Tuesday, June 1, 2010

More than a member



Belonging to a club or other organization has its benefits.  And I do love meeting other people with the same obsessions interests as me.  But now I am finding that there isn't a whole lot of local clubs I would like to join.  This has gotten me thinking about starting a small quilting group in my neighborhood.  I'm just trying to decide if the responsibility of running one is worth it.  And do I know, or can I find, enough people to join?  Is it going to be like my Wii Bowling League idea?  I thought of having bowling parties a few years ago when the Wii came out, and found that few of my friends were interested.  A bit of hope tho, I mentioned the idea again last week and now have quite a few people who want to sign up!  Anyone have any cool ideas for my team name?  
Wait!  How did I get off-track....  I really am looking for some tips and advice about starting a small guild.  Or just some good ideas of things to do?  What is your favorite thing about your guild and how did you get involved?

12 comments:

deserae said...

I blogged about your giveaway!

http://deseraequilts.blogspot.com/2010/06/fun-giveaway.html

Brooke said...

I blogged about your giveaway too. That Halloween fabric is to die for!

http://pitterputterstitch.blogspot.com/2010/06/jandis-giveaway.html

Sorry, no ideas for starting your own small guild, but good luck.

paulette said...

The best thing about my two quilting groups is the sharing...projects that we are working on or finished and sharing books, new tools, ideas, techniques etc. The group my friend belongs to they bring hand work to each others homes and stitch. The group I belong to we meet at a Quilt Shop and share and then one of the ladies demos a pattern. The other group I belong to we meet in a Community hall and hand quilt each others quilts (they are on frames)- we have about 15 ladies and we work on 3 quilts at a time.
Hope this helps...
Take care and good luck!
Paulette

Radka said...

Thank you for your kind comment on my blog.

Shelley said...

I love WII bowling and quilting with friends. Too bad I don't live near you! Start with a small group of quilting ladies in your home. I find 6 is a good number to fit around the table plus it gives enough to do projects together. I have belonged to our local guild for 10 years, don't find it stimulating and is very stressful as so many want to do it "their"way. I love my little group that meets every 2 weeks. Put a sign up at your local quilt shop with or maybe you already know 6 people who quilt and you would like to get to know better.

Nancy said...

I had a speaker contact me and ask if I would help her hold her quilts while she talked...and the guild was close to me and she thought I might like it...
I DID!! And paid my dues that day. Everyone was nice and friendly and EVERYONE introduced themselves that day! I have been a member two years now, have attended two retreats with them and just finished a year as vice-president...
I would love a smaller neighborhood group though and like you don't know how to get one started...

Kaye said...

I agree with Shelley, we have our local group the Lakeside Ladies. We also meet every 2 weeks and I love it. We taqke turns hosting and providing coffee and--. I enjoy it immensley. Sometimes we work all on the same project, other times we just bring something we are working on. The best part is the friendships that we have formed.We all had joined our local guild. I was a member for almost 4 years and it was no longer enjoyable. The pres was on an ego trip and very nasty. She acts like shes a boss. Too much politicing all around. Our group does show and tell, helps each other out and goes on a retreat to Lancaster in the fall. We shop, shop, shop and have lots of laughs. I am fortunate to have very talented and helpful people.

Asiyah said...

Like other commenters, I do not belong to a guild because of the politics involved. I do attend a quilt group that meets every two weeks in a church hall. There's always good eating and beautiful quilts to admire.

Good luck starting your group! I wish I had to time/energy to start one too.

Jennifer said...

Blogged about your giveaway here: http://craftyjennifer.blogspot.com/2010/06/fun-giveaway-at-jandi-in-stitches.html

And I would love to join a Wii bowling league! Not so great at bowling in real life but I can beat my inlaws and niece at Wii bowling. Think of the cute shirts you could have...

carmel said...

i blogged about your giveaway
www.mellowisme.blogspot.com

and i wish i had some kind of advice
but i live in israel and quilting is very much not developed here. i wish i was in the stats {where i belong...} and i could learn from all the experts. for now i just learn from blogs
thanks!

Anonymous said...

I blogged about your giveaway! You can find me at http://domesticdeb.blogspot.com/.

Liz said...

I blogged about your giveaway!

As for the guild, I say go for it--I don't join groups myself, but I bet that if you don't know enough quilters yourself, you might be able to find some through your local fabric/quilting stores or friends of friends!