Guild Program

One that we had fun with was having each member bring her favorite "gadget" for quilting. Each person stood up and explained what it was and why they liked it.

I did a Golden Ratio talk that people really liked; maybe someone in your guild could take a shot at it. I gathered up stuff from all over the web; showed tons of pictures in nature and art where the ratio crops up and tied it in to simple quilt design rules for widths of sashings & borders. You just need a geeky quilter gets the math but can talk so non-math people "get" it.

susan k

If you're looking for a guest speaker -- we have someone here locally that is really growing in popularity. If I remember correctly -- she had a pattern in one of the quilt mags here recently. Her name is Edyta Sitar -- of Laundry Basket quilts. She did a presentation and a class for our guild -- and I highly recommend her.

I'll go back through my stuff to come up with some of our other programs that might work for you -- and post again later.

"Kate in MI" wrote... If you're looking for a guest speaker -- we have someone here locally that is really growing in popularity. If I remember correctly -- she had a pattern in one of the quilt mags here recently. Her name is Edyta Sitar -- of Laundry Basket quilts. She did a presentation and a class for our guild -- and I highly recommend her.

I'll go back through my stuff to come up with some of our other programs that might work for you -- and post again later.

We do an auction every couple of years. That is a bit of work but it's quite fun and we make some money for more speakers that way.

Last year we did 5 Quilters 5 Quilts (which I think Miz Ragmop had mentioned happening at her guild) I asked 5 different guild members to share 5 of their quilts at a meeting. I asked a couple of ladies to be quilt holders. It was really fun to see the variety of projects each had to share. They were told they got 10 - 12 minutes to show their quilts and talk. It was really popular!

One year we did First and Last Quilts. Members signed up to participate. Their first quilts were hung in the room and numbered tags were pinned on. Each person got a few minutes to talk about how they got started quilting and shared their latest quilt. At then end we got little ballots and had to try and match each person with their first quilt. I think the person with the most correct got a prize.

We haven't tried this one, but it was sent to me by a guild member. It was an idea from the County Line Quilters in Framingham MA. An Ugly Quilt Contest. It says to bring your ugly quilt (finished or not). The projects would be hung and members could vote for the ugliest quilt and for the quilt they'd like to take home. So, two winners for that one. It sounded fun.

marcella

Sharon, I live in KS too and last year I was Program chair of our Guild in Pittsburg. We had Edie McGinnis from the KC Star come and give a trunk show, she was wonderful. Elsie Campbell from Dodge, I think was terrific. We have lots of great artists here in Kansas that can give you great programs.

Your Guild probably belongs to the Heartland Quilt Network

They can really help you out.

Cindy > you can email me at snipped-for-privacy@cox.net if you want some more information

On Sun, 2 Aug 2009 18:27:30 -0500, Sharon wrote (in article ):

If someone in your guild does this, a program on basic fabric dying might be fun.

Maureen

We have had fun with the following:

Brown bag challenge. Anyone who wants to participate brings a UFO in a brown bag. If you bring one, you take one. They have three months to do something with the UFO. They don't have to finish it as the originator intended. A queen size quilt might become a table runner. On the designated completion night the program is showing a photo of what was in the bag and explaining how they finished it.

Ugly fabric challenge. Same as above but instead of a UFO it is just yardage or a fat quarter bundle of that fabric you haven't any idea why you bought.

Charity quilt groups. This only works if a member has a stash like mine that they are willing to share. I cut 6" squares from many different children's prints and bright mixers. (it would also work to ask each member to bring a set number of 6" patriotic squares and make quilts for soldiers.) The guild was divided into groups of five by drawing numbers (the goal was to mix the membership and make them meet different quilters rather than just talking to their friends) Each team was given a set of squares. At the meeting they had to layout the squares and decide on a crib size quilt. There were enough squares that they could make HST, etc. I took a photo of each layout. If someone from the team took the quilt home and assembled it they received credit for their charity donation for the year. All but one team had a willing volunteer. Three months later I again had the program and displayed the finished quilts talking about each design and why it was so great. I had collected all the leftover squares and made some really scrappy quilts, too. Both nights were fun. We really had not planned for the second night to be the full guild program but our guest speaker canceled at the last minute. It is good that I can talk about quilting for hours and sound like I know what I am talking about.

We usually don't sew at guild meetings because of the hassle of bringing machines and supplies but once in a while we make something like a bag or try a new technique.

Sampler night. Five or six guild members show a technique that really wouldn't take an entire evening to show like a 3D Bow tie or making a purse from a place mat. Each person sets-up a station in a different part of the room. Every ten minutes a bell rings and members switch stations. That way they can be close enough to see details that are hard to present to an entire group.

This year I am giv>Hi folks - I'm primarily a lurker, but I need your suggestions

We do a mini-workshop night. We have 6-8 people doing short demos of a technique/block/tool use. When everyone arrives, there is a coloured paper on her/his chair. When the workshops begin, they ask everyone to split into colour groups, and then start each colour at a different table. This makes sure that the groups are equal in size, and it also breaks up some of the "groups" who tend to talk through info! They ring a bell when the first round is done, and all the groups move clock-wise to the next table. It is great fun, and we end the night with lots of new info/hand-outs etc.

Hi Sharon, Welcome to the Land of RCTQ. We have fun here, no moderator, no rules. The only thing you really need to know is that it is very wise to have your chocolate vetted. Just send a pound or two to the Office of the Official Chocolate Taster of RCTQ, which is in my Palace here in Virginia. I will test and taste and report back via email. You don't have to thank me ... this is my unselfish volunteer duty in RCTQ. A tough job, but someone's gotta do it. :)

Now, here is a program that proved very popular in my guild. We had 5 or 6 representatives from Bees talk about their little groups. They covered the basics: what, when, where, why (special activities or interests) and other neat information. This was so popular at an Autumn meeting, a follow-up, with 6 other Bees represented, was scheduled for January. I was one of the reps. It was quick and easy for me to prepare, with input from my bee friends. It was really fun to hear how the other bees operate. Fun and economical.

Pat In Virginia/USA

Do try to book a program with Bonnie Hunter. She's enormously popular and she's really good.

We had Monique Dillard at our meeting yesterday -- wonderful quilt designs!

Cathy Miller, the Singing Quilter, is great fun.

We have a bucket raffle as a guild fundraiser. Members bring in quilt- related items they no longer want. They buy raffle tickets (25 cents or 5/$1) and enter to win things they'd like. (I'm not explaining that very well, am I?)

Another meeting is "quilter's schoolhouse" where members share specific techniques.

Our guild has about 90 members and monthly attendance of 45-50.

Nann