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I met Marci when she came to Green River, WY for Quilting on the Green as the guest speaker and teacher. I took a couple of classes from her and think she is wonderful. Very approachable, willling to help, and full of insight. One of my highlights in attending quilting seminars or weekends.

gal288

I have 2guilds by here,, 1 very clliquie, cold, Igo only when there is something special offered..

The other guild is very warm & welcoming....




My advice is look around ,, maybe there is a friendier. Guild I your area. But go again & give it another chance, maybe because. There ws a program they were toooo busy.

jgriinke

Please give the guild another try. It may be that with the guest speaker and everything else - that they were overwhelmed. Try it again when there is less going on, and be sure to let them know that you are new to the guild. I have been a member of our local guild for many years now and don't know what I'd do without it.
This year I will be president for the second time. My biggest problem is the lack of members who will volunteer for committees. I have put them on notice that if I don't get volunteers - I will start appointing members to committees. (grin) It worked at the last meeting. I needed volunteers for the nominating committee and got 4. Last year there was a committee of 1.
I will keep on this path to letting them know if no one volunteers - that I will appoint them. LOL

lbc

When I joined my Guild, I also attended my first meeting on my own and unfortunately had pretty much the same experience as you. There was, however, one person who made a point of talking with me. I did continue to go but dragged my friends with me so we now have a core group but the membership is starting to warm up. Getting involved and volunteering also will help you meet people and be included. I guess it just takes time but it is certainly an area all clubs should address. I think there are many people we lose because they are not comfortable when they first attend.

Quilter54

I felt that way at first at mine also, but kept going. It's been 4 yrs. I think now & have meet a lot of new friends.

jlm5419

I, too, am a little reticent when it comes to meeting new people, particularly when I know absolutely no one in the crowd. This is exactly the position I was in when I attended my first guild meeting last July. Officially, they welcomed guests, but few introduced themselves or made conversation with me that first meeting.

I joined right away, because I wanted to take advantage of the monthly classes they offered. Jumping right in to take the classes has made it a little easier to become acquainted with the other members. Each one becomes more comfortable.

Hang in there, it does get easier.

JUNEC

I have never been to a guild meeting - will have to see if there is one in the area.

AVQuilter

We had this same problem with our quilting guild...new members or guests feeling very alone. So my friend started a Big Sister program...it matches new members with a guild member who then guides her thru all that goes on there. The new members are called NewBees and Dee and I have our Bee outfits to welcome all. Quite humorous to say the least. All in fun and is a big help!!

RobertaMarie

I hope you will try again, as a guild can be a wonderful source of friends. Being shy can sometimes come across as standoffish, and people don't want to intrude, but that is no excuse for the members. I hear that about our guild, however, when I first went, I joined some ladies and offered to help. After that I was welcomed with open arms and have been active for many years. Getting involved is one of the best ways to make new friends. Our guild has many friendship groups because the guild is too large to have time to visit with all the members. Groups sometimes become a bit cliquish, and that is not good. We have one lady who works very hard to welcome newcomers and takes them into her group and they all have tons of fun. I used to be very shy, but found that speaking up and saying, "I am new here, so please show me around" will do wonders. Enjoy the meetings, and let them know who you are!!

cherrio

I live in N. E. Ohio and have not even heard of a guild around here. There are 5 quilt shops within 20 min of my front door so there has to be a guild somewhere. I am going to check out the LQS's and try to find out where else a guild might be advertised. I can't afford LQS prices but it would be nice to have a quilting buddy or two.