Saturday, July 11, 2015

The Guild Life

Having said farewell to all my Oregon friends (miss you guys!), moved to California, and gotten a job at a quilt store, it behooves me to check out the local quilt guilds in my area.  Lo and behold, there are four to choose from.  Such riches!

I am committed to visiting each one, just to see what they are about, but I may have already fallen in love with one group--they were just so welcoming.

African American Quilt Guild of Oakland
They meet on the 4th Saturday of every month, 1-3 pm


Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild
They meet on the 3rd Saturday of every month, 1-3 pm


East Bay Modern Quilters
They meet on the 4th Tuesday of every month, 6:30-8:30 pm


East Bay Heritage Quilters
They meet on the last Monday of every month, 6:30-9:00 pm

One might think, since East Bay Heritage Quilters (EBHQ) is so closely tied to the shop where I work (we are a drop-off site for their primary charity children's quilts: raw materials, pieced tops, and completed quilts), that I would be drawn to their vibe almost immediately.  Not so.  Granted, I visited during a meeting that featured their silent auction, so I may not be able to generalize, but I just wasn't sure that they are the group for me.


Is this love?  After attending one meeting of the African American Quilt Guild of Oakland, I made up the assigned charity block so I would be ready for next month's meeting.  And I didn't even have any orange left in my scraps, after having gone a little to the orange side in my recent Sew Together Bag; bought 2 fat quarters to make up this block.

What made me fall in love with this guild?  Well, I said before that I felt welcome from the minute I walked in.  The first twinge of "this is my vibe" came when I found out that each member has to make their own nametag.  And we're not talking
Clever, but pretty generic
Oh no, these are my kinda nametags: individualized, kooky, loaded with personality and creativity.  A window into each member's core of fabric-crazed being. 

I have two ideas already brewing for my nametag (see? and I'm not even a member yet)  Patterns I already have on hand...

pattern from Fabric Depot in Portland, OR
Teeny-tiny 3" blocks: see the crayons!!!
I will report back on the other two guilds, when their meeting times and my schedule finally line up.

For now, I am definitely going back to AAQGO--bringing my charity block with me.


What would be on your nametag?

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