Please Tell me about your very first guild meeting ...
 

https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/smile.png I belonged to a ladies group and I made new friends with several ladies in the club. I admired a lovely quilted table topper that was used at our meetings to place our refreshments. My 3 friends said they belong to a quilt guild and invited me to come as their guest. I went to the guild meeting.... a Year later! I won the door prize at that first meeting and was told to come back next month with a new door prize for give a way. Long story...short, I joined and still belong. (since 2009)

My guild's quilt show, they were offering a special initiation rate for new members, so I joined. When I attended the first guild meeting I didn't know anyone so I sat in a row of empty seats. One of the ladies (Mary) came over and sat next to me. She introduced herself and we started talking. She was very friendly and took me around the room to show me the various activity tables. When it came time to introduce new members, other ladies in the guild turned around and introduced themselves and welcomed me. Pre-Covid all the members were invited to go out to lunch after the meeting. Again, I didn't know anyone, but I went. Everyone was very friendly and I've made some great new friends.

I showed up at a meeting, not knowing anyone. I brought my first quilt I made for show and tell if they had one. I got there early so had time to chat with the members setting up for the program, how to join, the rules etc. At show and tell I got up introduced myself and showed my quilt. I told a bit about the quilt and thanked everyone for being nice and accepting me as a new member.
During the business meeting I raised my hand to help with the guild's quilt show. After the quilt show I knew most all members by name and they knew me.

While in the doctor's waiting room with my mother, a sweet lady commented on her wheelchair quilt and invited me to her quilt guild at a church. I was so excited to meet anyone else that quilts! Then Corona... never made ithttps://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/wave.gif

I showed up at the meeting not knowing anyone. I also showed up a bit early so I could ask about joining and all that. There was a time for new people to be introduced, so that did happen. Those sitting right next to me were friendly.

After the meeting there was a social aspect, everyone broke into groups and they were all chatting and having a good time, no one asked me to join and as I looked around, it really looked like I'd be interfering if I tried to butt into one of the groups, so after standing around and looking at things on tables, I left.

I kept going for several more meetings, and they were about the same. Never got approached by anyone other than to say hello at the start. I work full time, and most of the extra stuff was done during the work week so signing up was never an option. I attended 3-4 meetings and then missed one, and when I went back they were all taking about the Christmas party and I felt totally lost as it was obvious this was discussed at the meeting I missed. They were all very excited and I really felt left out (again). I wasn't going to sign up for the Christmas party and find myself sitting alone so that was the last meeting I attended. Never got any contact from anyone with the guild when I stopped showing up.

BTW - I think there were normally 35-40 people at a meeting, and it was a smaller community so most people were family friends or long time acquaintances. Since DH and I had no family in the state, it was like since I wasn't related to anyone, no one wanted me to join in their group. Those that were brought by friends and introduced around that way seemed to be more accepted.

I have since moved and hope to find a group to join, but I didn't move far enough away to be in an area with a different guild. There isn't much in the way of quilting groups around.

My guild meets at night but all the classes, sew days, workshops etc are all in the daytime. There is no happy medium for those that work. The ones that come to the day time activities form a close group and become more familiar with each other's lives. It took me much longer to get to know the members that only came to the meetings. Don't let working days stop you from going to meetings, it is worth going to see the fantastic show and tell at each meeting and stay motivated.

I wish I could find a smallish guild. The one here is huge and just not fun. I joined for a year but it didn't work for me.
I used to belong to a group where we met in each others homes once a month and that was a lot of fun. Slowly people moved etc and we disbanded. I miss it. Right now I don't have any quilter friends in my area :(

I met a lady with a license plate quilter. She invited me to a meeting. I went not really knowing anybody. The lady that invited me had called the house after I left to tell me she couldn't make it. Nobody said anything to me before or during the social, but I enjoyed the meeting so much I joined. The president at the time and I have become very good friends. This was in 2000, and I've held different offices, but now they zoom, and we have lost members due to this. Before the zoom we have been greeting people that didn't come with someone from the guild to welcome them.

My first guild meeting was with a very small guild. I had been invited by two of the ladies that I met at JAF when, as a very new and totally inexperienced quilter, I was asking about quilting supplies. Everyone made me feel welcome. The "entertainment" for the meeting was for everyone to bring their favorite quilting tool and explain why they liked it. When it got to me, I pulled out my credit card. I was still buying the basics and hadn't yet made a quilt.

As time went on, I also joined a huge guild in a nearby town, and then a medium-sized guild in another direction. I felt like Goldilocks with 3 guilds of different sizes. Each had something different to offer. The small guild couldn't afford to pay speakers, but everyone knew everyone else, and everyone contributed to show and tell. The huge guild had wonderful speakers and other events, and although everyone was friendly, it was impossible to know everyone. I would say that the medium-sized guild was "just right" but that's really wrong. All three were "just right" for me.

When I moved to another state, I wasn't worried about finding friends, because I knew that I would meet people when I joined the guild. I've found that it's easy to strike up a conversation with another quilter, no matter where you are.