Thanks, WM. :) I mentioned to a couple of well-connected members of that guild (i.e., officers) that I would like to join but mentioned the bylaws prohibition that prevents it. They were actually unaware of that clause in their bylaws and said that they would bring it up to see if they could get it changed. That was back in the summer, so my gut feel now is that it is not going to be changed since nothing came of it. Which is rather hurtful, but I keep telling myself that it's nothing against me personally - I just happen to have the wrong set of chromosomes for them. At this point, I don't know that I'd really want to join them now - it's like the joining experience is tainted by all this, so I don't know that I would actually go now if they did extend membership to me.

Hey Eddie,
Just so you know, not all guilds are the same. Our by-laws only state that you have a heart to committ and want to experience all things good that come from being a lover of fabric. We actually have a number of men that will slip in from time to time and one of the youngest is 9. Keep looking the right group or as mentioned your own group is awaiting your company. We will certainly save you a chair if you are ever in our neck of the woods. My husband attends when he can and he loves fabric shopping. He's angle on things is so different from mine that combined we come up with some great results. Whatever direction you take, keep sewing, it's such a wonderful outlet for your own style of creativity and for me - it helped me quit smoking 20+ years ago.

Please don't put it off, if you really enjoy quilting, Join now! It is usually one night a month and full of people who "quilt speak". I am in a quilt guild that meets on a night I work late but still steal out to make a few meetings. There are other guilds in my area too, so I am going to explore them also. Great people and you can always learn something new.

I belong to the Capital Quilters Guild here in Raleigh. We have, I think, over 300 members and meet once a month in the evening. That makes it easy for those of us that work during the day. We support three charities with quilts, Quilts on Wheels (wheelchairs), Quilts for Kids (babies at the local hospitals) and SafeChild (kids in crisis). We have a great time at our meetings and I have found that everyone is friendly and approachable. We have show and tell, a quilt book lending library, secret pals, multiple smaller bees, workshops and activities throughout the year. We have an annual quilt auction that supports a different non-profit each year. This month, we had Bonnie Hunter as speaker and it was great. Anyone in the Raleigh NC area, come on out and join us, we have a great time!

I belong to the West Houston Quilt Guild, www.WHQG.org. We have a membership of around 200 or so. We meet once a month and have many bees that meet weekly at different locations. We have had many wonderful speakers and workshops. We also have a lot of in-house talent. One of our founders was Susan Thomson (Quilts for Mantels & More). Our favorite man,Tom Russell, Art Quilter and Cynthia Regone (Colorful Quilts) are members. Paula Barnes of Bonnie Blue Quilts was a member for many years. We have 2-4 quilt retreats a year and some of the bees create their own retreats. Our guild has a quilt show every other year that includes a donation quilt, a tin can raffle and a quild store. We have a free booth at the IQA show in Houston called Come Quilt With Me. Members of the guild demostrate hand quilting Wed. thru Sunday. We invite those that stop to watch, to sit and hand quilt with us awhile. We work two hour shifts and get in free that day.

I forgot the most important things. Our members make quilts for Linus and we adopt a nursing home each year at Christmas and let each resident select a lap quilt to keep. We also make stockings to donate to Bear Creek Assistance Ministries each year. They fill them and distribute them to families in need.

I am a guild member for almost a year now. It is called Evergreen Quilters Guild located in Green Bay. There are approx 120 members. We do service projects, hold a show every other year, have guest speakers and classes. We meet in the afternoon and evening so all can make it. Have door prizes at each meeting and great treats at break time.

I belong to a guild that has about 70 members. To make it available for working people there are two meetings - 1:30 and 5:30. I go to the 1:30 meeting because I am 20 miles away and the evening meeting is over the supper hour. If we have a trunk show it is at 4:30 or 5 so the evening members can join. We have guest speakers from all over the state. We have a number of classes during the year. The guild puts on a quilt show once a year and a style show of sewing and quilted apparel. It is quite active a group. I have only been in in a little over year but I do enjoy seeing what other do. They do retreats and take a bus to a regional quilt show. It is a busy group.l

I am not a member of a guild. All the ones that I see in my area have meeting during the day and I cannot attend since I have to work.

I've belonged to the Salt Creek Quilters Guild for 11 years. We meet in the evening at a Suburban Community House from September through May. Currently we have 250 members and a wait list of 25 prospective members. Our biannual Quilt Show is the first weekend of March, 2010 and we usually have an attendance of 1,500 visitors. On the Friday prior to the show, we have a preview night for members and one guest. We vote that evening for the Challenge winners in four catagories.

At 7 of the 9 months we welcome nationally known quilters such as Billie Lauder, Nancy Smith, Linda Milligan, Ami Simms, Carol Doaks, Judy Neimeyer, John Flynn, Roberta Horton, etc. Each speaker lectures on guild night and teaches different classes on Friday and Saturday, which are well attended.

We have a Community Service Committee and make quilts for Ronald McDonald House, Hope Children's hospital, Crises Center for Women & Children, etc. Our Education Committee presents small quilt shows to both elementry schools and retirement centers. We have a lending library of 100's of quilt books and at every meeting a different area quilt shop is featured, offering fabric, patterns and books.

Currently we are participating in a Round Robin ( 5 members in a group) since we are giving the Block of the Month exchange a rest. We have a monthly newsletter that is sent via the Internet to all but 10 members who receive it by snail mail. Our web site is www.saltcreekqg.org. My sister and I LOVE belonging to this Guild which is creative, instructive, friendly and FUN.

I belong to the Never Sweat Needlers Quilt guild of Dubois. It been a great thing everyone is very helpful and we put on a very nice Quilt Show every year in August.We have classes and different things we do as a group. A bunch of us are or have made quilts for quiltsforkids.org. We've a group of 40 which is a lot for our small town.

By all means, join a guild if possible. I belong to a small guild in Lee's Summit, MO. We meet at night so those who work and those who don't can attend. Along with speakers and quilt shows, we have a sew Saturday four times a year. I have learned more from those sew Saturdays then from the books I have read and the classes I have taken. Marylou

I belong to the Austin Area Quilt Guild in Austin, Tx. It is a very large quild that meets on the first Monday night of the month and on Monday morning once a quarter. I travel 65 miles (each way) to attend the meetings and love every minute of it. I joined this guild about 30 years ago when I lived in the Austin Area. When I moved to the Texas hill country, I kept my membership there because it was the closest guild. I love to take classes and take as many as I can work in. I enjoy the speakers who present our programs. I have learned many new techniques. Just got home from the Houston Quilt Show. I had a great time and enjoyed meeting and visiting with other quilters.

I belong to Mid-Del Stitchin' Sisters Quilt Guild in Midwest City, Oklahoma. We have approximately 85 members. We do a lot of charity quilting for local police and fire departments, women and children shelters and currently we're working on quilts for soldiers in Oklahoma that have been wounded in Iraq/Afghanistan and for families of soldiers from Oklahoma who have given their lives defending our country in these countries.

I belong to the Flying Geese Quilt Guild of Harford County maryland. We are 250 members strong. Meet at night and have 4 Bee meetings: Goslings (new members), Mystery Bee, Wednesday Day and Friday night. We host speakers 9 meetings a year (third Monday of the month is the general meeting). One year we even hosted Ricky Tims. This was before he became really BIG. Most of the times the speaker does a workshop on the Tuesday during the day after the evening program. We have a quilt bingo every other year and a show every other year. I have been quilting about 10 years.

I belong to the Towpath Quilt Guild in central NY. Joined in 2006. I absolutely love it. We have a fairly large membership of about 100. One of the best percs is that I have had the opportunity to hear lectures and take classes from renowned, published quilters (Linda Taylor and Sue Nichols, just to name a few). It is a very generous and talented group of quilters. I'm always in awe when we have Show & Tell. I like the fact that our members are from novice to expert and no one is ever made to feel "unworthy". On the contrary; No matter how humble my quilting may seem to me (in comparison with the rest), I always walk away feeling like an accomplished quilter. My guild usually does several different service projects every year. This year, we are working on children's quilts to donate to a brand new perdiatric medical center that has just been built. In the past we have donated charity quilts to the military, nursing homes, rape crisis center, Linus Project, pillow cases to battered women shelter, placemats for Meals on Wheels program, school bags to under priveledged children in third world countries. Our guild puts on a big show every two years. To read more about us, visit:
http://www.towpathquiltguild.org/

I belong to the Cotton Patch Quilters of Kern in Bakersfield, CA. We have almost 300 members. There is another guild in Tehachapi, which is about 50 miles from here in the mountains. I don't know how many members they have. We do a quilt show every other January, do bus trips to big quilt shows in CA (Road to CA, Long Beach, Glendale), participate in many local quilt shows in the CA Central Valley, have an opportunity quilt for each of our quilt shows. We do charity quilts for NICU units in our local hospitals, and for the Painted Turtle Camps for ill children. We have friendship groups (but you generally have to be invited to join one), block of the month, show and tell, raffle table, name tag drawing at each meeting. We have really great teachers and workshops about 9 months out of the year...in November we get Pat Knoeckel!! So excited..she always brings great techniques from Eleanor Burns's workshops. We also have both day and evening meetings to accommodate the working people. We have a couple of men members, too. Overall I really like it..everyone is supportive and helpful. Here's the link to our website...we just updated it over the summer and we really like it. http://www.bakersfieldquiltguild.org/

I belong to the Flying Geese Quilt Guild in Bel Air, Maryland. We celebrated its 20th Anniversary this month. I have been a member for four years and have enjoyed learning, making new friends, helping with the Month of Love which involves making pillows for breast cancer patients, quilts for the military, quilt bingo, quilt show, Linus quilts, and much more. We also give monies to different charities. They have weekend retreats of quilting.

We also have great presentators and the next day they teach some of their techniques. My friend and I are in charge of the Goslings which meets the first Monday of each month. Someone in the guild volunteers to teach a new technique or she or I teach something that we have found on the internet or in a quilt magazine. The Goslings started out for new members, but everyone is invited.

This guild started with in l989 with 5 ladies then 12 and then into a guild with almost 200 members. We meet at the local volunteer fire station on the 3rd Monday of each month.


Barbara, the golfer

Lass,

I am a member of the Flying Geese Quilt Guild. Marge and I are in charge of the Goslings. We must introduce ourselves to one another next meeting.

Barbara

Lass,

I am a member of the Flying Geese Quilt Guild. Marge and I are in charge of the Goslings. We must introduce ourselves to one another next meeting.

Barbara

I would love to join a Guild or a bee !! My niece works and lives 30 miles away and so i play a lot of little red hen spots

I belong to our local guild Hearts n' Pieces. It's a small guild with 22 members. My aunt co-founded it 8 years ago.

If the dues to your local guilds aren't too much $, I would recommend joining, even if you can't make every meeting. Then you'll get the newsletter and we get a 10% discount at LQS. My guild has local speakers, but once or twice a year we have a national speaker. We have UFO workshops and classes and an annual retreat available to members only. We have charity quilt donations twice a year. Our dues are $20 and we're at about 200 members.

For all of you who work and say you can't join because there is no evening meeting, our guild only started an evening meeting about 3 years or so ago, and we now have about 40 in the evening. Ask the guild about adding an evening meeting. Maybe even offer to host it if there is no place for a meeting.

Yes golfer absolutely. Diana

I belong to the "SunBonnet Sues" guild in Vero Beach, Fl and they have a membership of 100+..and just last week celebrated their 30th Birthday..
I go to this guild as a "snow bird" during the cold winter in my home state.

I also belong to a group in the Jersey area where I live most of the year...this is a group of about 15 ladies named "we can do that" quilters. In this group we also have a few knitters and a lady who just likes the company..so she joins us each week......and when we are doing a group project, she will "pick out" our errors and do the pressing.....

We brown bag first and then get to work...

I belong to the Van Alstyne Quilter's Guild in V. A., Tx. We meet mostly on the 1st Mon. each month. We start with a social time about 6:30 pm & take turns bringing light refreshments. The business meeting starts at 7 with Show & Tell which gives us great ideas. Our dues are $25 for the year which allows us to bring in some speakers + some of our talented members also do programs. We also pass a can at each meeting to which we contribute whatever we feel like which we use to purchase books for our guild library. The place where we meet has allowed us to keep a large bookcase which closes & locks. Members also donate books which we can then all share for free. Twice a year we have a potluck supper in conjunction with our meeting. We have 5th Saturday workshops, do charity projects, & our favorite is a 3 day retreat which we had last week. Some of our members also belong to either McKinney or Sherman guilds. And yes we have had a man as a member & would welcome any that wish to join.