:? Hi Ya'll, I have a problem my quild meet doesn't like my quilts seems I'm to new a quilter or aren't like them or something.They only like traditional,and I like them BUT Don't have the time,who does?these days for such, I go for something quicker and easier. Should I stay or leave??? I'm New here as well. Bee

I don't belong to a guild because of that kind of treatment. I started to join and have been told we do it this way. So I stay home and I use the money I would have spent on a guild on fabric and I make quilts my way.

I have given my quilts and sold my quilts to other people and none of them said they did not like the quilt as a matter of fact they loved them.
So I guess I am not the person to advise you. Just had the statement to tell you. Juju

Hi Bee, Why don't you stay and just go the meetings for the show and tell and camaraderie? You can admire their quilts and still be an individualist with your own quilts. Goodness knows, my productivity is almost nil recently but I do love seeing other quilters work. There are so many good reasons to belong to a guild and you limit yourself a resource.

I'd go, some guilds are great . IN fact most are but like anything else they're are the exceptions. so leave you don't need them.

We have the best guild right here and it doesn't cost you a cent. Everyone here is very helpful and friendly.

Heck, I'd can those folks who don't appreciate and encourage something different. I'm one of those unique ones who doesn't need kudo's or support from other folks, as long as I'm happy with my own projects. Getting new information is nice, but not if you are not accepted or asked to conform to their styles. If you can't find another group that you like (or who like you), when use that money to 1) buy fabric, 2) buy new books that appeal to you, 3)then enter your projects in the county fair. Get a new bunch of friends - life is too short to be around others who don't uplift you. Sara

You forgot #4.) Send your guild fees to me. I am the greatest cheerleader in the world, for a price.

We will start with the Guild slogans...
"A Guild of One".
"Quilt all that you can quilt".
"A quilt sent to me is worth three in your mind".
"Join the Navy and make a quilt".
"The Proud, the Brave, the Quilted".
"The Quilt Force, the civilian branch of the military".
"Somewhere in the world it's Quilt O'Clock".
"We have secretly replaced your sewing machine with Tasters Choice. Can you notice the difference?".
"Is that a quilt you're making or are you just happy to see me?"

Well maybe not the last one.

tim in san jose

"There's Strong ... and then there's Quilt Strong"

P.S. put that guild on top of your lists of people to ignore and places to avoid.

Bee,

Please stay with the guild. Observe what others are doing/making. If someone uses a quilting technique you are interested in, check personally with this quilter. Each has a different skill and if approached one-on-one, will be flattered and willing to share her skill which in turn will start a new friendship. Guilds, regardless "the snobs", are a great resource.

Also, most guilds will have a guest teacher or guild teacher wherein you can take a workshop and will learn and learn and learn at a somewhat reasonable cost to you. Usually the cost per workshop is partially defrayed by the guild. Just go with an open mind, be a "sponge" and smile.

Good luck. Suzanne

A guild from what I understand can offer alot of savy advice and wisdom, as well as give history and valuable info. But it seems that alot are offering negative instructions, and criticism. Neither wanted nor warrented.I would'nt go back. I'm sure thats not what you payed for. I don't and have never belonged to a guild.But I don't handle criticism very well either. If it's given in a better way, then as if they where the quilt police, it's alot easier to handle and LEARN. Then to have your desire and imagination snuffed out. However I would look into stating your own. Why Not? Talk to a few of the PERSONS that you share with, and encourage and suggest an alternative to them, get their feel about it. After all there is the Red Hat cluds and societys, why not start something new and encouraging for new and older quilters. I'd join , for all the right reasons, learning, growing, inspiration, and most important encouragment. Just a thought.

Even if you don't interact well with some of the others in the guild, it might still be that the guild as a whole has something to offer. I quit going to one of the guilds in my area because the dynamics had changed so much that I wasn't comfortable anymore. That can happen, and it can also be that in time it will turn around and become a place where you fit right in. Guilds have transient members. :) At the very least, you can sometimes pick up valulable information and inspiration from speakers and lecturers that your program director hires to speak at a meeting. Or, just look, take in, learn, and then apply what good you've aquired to your own quilting, and leave the "sharing" out for awhile until you feel more confident with the women/men who attend the meetings. I've never once shown a quilt in "show-and-tell" at the first guild. Part of that is because I'm quite shy in public, and partly because I've never felt like my work was good enough compared to what I'd seen. Also, I'd heard discouraging remarks tossed around by others near me, and figured I didn't need to ever hear that about my own work. If they're doing it to someone else, they'll do it to me too. :) Now, at the smaller guild I've joined, I'm quite comfortable despite the fact that many of the quilters there are leaps and bounds ahead of me in expertise. But I seem to "click" with them, and feel more confident to share my stuff.