I have just joined a local guild, after 3 years on the waiting list (the membership cap is 55). Dues are $45.00 a year. We meet on the 1st Tuesday of the month and the meeting has a business segment, a demonstration/workshop segment, show-and-tell, and refreshments. This past weekend there was a workshop with a teacher brought in from BC cooperatively by the 3 guilds in our area. There are workdays 2 Fridays a month when members can go and work on projects, etc.. in a social setting.

We have a year-long project...... we are creating our own squares according to the directions given each month. We choose our own theme and each month we are given a different technique and have to produce a square using our theme and the technique given. Last month the technique was a hand-cut, hand-stitched square - no rotary cutters, no machines. My theme is "Hens and Chickens and Roosters, Oh My! - it came to me out of nowhere - so I am doing a "Hens and Chicks" square. We will each put all of our squares in a journal as a summer project for display at the September meeting next year.

I am enjoying the guild so far - it was worth the wait. I knew many of the ladies in the guild already through other organizations, church, school, etc., so it was an easy transition for me.

i'm in 3 guilds.

all of them meet just 1 day a month

one has over 250 people, one has about 100 people, and one has about 25 people.

i like the really large one because it has the money to bring in the most well known quilt artists from around the world.

i like the one with about 100 people because its very local to me and many of these people are my neighbors.

i like the small one for their charity work. we have an outreach program to the local women's prison to teach the ladies to make quilts for the children born in prison.

I used to belong to the local guild and it was OK but I would rather "do my own thing" than be structured into this and that.

My guild has about 150 members but about 100 are active. We have monthly meetings, quilt show every 2 years, community outreach with quilts and pillowcases, program at each meeting, guest speaker, member trunk show, workshops by guest or guild members, many small groups for applique, round robin, art quilts, Tea Party at May meetings and Show and Tell at every meeting.

We are associated with a local park and have our meetings and many sew ins per month in one or another of the park's buildings. We even have a stash room in one of the buildings and our quilt shows are held in all the buildings in the park. We raffle a queen sized quilt every year and the proceeds go to the park for our 'rent' for the buildings and grounds use each year.

Some quilters don't like guilds because some are clicky but you need to find some activity within the guild that you enjoy and stick with that. May in Jersey

I don't belong to a Guild, but I go to the local MAC (Mature Adult Center) I guess they didn't like it being called the Senior Center. LOL. We have get togethers every other Tue for a couple of hours. They are doing a round robin quilt there. There are about 12 to 15 that belong to the club but usually about 7 to 9 make it to the meetings. Then I go to a Demo at our LQS every Friday morning. I also take some classes at the LQS if it is something that I am interested in. So I get alot of tips and hints and patterns from all the above plus the fun I have on the QB.

I belong to 3 guilds
one is a statewide and meets twice a year. I rarely go but like to support it.

2nd is in my town (Cheshire Quilt Guild), dues $20, great e-mailed monthly newsletter, talented people, meets monthly all year round in the evening. Terrific show and tell. semi-annual show. Probably 75 or so members, some people sew, most don't as the seating is in rows of chairs.
Does lots for charity; has an all day monthly Saturday meeting where members bring their machines sew for charity or work on their own. There are many weekly small group home meetings to which you have to be invited.

3rd (SooNipi Quilt Guild) is about 35 miles away and is a monthly daytime meeting.
$20 dues, year round, semi-annual show, also c.75 members.
We're seated at tables so many, sometimes most, women work on sewing or knitting projects.
Also has small weekly groups and one half-day monthly mtg open to all.
Great show and tell, very talented members. Annual all day charity sew-in, next one making D9Ps for women's shelter moms and kids. E-mailed newsletter every other month.

Both groups have programs at each meeting; some interesting, some not.
Both begin meetings with "guild business" which can be interminable.
Both periodically have a BOM going.
Both guilds have libraries, SooNipi's has more recent publications.
Both offer workshops with well-known (at least in NE) teachers for which member pay separately, usually held on Saturdays at near-by large spaces; typically costs $25-$50 for the day.

In addition, I belong to 2 small groups that used to meet in homes, now meet at local libraries. Open to all.

I like belonging to quilt groups. I have friends in them, many that I otherwise don't see and find show and tells motivational.

I belong to 2 guilds, one evening and one morning...both about 60 members. They are very different in personnality. I like going during the day and we do sewing projects taught by the members...morning has a number of beginners and evening one has 70% advanced appliquers and quilters..

I started our small group at church about three years ago. We have 12 members and meet twice a month on Thurs. morning. No dues, no formal meeting and we bring our machines to sew on ouw own projects. Sometimes we make a charity quilt or two as a group. Take turns bringing lunch. just a fun day.

Thanks for all of your input. Keep it coming, I love hearing about what each group is doing.
If anyone has a pattern for adult bibs they would like to share I would love it. This seems like a small project that could be done at our evening guild meeting where we have limited time. Thanks again for sharing.

There is no guild close to where I live. But I've recently found out there are several quilters in my area. I'm considering starting a quilting bee at our local fire station. They have a really nice , huge meeting room, however it is still under construction.
I've been told that a bee is much more manageable than a guild. Guild's are more structured financially and more organized, where a bee is kinda do your own thing. It was suggested for me to start with a bee and see if a guild is where we wanted to go later on.