faykilgore

What an eye opening thread! I always promised myself to join a guild when I retired and could go during the day. Then I moved to a city where I didn't know anyone. My daughter's friend at her job was a quilter and I have joined her two groups to meet new people. I have very much enjoyed both groups although their objectives are very different. I guess the moral of this story is find out what a group's objectives are before joining? Just a thought.

piker6ca

Boy i wish I could find a Guild up here. I know there is a lot more for me to learn and would be nice to get togeather and see it done.
There are little things that you guys do and don,t even think about it .But for me it,s all new.
Like putting a piece of old fabric behind what i,m sewing so the tread does not hang there loose . I,t the small stuff to learn .
Tom

sewbizgirl

I am still one of the newbies in the great quilting group I joined about 6 months ago. It's a charity quilting group, part of the large Baptist church in my town (I'm out in the country...). There is so much news and quilting info to share that there isn't TIME for gossip or drama. It's all about quilting. Everyone has been friendly and welcoming and I'm so glad to be there. We only meet twice a month and it seems such a long time waiting for those meetings to come around. I love my group.

mamagrande

I have belonged to a for over 6 yrs. When I worked I did not attend regularly but now I do and am membership chairman. This is the last year that I will be membership chairman because I think the younger ladies are better on the computer for setting up the directory, attendance, etc.

I really enjoy getting to know the other ladies, when we have a quilt show, we are not judged and are encouraged to show our quilts.. I am Mexican and most of the other ladies are not and I don't feel left out because I am the type of person that will sit in different places to get to know other ladies and hear their stories. (my husband says that I sound like a detective.) I love my guild,we don't allow the quilt police..

justflyingin

That's too bad, and sad...and to those of us outside it, the image is almost funny--(while sad)!

Jackie Spencer

All I can say about Guilds is what my Moma always told me..... If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all

toverly

Guilds are a strange thing. Some are nice, some are cliquish and some are downright rude. The best advice is to try them all out and see where you fit in. My local Guild is going thru a down time right now. Membership was up to 250 and now it seems down. I have made some wonderful friends and met some terrible people. But as the saying goes, Don't let the Turkeys get you down.

GEMRM

And if you don't try to change it, you're not helping whatever the problems are?

Sometimes though, the battle isn't worth starting,

SuzieQuilts

I agree with the advice to keep looking for a guild that is a better match for you. The right guild can be a great experience, as it does offer companionship, community service, and improvement in individual skills. It just might be the combination of women in that particular group. When I first started quilting, I went to a weekend retreat sponsored by the local guild I was not a member of yet. It was wonderful. I felt so welcome, and learned a lot that weekend. Because of that experience I signed up to attend the quilt retreat my sister always attended, a few months later. I felt so un-welcomed. There was a group of women that would dominate the whole conversation, and when I tried to strike up a conversation, I was pretty much shut out. There were a few women that were not from that particular town, that knew people that I did, they were friendly. So it is the people, not the organization. The idea of a guild is a good one. Don't give up on the idea.

Tothill

I joined a guild about an hour away from home last year when my marriage broke down. It is a Modern Quilt Guild.

I love it. No one there knows my story, it is just about the shared love of quilting. I cannot think what would make me leave the guild. I do not get to every meeting, but try to and try to get to a few of the sew-ins. If I were to move away I would find another Modern Guild to join.

The guild in my home town is traditional and meets during the day. I work full time, so it is not an option to join it.