I belong to a guild of about 150. I was treasurer for the last two years. A lot of work. What is the best of the guild is finding friends with common interests; and seeing the quilts in Show and Share for inspiration. It takes time to find your place in a large guild. I have recently joined a small group/bee. We are doing small projects while becoming friends and are getting started doing a round robin quilt. It is making me happy. Oh, the worst is when members are cliquey ?sp and witchy.

I belong to a guild that meets three times a month; one of which is the meeting. They have workshops and some very experienced quilters. Most gals are willing to help the novices. I also enjoy having a couple of gals over to my house to quilt all day long. We chat and sew and only stop to eat lunch. This is fun and we all learn from one aother

I joined my guild about 2 years ago and I just love it!! I have learned so much and heard some nationally and internationally reknowned speakers and taken some awesome workshops. We have a show every other year and my first one was last fall and I just can't believe the talent in this group. I am also a member of a small group that meets every other week to just sit and sew and gab. We do a project every quarter. I guess I just love the craft!!

I belong to a guild that meets monthly. I travel an hour to get there. The meetings last about an hour to an hour and a half. A brief report is given on finances and upcoming activities. Sometimes there is a presenter, but the part I like best is show and tell. Members show their quilts they have made and perhaps relate a story as to how their quilt came about. These meetings have given me the opportunity to meet new people, share ideas, and since I am a relatively new quilter it allows me the chance to pick their brains when I encounter a problem. Several of the ladies have been quilting for over 50 years. They know all the shortcuts and tricks. We also receive a discount from Joann's and Hancocks which is an added bonus. Dues are only $20 yearly.

Ours is a Quilt Forum - once a month,and we havn't ever had more than 20 gals; we have show and tell, and discussions about our individual projects. Did a few group projects & mystery quilts - but only if you want to. No dues, no attendance requirements. I love it!

[quote=mommamac]I belong to a guild (20 or less members) & love it - so much so that since I relocated a year ago, I travel a hour to get there (how crazy is that!) We always have a group quilt in some stage of construction, do a challenge every year, have mini lessons at meetings, quilt for charities, share projects & tips, bounce ideas off one another ....

This sounds alot like the guild my mother was in for years. She really enjoyed her Quilter's Guild. She was always pulling out a block she made using a new technique she learned at that month's meeting. Would like to find something like that myself.

I joined our local quilt guild before I actually knew how to quilt because I wanted to gain an understanding of what it was about. Fat quarters, charms, stitch in the ditch were meaningless terms to me then, but through attending the meetings along with watching Alex Anderson on Simply Quilts and reading quilt magazines, it began to come together for me. Our guild offers little workshops called At Home In The Guild, and I've found those very useful. I especially love the Show and Share time; everyone's favorite:-) At that time the chairman encouraged everyone to 'be in a bee', so several of my quilting friends formed one. It has since grown into 2 bees, and I actually like them better in some ways because they are small and not so intimidating.

Over all my guild has been good, and I've met some wonderful fellow quilters; however I've encountered a couple of negatives I've had to work through. They got so involved in producing a sensational quilt show or arts festival that some committee chairmen began applying guilt/pressure tactics to get people to do things. I would find myself tensing up and then think, goodness, this is supposed to be fun and not stress! I know they took on a big job, but we cannot know the situations others are facing, and to put a guilt trip on them is not good. I'm sure there is a healthy balance here. Also, although most of the women were friendly and so willing to help, I encountered a few 'expert quilters' who acted so superior, really downright unfriendly. When you are coming into a new group and you don't know anyone and barely understand what the group is about, it can be very intimidating. I am still a member of my guild and I go when I can and participate as I am able. But the smaller bees and my church quilting group are by far my favorites. One real advantage is that our JoAnn's gives a 10% discount off purchases by showing our guild card, and our local quilt shop gives a 15% discount. I always get my membership dues back and then some! All things considered, the guild has broadened my quilting experience and offers many opportunities. Some years it is better than others, depending on the elected leadership. I try to look out for the 'new ones' and do my best to make them feel welcome and a part of who we are.

A popular guild in my area has 400+ members and is very structured. Newest members somehow get "elected" as officers. How fun can that be? The only advantage I see is members get a percentage off purchases at local shops.

My preference is a small group where you can interact with each other. I don't belong to a guild.

A small shop close by encourages quilters to just come by and sit-n-sew. One day I'll try that out to see if it works for me.

Yes I belong to a great quilters guild. 40 members we meet once a month do the business part then we do show and tell talk have a great time. Some of the members are snow birds so number goes down in the winter.We also meet once a month for UFO day we bring a lunch to share, sew ,talk and we have a lot of fun on a Saturday. We have a Quilt Show every year second week end of August we have a raffle quilt the money we get from that goes to some need in our town.We had our Christmas party on the 9th had a great time everyone brings a 10 dollar gift each of us picks a gift then we do a 10 minute you can steal anyone's gift. Bill our only male member love that part.

I guess my quilting group could be considered a guild. We meet the third Sat. of each month. We started in August assigning several people to bring lunch, before we were all bringing something and had so much food left over. We only have about 15 in our group. Small town and we all have been involved with each other in something over the years. Sometimes we only have about 8 come, we just vary in number.
We have a great time, sometimes we "waste" about the first hour just visiting and showing each other what we have done, or helping one another get a quilt sandwiched or something useful, then finally get started on our quilting. Some of the ladies don't quilt and just do hand work on other projects. We work together well. Have one lady that doesn't sew, just comes to visit and spend time, recently lost her spouse. We begin at 9:30a.m. and finish up when ever we need to go, usually no later than 4:00.
We have had a couple of speakers come, but for the most part it is just our few. We often tell everyone, it is "just a ladies day out".
We don't meet in Dec. because everyone is so busy getting Christmas projects completed. We meet in the Fellowship Hall of the Church I attend, The First Christian Church, have a large area for sewing, and a full kitchen to use.
We made a quilt this past summer for our local Cancer group and sold tickets for it. The quilt was given away at the Rodeo in July on "Tough Enough to Wear Pink Night" one of our big town events each year. Well guess who won the quilt. Me!! but since I quilt and didn't need it, I planned to give it to my daughter, she said she wanted it only to give to a friend who was beginning Chemo for breast cancer, so it did go to a cancer patient, and about $1,000. to our local fund. The money raised for our local cancer group stays in town and is used for those in need of gasoline funds, or motel funds when they have to travel. The nearest place for Chemo about 100 miles away. So we know that the money helps someone in our small town/county.
We took one road trip, two years ago and plan another one soon. I think all groups should have fun when they are quilting or getting together.