Fizzle

Onebyone. I took my granddaughter to a 3 days kids sewing class and on the last day we made those love bugs. Super easy. Super cute. The kids really had fun!! I thought the same. Put a book in it. Plus it would be cute on their beds as a PJ holder!

sewingpup

We have been doing zoom meetings...for a bit...we did the meetings outside but...during the winter it was zoom.. One thing our Guild President did that was really helpful, was to host a "get to know zoom" practice meeting. As long as we could join the meeting, several useful tips were given as to how to attend a Zoom meeting. I am so glad I attended that meeting. another thing that has happened is that members could send a photo of current projects to the Guild President who put them into I think a power point slide show so we were able to clearly see the project while the member was talking about it. In some cases, I was able to see the project better than if the meeting had been in person. Of course, it is helpful if someone in the guild knows about computers and zoom and can do this. Between my age and the Covid situation and new variants popping up, I really am being careful where I go and I like being able to zoom to some events and workshops.

Missi

Do you have any “more experienced” members who would step up and help out. Ideas for them to present are power cutting; disappearing blocks ie dp9p, dp4p, dppinwheels; piecing such as no waste flying geese or all the ways out there todo HST and the pros and cons - bias edges on the outside of a block 🤦‍♀️ Don’t get me started. Also do you have another guild close by? You could trade programs. Oh has anyone done a one block wonder. That can easily be a whole program. Another idea is “sewing” 101. I’m amazed at the people who quilt who don’t know about bias vs straight and stretch of grain and the importance, thread weight and how it’s opposite of needle sizing and the different types of needles and why that makes a difference.

oksewglad

All great ideas being presented! Thanks for the thread start.

WesternWilson

We had a wonderful lecture once from a textiles artist/designer and she had asked folks to bring in quilts they had made but were unhappy with. The quilter told everyone why she was unhappy with the quilt (most commonly a feeling it lacked life or was blah for some reason), and then the lecturer suggested what design changes would make a positive difference. It made for a really interesting and instructive evening, something we all would like to see done on a regular basis!

ILoveToQuilt

A couple of ideas: (1) If your guild has a charity program such as Project Linus (kid's quilts) or Quilts of Valor, have a meeting for sewing quilts for the charity. You could have people cutting fabric, others sewing, some people pressing, some binding already quilted quilts, some sewing on labels, some preparing kits for future quilts. Basically everyone can do a "job" they are comfortable with.

(2) Do you have a 4-H or Girl Scout troop in your community? Invite the kids to a guild meeting (good for summer meetings when the kids are off from school) for a one-on-one sewing/quilting day with guild members. Teach the kids how to cut fabric, how to sew 1/4 inch seams, etc. Make a small project, like a mug rug, that the kids can take home.

(3) "Open Sew Day": guild members bring projects that they are working on and do it during a "meeting". Encourage members to bring projects that they are having difficulty with or just don't like. It is amazing how other member's input can help solve problems or help someone "look" at their unliked project differently.

(4) Quilting Scavenger Hunt: done both outside a meeting and at the meeting. A week or so prior to your meeting, send members a list of quilt related items (maybe 25 or so). Members have to gather as many items as possible and bring them to the in person meeting. Part of the rules are that members may not buy anything in the time receiving the list and the actual meeting (yes, some will do it anyway) to fill the list. Items should be small and easily transportable. You can do something like: "take a photo of a vintage sewing machine" (no downloads off the computer allowed!); take a photo of your favorite person using one of your quilts: gather five 5" purple squares of fabric; ten "wonder clips"; the pattern you bought and now second guess yourself (the why did I buy this factor); etc. Make sure the items are varied and that some are commonplace and others maybe much harder to find.

At the meeting, the person with the most items found from the list wins a prize. (You can have more than one prize - 1st, 2nd, 3rd; Most Unusual item, etc.). You can also "sell or raffle" all the items gathered to make some money for your guild.

Hope these ideas help.

copycat

Last night our guild celebrated our being able to meet in person again with a covered dish. I don't know about your guild but we have the most talented cooks in the world! There were gloves for people to wear to handle the serving spoons.

For fun, we were told to bring a picture of us in our Teenage Years! One person was in charge of placing the photos on a wall. I was amazed to see how some people never changed and others were unrecognizable.

We had a program on how to make a simple table runner. This program was the most fun...food, fabric and friends!

GingerK

Our guild has not met in person, since February 2020. The first few months of Covid we only had newsletters to keep us connected. Last summer saw some back yard gatherings. 2020-21 has been the year of Zoom. In one respect, it has been great. We have had presenters from across the country, at a fraction of the cost of in-person shows. Our co-presidents rose to the many challenges of this last year, with a few challenges of their own, which were very well received.

Many of us found that we actually prefer Zoom for things like our monthly Saturday QBA (quilt by association. classes taught by guild members) Because of no class size limit, more people attended. No driving was involved--a real boon during the winter months. It was so well received, that it became a by-weekly class.

Our final meeting was a virtual trunk show-and-tell, compiled by one of our members. I agree with Sewingpup--it was easier to see and appreciate our members' accomplishments. Unfortunately, it looks like we will have no in-person meetings until at least January of 2022. The average age of our guild members is 'very mature', and we are being very cautious.

quiltingshorttimer

Our guild did zoom starting about May of 2020 and continue to zoom most meetings even though we did start back in-person this past May. We have found that a number of our members want to continue zoom as they would not otherwise be able to attend due to work, family, health issues. And our 2 zoom workshops both got rave reviews---both with instructors that we could have never paid to travel to teach, the members (I only did one due to obligations) found sitting in own sewing room with all their tools right there, to learn something news was great. Both instructors did an overview, then taught using videos a specific portion of the project and then we muted our computers and worked on that segment, etc. Because we intend to continue the added zoom access, we will teach a segment in our beginner classes in Oct on how to access Zoom, ask questions, mute, etc.
Programs--we've used a survey of members to see what they are interested in and also what they may be comfortable presenting. They do get paid, but at a lessor amount, which helps the guild have more expensive presenters, too.
I personally get tired of trunk shows, I'd rather learn a skill or information. My favorite programs have been on fabric design, differences in batting, how to prep a quilt for the long arm quilter, binding techniques, how to make a t-shirt quilt, ergonomics of sewing, tips on cutting, etc.