Unfortunately, there's more than one guild like that around.

cant believe tat a guild wouldnt take new members,defeats the purpose of being a guild

Wish you were closer. We would be happy to have you. Check around, there must be some sort of a gathering of quilters, even if it is only a few.

oh my goodness.....too funny!

I started this thread almost two years ago.

Let's update and see where things are at in 2013 regarding your quilt guilds if you belong to one.

I participate in two groups. One group meets in a church and has a project of making lap quilts for a senior center. No officers, meeting once a month and its an all day event. Last year's goal was enough lap quilts for all the residents in a nursing home. We met the goal of over 60 quilts and presented them at a Christmas party. Another group is very informal with no officers, no goals other than quilting for most of us. Some of the elder ladies just come for the social visiting. Others bring lap work and of course we have show and tell. This last one is newly formed and will hopefully have group projects in the future.

I belong to a guild that is quite active. At this point I only go to the Tuesday workdays where we have an abbreviated meeting and show and tell. I go mostly for the friendship - I live out of town and really don't want to spend every day driving somewhere. This guild lets you be as active (or inactive) as you want. Maybe when I've been retired longer I will want to spend more time in town. Now I like being home.

There are at least 6 guilds within 1 hr driving distance and I live way out in the mountains. In our previous location there were 5 and maybe 8 depending on which way you wanted to drive. They all do a lot of the same things: block of the month, speaker/teacher, retreats, fund raising quilt, quilt show, philantrophy, auction/trade/etc stash stuff, fat quarter trade, newsletter.


What I like best and helps me decide on a group:
1. Friendly and welcoming and encouraging
2. Programs and committment to the quality of teachers with $ and attendance
3. Retreats
4. Innovative
5. Doesn't try to make members feel guilty for not wanting to participate in an activity (and I tend to be involved)
6. Humor

Things I don't care about
1. Selling raffle quilt tickets (I'll design, make, quilt it, but hate selling tickets)
2. Out-giving other guilds to charity (when I belonged to 4 groups, got so I didn't have time for my own projects, now I rarely participate in any of it)
3. Food
4. Fat quarter exchange
5. Block of the month
6. Snobby people; if they don't want me, I don't need them

Things unique to some guilds I especially like
1. Quilt in the city retreat (4 days of quilting and getting to know other guild members at a business location in the same town, on your own for food and lodging), cost is $35 for all 4 days
2. Extensive library and librarian who loves the job.
3. First class program every month and $ to back up this goal (if there's not a GOOD program, I'll probably not attend that month)
4. Voluntary Quilt challenge, one guild does a monthy challenge that is using a technique demonstrated the last meeting
5. Monthly raffle (5 members/month donate items (high quality) that are raffled at the meeting)
6. Art sewing circle
7. Business meeting and all announcements less than 1/2 hour
8. 1/2 hour before meeting all activities are available to participate (program sign up, raffles, library, block of the month, food, magazine swap) and room is open for meet-n-greet
9. Magazine swap: anyone can put magazines out and anyone can buy them for $.25/ea-goes to guild
10. At another guild: stuff swap similar to #9