed morning so I can't go. But if the good Lord's willing I'll join once I retire if I can still drive then.

I did belong to a guild 45 minutes away, stay with them 5 years and was vice president for 4 years, I got tired of the drive.

I still work full time and the local guild meets on Wed morning so I can't go. But if the good Lord's willing I'll join once I retire if I can still drive then.

I did belong to a guild 45 minutes away, stay with them 5 years and was vice president for 4 years, I got tired of the drive.

I belong to 3 sewing/quilting groups. Many of the same people are in all 3 groups. They are all quite small and we have become pretty good friends that like to work together and chat while quilting. Everyone is willing to share and help out as others need it. Two of the groups give lessons on what the members have discussed. We have gone to quilt shops around the state as part of our meetings. I think belonging to a group is a good learning tool.