Guild BOM
 

How does your guild handle a block of the month program? Do you have trouble getting people to participate? What happens to the blocks - are they raffled to participants? - made into charity quilts? What types of blocks garner the most interest? Anything else you can tell me so we can improve our program? Thanks!

In a guild I used to belong to, the participants put their name in a draw and one person gets to take the lot home.

My guilds BOM last approximately 6 months and each participant ends up with their own rendition of the quilt. Many times this is presented as a mystery quilt. We usually have around 12 participants. Then all of our quilts are put in our annual quilt show. Lots of fun.

The program needs to provide the members with challenges and opportunity to learn in order to encourage member participation.

Here are a few questions for consideration for your program.

What types of BOM have been successful for your group? What are the different skill levels of the members? The program will need to provide some challenge work along with traditional work. Schedule a different member to provide information on a block each month.

Take a vote and determine a theme or topic for the year.

Does the guild provide the fabrics or are the instructions open to fabric choice from each member?

At the end of the program have options available for finishing the quilt. Setting the blocks, sashing, borders are all design opportunities for the members. If one wants to donate the blocks or make a charity quilt that is another option.The members could choose to make a second block for donations. Then they could be raffled or made into charity quilts.

For successful programs consider what the members want and try to make it happen for them.

In our Guild, there's a person in charge of deciding which block will be used every month as well as what colors to use. Then people make the block (as many as they want). The blocks are put into something so one can be drawn out. Whoever made that block gets all the blocks to make into a quilt. I've won twice. Once I only won 4 blocks. Once I won 279 HST's. Usually quite a few participate. You can't win again until you make something with the ones you won.

This is a Modern Guild. There are some older people, but mostly it's younger people in the Guild. Most members seem pretty enthusiastic about the programs like the block of the month.

Our guild does a block of the month but actually the block patterns are available all at once. The one I participated in was various star blocks. We don't exchange blocks. Each person makes their own quilt in their own color choices. At the end of the year you bring your completed top to a meeting where a picture is taken of the top. Then there is a drawing for prizes for those who completed a top. Does not have to be quilted to enter. I was lucky enough to win a $25 gift certificate from a LQS! We pay a $5 fee to do the BOM which I think pays for the prizes.

For the past couple of years, our BOM has been "Blocks with a Purpose". People are given a pattern and fabric. The blocks alternate between two "charities" - Quilts of Valor and Families in Transition (FIT). The QOV blocks are usually made with patriotic fabric/colors. The FIT quilts are usually made for children and are constructed using juvenile fabrics and fun patterns. The person who coordinates the BOM, takes the finished blocks and constructs either tops or finished quilts. If the coordinator chooses not to put the tops together, the guild has a couple of special sewing days, throughout the year, where we work on charity quilts.

We have also made pet beds for the local animal shelter. Use two fat quarters: put right sides together, sew around 3 sides, turn right side out. Channel quilt 3-4 rows. Stuff with bits and pieces or fabric, batting, what have you. Sew open side closed. A quick and easy pet bed.

Hope these ideas help!

My guild did a BOM mystery quilt one year, one year it was a variety of blocks that were sampler types and this year they had two separate BOM, one a more modern one and one that was more traditional.
Fee of $10 for the entire set of patterns that were released month by month. In the sampler type one there were more than one block per month.

Our Guild BOM program is designed to garner blocks to use in our "emergency quilts"--which go to families that lose their homes to floor, fire or tornado. We ask that members make one block for the emergency quilt and one for the member raffle--each month someone that has donated blocks gets the member raffle blocks. We did see a decline in members doing blocks but that turned around when we 1) went to simpler blocks that are quick to do 2) went to all scrappy (although our chair does suggest "spring" colors, etc) Many members will put all their blocks in the emergency pile and only one in the other. Or if they win them, they hand them to the emergency chair to use in quilts.
What didn't work--was when the chair picked blocks that were all easy, but she'd alter the directions to include embellishments, etc and people got frustrated and quick doing them.
What also worked in past, the chair would have pieces of fabric to use for a quarter--so for instance a block may have a focal fabric (25 cents) and then work from stash.

My guild has a year long running project that generally is meant to stretch our skills just a little bit. Perhaps the challenge is color, solids, using large prints or circles, or applique. The 11th month is directions for setting options or finishing the quilt. We never make it a requirement. About 2/3 of the membership participate. The resulting quilt is owned by the maker, no trading of blocks. The leader of the group also each month walks through how to make the next block. This "tutorial" helps us tackle the new skill or "challenge". It is absolutely up to the individual what they want to do with the end product. Some ARE donated but most become gifts for friends and family.

We have a BOM for the guild I belong to. It is voluntary and about 30-40% of the members participate. One year it was paper piecing, another year sampler blocks. This year it is a mystery quilt. More people start than finish. Everyone uses their own fabric. At some point we have a show and tell where people bring in their quilts or blocks. It is not a big part of what our guild does.

Our quilt group of 12 did a "SHOE BOX" quilt. We each purchased (3 yards) focus fabric and (1 1/2 yds each) of 3 different coordinates to match. Place the fabric in a box (we used clear plastic bin) Put our name at the top in bold and everyone else's name under yours. We then passed our box to another person in the group to make us a 12 1/2" block of their choice. When you compete your block, pin your name to the back, then put a circle around your name and pass the box on to another person who's name has not been circled. We gave no time limit, but everyone was anxious to move forward so about every week we passed these around till all the names were circled. Then the box went back to the original person. Now you have blocks from all of your friends and they are in the exact colors you love. When you put it together - what a special quilt you have from your friends! This was a big hit in our quilt group. Beginner quilters did really simple blocks while others did at their own skill levels so there was no pressure on anyone. Just have fun!

In one the my guilds they make the same block every month and just change the colors. We, too, also make animal beds with our scraps for animal shelters.

Fallonquilter, I love your idea of the shoe box with our own choice of fabrics. That would be a friendship quilt I could enjoy. Good idea!

I am the chairperson for our guild and have done this several times over the years. We have about 50 members who actually come to the meetings and only about 20 that actually participate in the BOM. Seems it's been the same people all the time. I have found that the simpler the block is the more members make and it's often the pattern and the colors that attracts them. I give the pattern along with instructions and show the block in various stages so they can see how it's made. I have found blocks on Pinterest, Around the Block book and Missouri Star. I allow members to put their name in for every block they turn in and it's a winner take all. Winner must make at least 6 month's worth of blocks to win again. Sometimes there are lots of blocks and others only a few. When there is only 6 or so we offer them to members who make placemats for Meals on Wheels. We generally also have one block that is used for a donation quilt of some kind. It is always fun to see the finished quilts. Although it is now required many donate their finished quilts to charities.

In my guild I used to run the BOM program ... we charged .50 cents for a kit ... sometimes it had all the pieces and sometimes they needed to supply a piece ... depending on budget. We had a lot of participation. I had other obligations and gave it up ... the new person supplies the pattern and sometimes a piece of fabric ... we supply the rest. The participation has went way down. I think most of us are busy and if they can just sit down an sew the block they will participate and if they have to do more of the leg work they won't ... everyone has busy lives.

Thank you for all the responses
 

I will share them with my co-chair - we're both new at this. I appreciate all the ideas and thoughts.