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Quilters Consortium of New York State

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Spring 2021

Summer 2021

Fall 2021

Winter 2021

Winter 2020

How are guilds conducting meetings of groups more than 50?
  • Venues for both Endless Mountains and Piecemakers of Elmira are closed.
  • We have been trying to hold Zoom meetings to familiarize our members with that format and held an online trunk show in November with a speaker who had her own Zoom membership and program.
  • We currently not having meetings but have started a monthly newsletter with projects, photos of what members are doing, sharing recipes. Still fine tuning it.
  • Plans are being considered for Guild Zoom meetings.
  • “Webster Quilt Guild, thanks to the incredible creative thinking of our program chair, Diane Weisskopf, have conducted ‘Swing by, drop off, check in sessions. The sessions are limited to 2 hours during our normal meeting days.  
  • It allows us to charge member dues and still check in with our members, while keeping everyone safe and meeting state requirements. We are able to collect the donation quilts and items we are noted for as well as continue activities such as block of the month and show and tell through our Facebook page.
  • Plans are being considered for Guild Zoom meetings.
  • Although we have more than 50 members, we have not had more than 35 or so attend our zoom meetings. So far, this hasn’t been an issue for us.
  • We are not meeting at this time.
  • We are using zoom.
  • Genesee Valley Quilt Club has met only once (October) with about 45 attending. That meeting was live streamed on the club’s private FB group page and recorded and posted on the member only pages of the club website for those that didn’t want to watch on FB.  All other meetings were cancelled because location would not allow the club to assemble.
How do guilds raise funds, other than dues, with shows being canceled?
  • We are lucky to have a good financial cushion in both Endless Mountains and Piecemakers of Elmira.
  • We are still having a discussion regarding whether or not we will have a show in September 2021. If we decide to postpone it, we will have to discuss fund-raising opportunities.
  • No plans at this time.
  • Webster Quilt Guild hasn’t come up with any ideas — can’t wait to hear what everyone else is doing.
  • No plans at this time.
  • We have continued to ask members to pay their annual membership dues.
  • Since COVID, we have held 2 weekend classes with professionals for which there has been a fee. Since these classes have been online, we have opened up registration to more than our guild and have had attendance from across the country. 
  • We have a substantial cushion in our bank account so we have decided we can go a few years without a show and still remain solvent.
  • We are not focusing on fund raising at this time.
  • It is a problem right now.
When are canceled shows being re-scheduled? How long will they wait to decide?
  • Our Quilt Show Committee is still deciding whether or not to hold our Show in September.
  • At this time our next show will be the first weekend in June, 2022.
  • Webster Quilt Guild Show was rescheduled from this past April to October of 2021. 
  • We hope to keep to that date, but will work with the church where our show is help to move it again if needed.”
  • At this time our next show will be the first weekend in June, 2022.
  • We cancelled our 2021 show and have not yet decided when to reschedule. We have recently started working on our show/raffle quilt and figure we might as well get it done now, while people have time, even if the show is not for a year or two.
  • It is unlikely that we will hold our next show until 2022.
  • We have a show scheduled for May 2021.
  • Genesee Valley QuiltFest has rescheduled the 2021 show for 2022. All teachers, lecturers, and venue location were available.

Fall 2019

Does your organization or individual members participate in Quilts of Valor? If yes, how many quilts per year? If no, why not?
  • Our guild works on the Honor Flight quilts. We do approximately 160 quilts a year for that program. I believe a few members have made quilts for QOV.
  • Our guild does not participate in QOV since many of our members are also members in multiple guilds and other organization that do participate. No, our guild does not need additional info regarding QOV.
  • Yes, we have sewing events during the day to make these quilts. Last one was in August and we made approximately 16 quilts.
  • Yes, some members do participate. Unsure of total amount. Participation may be increased with more advertisement. We have had a table at our shows for the QOV. We have also had one of their representatives give a presentation at our meeting. We have had QOV quilts presented at our meeting.
  • Members participate individually. Occasionally the Community Service leaders have a red/white/blue quilt which they donate.
  • Quilts of Valor/Wounded Warriors: with quilts donated annually to Fort Drum. Six (6) donated last year. We have been making quilts for Fort Drum for many years.
  • No, we do not.
  • We have done as a service project, but not ongoing. Made perhaps 12 or 15.
  • As an organization we do not participate in the Quilts of Valor. It is possible that individuals may make quilts for QOV.
  • I recently joined QOV. I made two quilts last year.
  • We have but not in a while.
  • Yes, we support QOV. Some quilters donate fabric, some make tops, and some quilt them. Others make a specific quilt for a certain veteran. Sorry I don’t know the numbers as this is an ongoing process.
  • Our guild makes quilts for habitat of Ontario county families. One for each family member, & this year there’s three families.
  • A couple of our members make quilts for QOV, as a group we have chosen another service project.
  • n/a – but I have made blocks over the years to donate to this effort. The last one we did was made using a ‘tossed 9-patch’ pattern, keeping the center block a gold color, with patriotic R,W&B fabric completing the blocks.
  • Yes, 1-2 each year.
  • We have not done so yet, but are planning on it during this coming year.
  • We have donated quilts to this cause in the past. We are just organizing for this year and will ask the group about this.
  • No, we don’t do QOV but we donate quilts to Honor Flights in Syracuse, NY
  • No, not as a guild event. Some members may participate on their own or in connection with another group they belong to. Many members already donate significantly to the Children’s home, Victim’s Assistance Center and Hospice.
  • We do not as we know other guilds in our area participate in making quilts of valor. Our charity quilts go to other organizations.
  • YES, our quilts go to the local VA Hospital.
  • We do not participate in Quilts of Valor. Some of our members also belong to a guild who does and they are close by. Some of our members donate to that group. No one has come forward to organize that particular project.
We have emergency contact number of each member of our guild - do other guilds? Who would you contact if a member at a meeting needed emergency medical attention?
  • 9-1-1
  • No, but good idea.
  • We do have an emergency number for each member it is on the membership form when they fill out their membership. We have 2 spread sheets for membership- one for members information only and other one for officers that shows the emergency # contact.
  • No, we do not have emergency contact numbers for each member of our guild. This type of information is very personal, private and for security reasons, our membership has chosen not to accumulate this information. Also, there is the responsibility of who keeps this information, the president? and what if she is not available, does she have to give this information to someone else to keep for purposes of the meeting? If a member at a meeting needed emergency medical attention, we would contact 911. Their name will be provided and the medical services can contact the family if there is no one at the meeting that has that information readily available. For the most part we know are membership well enough that someone will have a phone number to contact their family.
  • We have home and cell numbers. Emergency 911 and try to contact a family member, ask the ill member if possible. As with other guilds. Members may have friends or neighbors or family at mtgs that may be able to help
  • I don’t believe so.
  • N/A
  • Yes we have an emergency contact number for every member. Depending on the emergency we would either call the family or 911 then the family.
  • We do not have emergency numbers for members of our guild. What a great idea.
  • We would send out an email or phone each member if necessary.
  • We have a space for emergency contact on our membership form. Also, we know each other pretty well and friends know who to contact. We meet a block from the Hospital.
  • We do not have an emergency contact # for our members. Great idea though.
  • We have never addressed this.
  • No we do not do this, but good idea.
  • No, we don’t. Many of us are good friends so in that case someone would know who to call (spouse, child, etc.) but otherwise, we wouldn’t know.
  • We have a roster of phone numbers and email addresses of our group. When we travel as a group, we have emergency information with us. The fact that we are long time friends also means we are aware of health issues and resources.
  • We have a member roster with the home number of all our members. Most people come to meetings with friends who would know who to contact in an emergency, and most carry a cell phone that hopefully has an ICE number. A board member would handle an emergency.
  • We only have an emergency contact when we are on retreat or a bus trip.
  • Yes, when we are going on a bus trip.
  • No.
  • We do not have an emergency contact number for our members, but I will bring it up at our next meeting, it is a great idea.
Does your organization have a membership list/address book? How do you make it available to the membership?
  • We have a membership list spreadsheet that is available in November (our year runs Sept to June.) Hard copies for those whom don’t have printers will be available at Nov. meeting and an electronic copy goes out in newsletter in Nov. and Monthly additions are posted in the newsletter for member changes and new members. Updated Electronic copies revised and sent out in newsletter 3 times a year- up to members to update their lists in-between times.
  • Yes! We have a Guild Directory which contains the address, email, and phone of each of our members. It is available to the membership by email, paper copy or through the guild’s facebook page.
  • Yes, we provide it in print form for our members.
  • Each member has the list of members with home address, email address and phone numbers.
  • The membership list is available online for members to print out themselves. Those who do not have computers are given a printed list once a year. Updates of new members are published in the monthly newsletter for us to add throughout the year.
  • Yes, available to members only on the Guild website. Copies are sent by email to a handful of members who don’t have internet access.
  • Yes, we do, but due to privacy concerns we do not share our mailing list.
  • Yes, it is available in print and online with a password for our members.
  • Yes, online or print (if requested.)
  • Membership list is available by email.
  • Update the membership list a month after dues are paid. A copy of the list with addresses, phone numbers and summer/winter info is printed and given to each member. Officers get updates during the year.
  • We do and once members have paid their dues the directory is emailed to all members.
  • We provide members with a print copy as often as we update our list.
  • yes, and made available to the membership
  • Yes, it’s on the members only section of our website. We also print paper copies for those who do not have easy access to the website.
  • Each year we update this and give each member a copy.
  • Yes, we have a directory. It’s published at least once a year in our newsletter, and sent by email.
  • Yes, we have a membership list with addresses, phone numbers and email. We make it available to all members, but only for use as it relates to the guild. We had a member use the list to solicit donations for a charity from members and we had to tell her that was not permitted and tell the guild it was a unauthorized use of the list.
  • Yes. We share it with all members.
  • Yes, we do one every other year with name, address, phone number, email address, spouses name, date you joined the guild and any other information you would like other members to have.
  • Our group does have a membership list. It is organized in a spreadsheet and the list is e-mailed to our members once or twice a year. A printed list is available if one is needed.
  • I’m not an online shopper yet…could be dangerous…LOL Most of the time I wait for sales, unless it is something new, I want to try.
  • All kinds of items are purchased on-line by our membership from fabric, notions, books, classes, batting, equipment, rulers, tools, etc. Most of our members would like to think they wait for a sale because most have lots of items (unfinished objects (UFOs)) to keep them busy, but the truth is they love to buy something that’s new whether it is on-line or they find it elsewhere.
  • a) fabric, batting, thread, notions. b) sometimes a sale, sometimes when necessary.
  • I purchase what intrigues me. Being on sales adds to the incentive.
  • I know a lot of our members shop online but I don’t. I want to touch and see the real item before I buy and support my local shops.
  • All kinds of members buy all kinds of things for all kinds of reasons.
  • Some of our members purchase online, but most purchase quilting items at local quilt shops.
  • a) Members buy everything you can imagine online – from material to tools to embellishments. b) both and just because it is fun to surf the net.
  • We are conscious of our local quilt shops and order what we can through them.
  • fabric, usually a special theme or print that I cannot find locally – but I try to purchase from New York State based businesses, who sell on-line. Usually I buy when I have a project I am working on – just recently I made Market Bags (in lieu of using plastic shopping bags) for a friend who was getting married and loved the arts – I used Van Gogh and Gustav Klimt panels.
  • We buy everything – yarn, needles, thread, fabric, notions, fusibles. Buy as needed or on sale – or second hand fiber arts store
  • I have no idea, personally I wait for a sale. I don’t know what others do.
  • Members buy quilting supplies, books, batting, some fabrics online. We buy as needed but word about sales gets spread to the group.
  • a) fabrics, kits, rulers
    b) most buy because they need something they cannot find locally and it is needed right away
  • Members buy everything related to quilting online. Some buy with a sale, some buy because they need the item and it is not available locally.
  • Members buy all kinds of quilting items online. Yes, they use sales and emails to go to certain website.
  • We usually use JoAnn coupons.
  • We are a diverse group and there are many members who buy quilting items, wool, yarn and books online. Some members buy things that they see from a class or a demo and some wait until they see a sale online.
How do I get the guild to be more interested in contributing to to the opportunities offered by the Consorium? i.e., applying for scholarships, making the Wee Quilts, buying passports, etc.?
  • I think the Representatives have to get a little more excited about some of these things when they are presenting them.
  • We are having a quilt show April 10-11, 2020. As part of this show, we have been creating a raffle quilt (proceeds to be provided to a local charity and the guild for future endeavors). To create the raffle quilt, the guild members were asked to make a block (8 1/2″) and were encouraged to make another to expand into a 10″ block to make a wee quilt for the Best in New York show hosted by the Consortium. The QCNYS representatives have encouraged involvement in the QCNYS at ever meeting. The efforts have resulted in members receiving scholarships and reporting back to the guild, informing the guild of the benefits and fun of QCNYS sponsored trips and encouraging the purchase of passports.
  • As a new guild representative, I need more detailed information about these opportunities of involvement in order to get my guild to participate.
  • Remind members at monthly mtgs and pass info when received. We did really well with passports this yr. Our guild provided them for our members who wanted one. (54). I know some may have contributed Wee Quilts. May need to provide more info to members about Wee Quilts. Seems mtgs are so busy that even though the above items may be mentioned, it may get lost in the amount of info given at a mtg.
  • I talk myself blue every month and get little response. Ann, come to one of our meetings and spread some of your contagious enthusiasm!
  • Last year’s rep was very helpful in informing members of opportunities we didn’t previously know about. Now, as the new rep to QCNYS, not sure I have much to offer yet. But, I am writing articles for our monthly newsletter to help members become more aware of Consortium opportunities. Also will be making timely announcements at meetings.
  • If anyone knows the answer to this or has any ideas, let us know.
  • I don’t’ believe that our representatives do a good job of explaining the purpose of Wee Quilts, buying passports, scholarship opportunities, attending meetings, attending Best of NY Quilt Show….In my opinion, they aren’t good representatives but they have volunteered to do it.
  • At each meeting I remind members about the passports when they are available. I also remind them to go online to apply for scholarships. After each Consortium meeting, I give a full report.
  • We have trouble getting our members to do most things, not sure what the answer is but would love to know.
  • Anyone who participates talks up their experience. That generates interest for the next opportunity from the consortium. Enthusiasm of the delegates helps, also.
  • I truly don’t know, as each month I share information with guild and only a portion of the guild actually participates
    pass out consortium membership cards, sell passports, reminder in every monthly newsletter
  • I don’t know.
  • As delegate I share my notes from all QCNYS meetings with the board.
  • I also give a little chat at guild meetings AND give each attendee a slip of paper with pertinent info. We send emails to members if something comes up between meetings, or as reminders.
  • We encourage members to apply for scholarships, buy Passports, and make Wee Little Quilts- having offered a chance prizes for doing so this past spring.
  • The leadership of the group has to buy in to the consortium’s goals first. Then the group has to make a commitment to these goals. Just giving information seems to go over their heads. The idea of the Consortium seems to come from a small group of leaders. It is hard to get delegates to buy in let alone local guilds. I think the question should be why would local guilds want to have a consortium. The answers should come from them. If a “felt need” could be identified from guild members I think things could move along and be more relevant.
  • Deep talking about the opportunities at every meeting. Put it in the newsletter.
  • I’m really not sure, info is told to them and no one asks questions.
  • If someone gets the answer to this question, I would like to know! I have a printed hand-out that we have available at each meeting with the Consortium’s contact information, FB page listed, etc. and an explanation of what the Consortium’s is all about.
  • At each meeting, I give a Consortium report & notify the members of each announcement and put the information in our Newsletter and on our FB page. We hand out the Consortium membership cards every year and offer to car-pool to the meetings and often explain that it is a great organization and a wealth of knowledge is obtained at each meeting. When Pam Capen came to do a trunk show at one of our meetings, we asked her to talk about the Consortium as well

Summer 2019

What is the governance structure of your organization? (i.e., what positions are elected, who is appointed.) How often do you elect new officers and how long do they serve? How do you recruit/nominate candidates?
  • Co-chairs, treasurer, secretary – board positions 2 yr positions. Alternating years for co-chairs going off: programs, Hospitality, membership, Newsletter, sunshine, Historian, long term programs, Kidney and honor flight and community service projects, quilt show, Nominating committee, QCNYS delegates. We are having big issues getting anyone to volunteer for any positions – can’t even get a nominating committee
  • We elect president, president elect, secretary, treasurer, program chair and junior program chair. All other positions are volunteer/appointment. President is a two-year term, president elect is a one year term, secretary and treasurer are two year terms. Program chair and junior programs are one year. We call all members and talk to everyone personally. We don’t have luck asking for volunteers.
  • Pres/co-Pres, Treasurer, Secretary – 2-year term. We try to have a co person on each year that takes over or runs when the first person’s term is up.
  • no officers
  • (a.) Elected: President or co-presidents, treasurer, secretary, vice president-programs, vice president-membership. Appointed: newsletter, sunshine-and-shadow, hospitality, consortium delegate. (b.) Annually; they may serve multiple terms. (c.) Nominating committee.
  • Technically we have elected positions but no one wants to be an officer or on committees. Most terms are 2 years and if more than one person is on the committee, we try to have the term staggered, so that it’s not 2 totally new people to the committee at the end of the term. I wish we had a program like Chair Elect, or Quilt Show Elect…so that a person can work closely with the current officer and then the following year (or two if Quilt Show) take charge. Our current chair person has threatened to put every body’s name in a hat and whomever gets drawn will be chair
  • Very loose as far as organization, positions appointed or just agreed upon by members.
  • (a) Co-Presidents, Co-Vice Presidents who become Presidents after two years, Treasurer, Recording and Correspondence secretaries, a variety of others who are responsible for the diverse activities. Main officers are elected, others are appointed. (b) Yearly election of officers of those coming on new, and Presidents and Vice Presidents serve for 2 years, others are undetermined. (c)Nominations committee recruit the slate with volunteers for an office.
  • (a) Our governance includes an Executive Committee – President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. The appointed positions are Program and Membership Chair. (b) The Board of Directors includes the Executive Committee, both the Program and Membership chair and the Quilt Show Chair. The board reflects the committee positions that have a direct financial impact on the Guild. Our typical term is two years, we currently have two people on the executive committee that have served 3 and 4 years. Our governance is evolving due to our quest to become a not for profit 501c-3 organization. (c) A nominating committee is created each March to recruit candidates for office. The names are submitted for a guild vote in May. The newly elected officers begin their term at the beginning of the following guild year.
  • We have formal by-laws. We elect for a two-year term in May. A nominating committee recruits volunteers for the positions.
  • a.) We have new officers every year with the exception of the Treasurer. b.) Someone in the guild will say that they would like to hold the office. c.) The president-elect chooses her officers.
  • (a) We have a president, treasurer, secretary, hospitality chairwoman, 2 program planners, sunshine and shadows monitor, comfort quilts/outreach person and 2 QCNYS delegates. (b) Our terms are 3 years t match our every 3rd year quilt show. (c) To fill offices, we first ask for volunteers, then cajole – and finally beg.
  • Our president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer positions are voted on yearly. At election time, anyone can express an interest to serve and are added to the ballot.
  • We have a President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Corres. Secretary, Treasurer and Historian. Our Pres. And V.P. are one year terms. Every year, the V.Pres. moves up to President and we nominate a new V.P. and any other open position. At this point, our Treasurer and Historian have remained the same for a few years. We have a Nominating Committee of one person who “gently encourages” members to take on the new positions
  • The office of president, Vice President, secretary and treasurer are all elected by popular vote. Each serves a one year term. The president and secretary are elected in alternate years to the Vice President and treasurer. All other posts are appointed or volunteer: quilt show chair, communications (website, newsletter and social media), membership, welcoming, etc. We use the personal approach to recruit candidates
  • Most of our officers volunteer
  • (a) Elected President, VP, Secretary, Treasurer. Program Chair (b) President, VP, Program Chair 2yrs, Sec, , Treas, 1 yr for a total of 4 consecutive yrs (c) Nominating Committee composed of the Board
  • All positions elected, every two years with a four year maximum. We have a nominating committee who ask perspective candidates or anyone can always volunteer.
  • We elect a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Newsletter, Community Outreach and Library Chair. We hold elections every year but terms are for two years (more if no one volunteers). We are a small Guild of 25 members. We do recruit a nominating committee to find new officers.
  • Elected: President, First and Second Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer. Other positions appointed by President. Chosen by nominating committee.
  • The teams that manage the club activities are the Executive Committee and the Board Of Directors. The Executive Committee consists of five (5) club members, President, Vice President, Treasurer, Recording Secretary, and Membership Chair. They are responsible for the day to day operations of the club. The Board Of Directors has thirteen (13) members which include the five sitting officers (Executive Committee), seven (7) at-large members, and one (1) Past Executive Committee Officer. The function of the Board is to oversee the long-term direction of the club in accordance with the constitution and bylaws of the club. All positions, except the Board Chairperson, are voted on by the membership. The Board Chairperson is elected by the Board. Though term length varies, elections are held once a year in April with officers and new Board members assuming their duties in May immediately following the induction ceremony.GVQC was incorporated in 2000 and is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit public benefit corporation.
    Answers to B and C are outlined in Club constitution. There is a nominating committee, members of which are specified in constitution. Terms of service are specified in constitution. As we are a large club, there is a larger pool of candidates from which to draw (although those that meet the criteria outlined in the constitution certainly means a smaller pool.)
  • (a)We elect new officers every year, but they alternate – one year president and secretary; next year VP and Treasurer. Therefore, there is always a ‘history’ on the board.
    (b)By our bylaws, we have a nominating committee every year. The recruitment depends on the nominating committee so varies from one year to the next.
    (c)Elected positions, via bylaws: Pes. VP/Program Chair’ Secretary; Treasurer. Appointed is newsletter editor. Currently, the practice is NOT following the bylaws.
  • Personal invitation to be a committee chair or board member. Great mentoring for the job – it is overwhelming if you don’t know how to organize everything you have to do
  • 2-year terms for Pres, Sec, Treasurer. Nominating committee
  • Generally they are two year terms and we have a nominating committee.
  • The elected positions are President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. The term are 1 year, except for the treasurer is 2 years. Our group is relatively new, and last year was the first year for officer changes. It is primarily, who volunteers and we have just had 1 person volunteer for each spot.
  • Currently there are no appointed positions, and the committees determine who will be the focal point among themselves
  • Board positions are supposed to be elected, but we never have more than 1 person interested or willing to take the job… therefore, haven’t had an election that I can recall. Board positions are 2-year terms (President, 1st & 2nd VP’s, Secretary & Treasurer) Currently, we are in need of a 1st VP and no one has volunteered, so if left unfilled, we will not have programs at our meetings, as that is the job of the 1st VP. We find it very difficult to get board positions filled. Same people keep filling the board positions.
  • We have an elected President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary. Officers serve for 1 year and can be re-elected once before they must move out of that role. We have 12 or 13 other committees each headed by a member and with varying numbers of committee members. Annually, we have a nominating committee to recruit officers and we have committee sign-ups at one or two of our regular meetings. Lately, it has been difficult to get new members to become active on committees. As in many organizations, it seems like much of the work is shouldered by a few members.
  • Very very loose Roberts rule. we have problems to get volunteers for offices and committees, haven’t had to vote in years- never any competition. co chairs 2 years, Programs 2 yrs, long term programs 3 yrs, with alternating years so there is always one person on from previous year there are 3 on this committee. Sec. 2 yrs. Tres. 2 yrs-Thats me I’ve been on 10 + years News letter 2yrs, Hospitality 2 yrs Delegates 2 yrs.etc… a few of the positions stay filled with the same people ( like me Tres. and Delegates)
  • We are considering by laws but do not have any now. We elect officers every two years. We ask for volunteers to serve. Outgoing officers talk to members to have all positions filled.
  • We don’t have a governance structure beyond a president, secretary and treasure. The president is the organizer and recruits help as needed. We are a small group of quilters who just want to quilt together. We don’t want to get formal with our structure. When the president wants out we will find someone else…hopefully.
  • Our governance consists of 4 elected officers (President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer) and three appointed positions (Membership Chair, Program Chair and A Member at Large) to create our seven (7) member board of directors. We form a three-person nominating committee in January, slate of candidates is presented in April and voted in May. Typical tenure is two years.
What is the average age of your organizations membership? Ours is pretty much "vintage." Ideas on recuirting new or younger members? What does your organization offer to entice them to join?
  • We developed a one-page flyer to leave at shops, libraries and at our quilt show to recruit new members. We also started a Facebook page and have information on it about membership – got 2 new members that way
  • We held a demo event at our local Barnes & Noble bookstore last year on National Quilting Day. We brought samples of our work, some quilting samples and a full-sized quilt to display and we gave out coupons from a local quilt store and a brochure for our Guild with the dates and location of upcoming meetings. We also invite our members to bring a friend to our meetings. The local newspaper lists our meetings monthly in the Event Calendar. We try to schedule modern quilting speakers at least once a year
  • we have a vintage guild also. Maybe have a quilting day with daughters/granddaughters/bring a friend, have a community quilting workshop- not sure what to teach – small project – Free – Sign up to register.
  • Schedule meetings on weeknights and weekends. Make meetings and events accessible via Zoom video conferencing. Daycare option for young parents. Advertise at libraries, museums, community center. Create posters about meetings not just about your quilt show.
  • Our guild is vintage. We meet mornings, so that leaves out working people without flexible hours. Our show is a good opportunity to recruit new members.
  • Our guild has a day meeting on odd months and an evening meeting on even months. This gives day job people a chance to participate.
  • We have a good range of ages from 20s to 70s. We have about 20-25 members and we have been adding people through word of mouth. I think one of the draws to our guild is that we meet at night so those who work can still make a meeting
  • Average age I would say is 55, we are small and add members by word of mouth and through Patchwork Plus newsletter.
  • Our guild is mostly 50+, we do have a few youngsters but we are not getting any younger. I am no longer a programs person but I think it would be nice to have a bring a child of say over 8 or 9 for a fun workshop and make an easy quilt. We need to pass on some of our skills to keep the quilt movement going.
  • We are “vintage” too. We do pick up a lot of interest at our quilt show and when we take our raffle quilt out to venues around town
  • Many aging members but new blood is evident. Challenges seem to be well received but many members seem to occupy a chair only.
  • Average age is over 60. There has been no organized effort to recruit new members of any age. Our membership form was available for visitors to pick up at our quilt show.
  • Most of the members of our guild are retired. We meet at night in order to attract new members.
  • Our guild is experiencing the same as far as an aging membership. We seem to be holding steady at between 90 and 100 members, which seems to be a good number for us. There are new members and those are still working full time outside of their homes. We also have many ‘snow birds’. Even though our meeting is on a Friday during the day, we do have a small group that work at an evening meeting as well. We have just finished our brochure for new members and have placed it at several public locations around our surrounding communities. (Public Library, Schools, Local Grocery, Sewing Machine Repair Shops) We offer an opportunity to serve as most of our members work on various charity projects in support of the local community.
  • We are mostly oldsters, but recently have gained a few younger members. I think this is because we embrace all types of quilting from traditional to modern.
  • We are one of the few clubs that meets in the evenings so we attract quilters who are still working. The group is largely retired and over 60.
  • Vintage, partly because we meet during the day
  • All guilds I’m sure have their elders. We use currant members to ask friends, & also we promote our guild at our bi-annual quilt show
  • Our average age is about 65. We are offering a “bring a friend to the meeting” this fall when we resume our meetings. We have also tried making some small sewing project kits to do at a meeting to entice more members to attend. We’ve also hosted open sew days usually on a Saturday to encourage people to come and check us out.
  • Approximately 60.
  • I am a business and wish I had an answer to this question. I’m noticing the same thing as I vend at shows that we need younger members.
  • When I first started in guilds, I was in my 40s and considered young. Am 60 now and still younger than many but no longer the youngest.
  • Varied with many vintage members. We have a youth night in the Spring. Members bring those interested to a meeting as a guest.
  • I’ve not queried the board or the guild at large about this. I believe our membership’s average age is probably about 40-45 years old. We’ve not done any recruiting per se. At a show…we gave incentive of $ off membership when attending show. Many took advantage of this, our first meeting after the show was FULL of never before seen folks…but, not after that. Our meeting wasn’t compelling enough for new members to return OR our meeting date (Friday evening) was too problematic for new members. Or…perhaps another reason. But, good incentive but no ‘sticking’ power.’
  • We are also “vintage.” We have attracted new members while selling raffle quilt tickets and at our show
  • Ours is older as well. Some members bring their grandchildren.
  • Probably 60ish. We have monthly meetings in evening so those who work can attend.
  • Also vintage with a few younger. Ideas: We are looking to get involved in the Cosplay Boom! Looking to have Child Birthday Parties, attend Girl Scout and other types of organizations. Up-cycling is big with the younger generation
  • Our group is ages running from late 20s thru late 70s. We will be having a 10-year old join in September and we are looking at waiving the fee for anyone under 16. This is to be discussed among the officers during the summer
  • The average age is about 60. Yougest member is probably 45 – oldest, close to 90. We generally pick up new members after we have a quilt show. Some come to a few meetings and others stay on and become active members.
  • Vintage members. We have been discussing having a youth sign-up for a workshop
  • Our membership has increased. We think this is due to the fact that we meet at 10AM. We had a lot of interest following our quilt show.
  • Ages range from 30-40’s to late in life. The group maintains constant in membership, gained more this coming year. We meet during the day, so that makes it difficult to acquire younger, working members. We are a welcoming group, have interesting speakers and teachers of workshops with a variety of styles and interest in quilting. Picnic in June and Christmas party in Dec. which are a lot of fun stuff
  • We, too, are older women. Grandmothers bring their grandchildren. Our guild hasn’t really been concerned with issue, although we are aware of it
  • we would be in the range of 60 – 70 years average. We have maintained our membership numbers even though monthly meetings attendance is typically about 2/3rds of paid members. When asked this is due to working,vacations, family obligations etc. We are publishing our activities utilizing social media and some forms of print. We also encourage guests especially during our more lively programs.
Would you like to know more about how to start your own quilting business? long arming? quilts? services/lectures? and do you think there is a need for mentoring for new quilt business owners?
  • Mentoring is always good.
  • No
  • Mentoring would be a very good idea for new quilt business owners, plus create more connections within our existing quilting world
  • It might be interesting to hear how quilting businesses got off the ground. Was it word-of-mouth or a concerted effort?
  • I don’t need to learn more about starting my own business, maybe how to expand it, maybe better use of internet, maybe using Instagram or do a blog, maybe help in establishing prices & collecting from customers, use of PayPal or other electronic payment plans, mailing packages from home and not having to go to Post Office, maybe do a brochure, etc.
  • Not applicable
  • At this time, none of us are interested in going into business. All small business openings are risky, but mentoring sounds like it would be helpful.
  • Not at this point. We have had 2 local shops close in the past 5 yrs.
  • N
  • Absolutely think that there is a need to mentor new quilt business owners.
  • No but there are some of our members that have quilt related businesses.
  • Would be a positive idea but I think it could be done offsite and not part of a meeting
  • Having a business mentoring group would be wonderful. Sharing ideas and learning new ways to approach business is always helpful
  • I feel very strongly that QCNYS needs to have mentor opportunities for not only new business owners but for all business owners. The goals, trends and challenges of running a business never end and it is important to not get stale. Hopefully Business2Business will help.
  • Not really for our group.
  • I would like to participate in the Business Group!
  • We have several people who have long arm businesses, but so far no one has mentioned wanting to know more about opening a business
  • While I’m not personally interested in this, I suspect we may have a few members who would be interested.
  • Yes, we have a couple members who have long-arms and ma want info on starting their own business. Mentoring… absolutely!
  • we do have some members who have their own business. There might be a need for mentoring for interested persons wanting to start their own business
  • We have services set up for long arming. We have one quilt store in our area that is not really open to help from our experience. We do use information about teachers that we get from QCNYS and invite neighbor guilds to events.
  • We have a few Longarm quilters in our Guild that have shared info.
Some guilds are having a difficult time finding venues for their quilt shows. Would your guild be interested in combining/sharing shows in one large venue?
  • We are located far away from most guilds. Our venues are working for us.
  • not sure, so far we have been able to secure a location for our shows.
  • Since we are so small we don’t rent out a space. Patchwork Plus has bee letting us use their classroom for our Quilt Show.
  • Sounds good to me but I’m only one. I’ll take the Q back to the Board and get some feedback.
  • I don’t believe we would be interested. There was some talk a couple of years ago and it never went any place. It’s a control thing.
  • We are a small guild and have not had a show in the past few years. We had a one-day show at the church which was very successful. We do not have quilt racks and had to rent them.
  • We partner with a local church and have had great success. It allows us to have a show with vendor space that isn’t so big that it is overwhelming. I will post the question to our members but I believe participation would drop if they have to travel any distance or the show area was too large.
  • We use our members as the source of our show venue. We started in our meeting space, but outgrew it. Since then we have used churches. That means our show is Friday and Saturday only, not on Sunday. I very much doubt guilds would want to colaborate or combining shows.
  • RAFA is always interested in new venues for shows and displays. We would take any offer or idea into consideration.
  • Not applicable
  • Could be interesting if the parking would not be an issue.
  • Because we are so small we haven’t had a show in several years.
  • Not at this time.
  • Our communities host 1st Friday Art walks, several venues have hosted quilt shows for some smaller guilds. Also, historical societies or museums will show quilts in conjunction with some of their activities, i.e. The Roberson’s Home for the Holidays feature trees decorated by various groups, and quilts adorn the walls as a backdrop. Also several trees are decorated by local guilds – quilt, stitching, fiber arts…
  • I, personally, think would be a great idea. the NYS Fairgrounds and other places mentioned are not really appropriate for us but…partnering is always a good thing.
  • This is a great idea! Designate sections in the bigger space for each guild to have their show inside of the larger venue… then the guild can showcase their guild’s quilts the way they want… have one price for admission and split profits and expenses.
  • Fortunately, we do not have that problem. Our school district has been very accommodating.
  • So far, we have been able to find a location. We have just had one show, and at this moment, we would like to keep it small
  • We do a bi-annual show at a local community college. We’re pretty satisfied with that arrangement and are not looking to change it.
  • We alternate with another guild in our area. We have a big show and could not combine with another guild.
  • Possibly
  • We are fortunate to have a church hall that is perfect for the size of our show. We did use a school once but found it was very broken up. The members would need to vote on sharing a location of the size suggested.
We are looking for a new place to have our meetings> We currently have a monthly meeting in the evening at an elementary school - caytime classes in a church 4x/year. Where, when and pros & cons of your group's current meeting place please.
  • Meet at the American Legion in Horseheads. The room is huge and the lighting is superb.
  • Meet in a church, the room is a good size and the lighting very good for classes
  • We meet in two churches…one for our meetings where we have storage and access to the kitchen. Our workshops are held in a different church which is a bit bigger for our workshops and we have storage and access to their kitchen. We are very fortunate.
  • We meet at a Library in their community room. It is a great location with parking, plenty of tables and chairs and they have AV equipment if we need it.
  • We are very small, we meet at Patchwork Plus Quilt Shop, in their classroom. It is a great location, they let us shop after the meeting even though the store is closed (some of our members work there.)
  • We meet the odd Thursdays from September to June in our public library’s large meeting room. On the first Thursday, social time is 9:15, business meeting starts at 10. For classes/workshops, setup at 9:15, usually on the third Thursday. Any fifth Thursday is a service project day, setup at 9:15.
    Pros: the room is large enough for our group; library is a central location with easy access; kitchenette adjoining.
    Con: daytime meetings don’t accommodate people who work full time.
  • We meet at a state-owned facility, no rent. We meet on Saturday mornings which is better for most drivers who don’t want to drive at night.
  • We meet in the evening at a Senior Center. We have workshops and classes there on a Saturday or in the evening.
  • We meet in a church from 6:00PM – 8:00PM and have Saturday sews. Our biggest challenge is not having enough outlets for our machines. Since we are a mission of the church, we do not have to pay for insurance.
  • We meet in a local church gymnasium and have been there for many years. We did look at other locations, but this one is perfect for our needs. They also provide services that are needed – such as meeting set up and tear down of tables.
  • Our evening group, which is a small group meets in a conference room at the goodwill store. We have also used the public library here on occasions
  • We meet in the building our town has that is home base for park maintenance. The space is free to use for us nights and weekends, but has limited the size of our guild to 55 members, maximum. At times we have a waiting list.
  • We hold our meetings in a church basement. The rent is very reasonable. There are stairs to navigate. If we were to have a large class or presentation, we might have to use a different location as our meeting room is a medium sized area.
  • Our organization has been meeting in a local church hall once a month. At least two of our Guild members belong to the church. We pay a monthly rental fee for use of the facility. They provide set-up of the tables. They have a kitchen available, and a stage with a podium.
  • We meet in a local church hall. It has a kitchen and storeroom we use but no media options (like a projector or WiFi).
  • In a Temple meeting hall, located in a fairly central part of Monroe County which means it is fairly central to the are from which we draw most of our membership, Genesee Valley. Drawbacks, we have to pay for it!
  • We meet at a local church. We meet on the 1st Tuesday of the month (September-June) at 6:30PM for a social time with meetings starting at 7 to 9 or so. and we are lucky to have another church that lets us hold our community service work shops that is a good size and has enough power outlets for all of us.
  • We meet the third Monday of the month at a local Baptist Church. They are very accommodating but we meet in the basement with an awkward type of lift
  • I have gone to some quilt guilds that have hosted classes at retirement community centers/nursing homes.
  • Library, churches, firehalls, senior centers, community rooms in town halls – sometimes all it takes is someone to be a member or taxpayer in the community to use the room.
  • We meet in a church. As we have a member who is also a member of the church…the big benefit is NO facility usage fee. We DO support the churches missions such as local Food Pantry and other things.
  • Meeting room at library, odd Thursdays, 9-3. First Thursday is business meeting, third is workshops, fifth is service project. Pros: library is central, easy access and room large enough. Cons: day meeting difficult for working folks.
  • We meet on the 4th Wednesday evening each month at 6:30pm, at the elementary school during the school year and at the Arts Center during the summer. This seems to work well. If school closes because of weather, we have to cancel our meetings, as well. Although frustrating, it’s probably a good measure of whether our members should be driving our not! We have a monthly quilting day, held at the Town Center. Fabulous open space with tables and chairs to arrange as we see fit, with a kitchen attached with great counter space for cutting fabric. We also use the space for classes.
  • We have a church and a quilt shop that offers space for our classes.
  • We currently have our meetings at the Fairport Baptist home, which is working fine for us. We sometimes have classes there also. They have a community room for the meeting and when we have classes there is a conference room in the basement. This works for us, and they don’t charge us because we are non-profit. The minus side of this is, it is always warm there. We have found another space, Aspenleiter Vacuum and sewing repair shop, that has a great place. They do charge us. We have special meeting there, which holds around 75 people, for classes we limited to 15, so that everyone has their own table.
  • We meet at a local senior center. Advantages: centrally located, good space, relatively inexpensive. Disadvantages: limited parking
  • We meet at the local high school for meetings. Pro is that it is free! No cons…except maybe can’t have a glass of wine at the meetings….LOL For our classes, we were meeting on Saturdays at the local community center….currently under renovation….our stuff is now in storage….hoping to be back there this winter…no guarantee that our storage space will still be available.
  • we meet the first Tues. night of the month Sept-June at 6:30 social time, 7:00 meeting starts. We meet at an area church. We also have another church we have our workshops at- we are able to stay longer time there. I would like to meet in the summer months and take a break Jan and Feb.
  • We meet at a local VFW post each month on the second Wednesday 10-1. We have workshops from 1-3 the same day and sometimes the next day. Our current location is air conditioned and on ground level – no stairs. This makes it a good meeting place. The only negative is limited storage for any items the guild wants so we got rid of our library.
  • We meet in the Fayetteville United Methodist Church dining room. The hospitality is great there, we also have storage space in the church’s storage area. We have use of the kitchen also. There is lots of parking, on a main road and easy to access. We do pay a fee to the church for use of the room. We have our workshops and classes there, and can use other rooms in the church for an additional fee. The draw back to using the church is that we get pre-empted if there is a funeral at the church on our meeting day
  • We meet in a community center once a month and have sew days/lectures/workshops in a church or library. As long as these resources are available, they will work for us. A con for some is that it costs $5 to attend a sew day. Some people don’t come because of that.
  • We meet at the Montezuma Audubon Center. We help them out in exchange for the opportunity to meet there. Pros: Centrally located for our members and plenty of space for us. Cons: Poor lighting
  • We meet in a local church gymnasium where several of our founding members are parishioners. We have been with them many years. We meet on the third Friday of the month from September through June. We pay for our venue. A HUGE positive for us is the custodian who sets up the tables and chairs for our meetings. On occasion the venue has temperature control issues. We have a great working relationship with the staff and access to a kitchen for our luncheons
  • We meet on the 2nd Thursday of the month except in July. Alternate day/eve every other month. There is usually a planned class determined by the Program Chair except July and December. (Christmas Party) We have a retreat in Feb x 5 days and a Mini Retreat Day in November. Current Location may be getting a bit crowded. We have discussed changing venues at times.

Spring 2019

Does your organization have a quilt retreat? What month and for how many days? Do you allow people outside your group to participate?
  • No
  • Yes. Same dates as the Consortium’s, The Best of New York Quilt Show in September for 4 days. There are other smaller quilt retreats throughout the year at the Old Creamery and other locations for varying lengths of time. Yes, other people can join any of our retreats at the same price that members pay
  • Yes, we have a retreat in February for 5 days. Mostly members
  • Yes, September 4-8 at Watson Homestead in Painted Post NY. All quilters & non-quilters are welcomed.
  • Do not have a retreat.
  • No
  • Yes, in September for 3 days.
  • Yes, April, 3 days and yes, we allow outside people to attend
  • We have two retreats a year, spring and fall. They are held at Stella Niagara, just north of Niagara Falls, NY. We can come any or all of the time from a Thursday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. If our guild members do not fill the spaces we do open it to others
  • We do have a quilt retreat in September but we keep it to a minimum and there is always a waiting list to attend
  • No
  • Not yet
  • We do not have a guild sponsored quilt retreat. We do have a full day quilting day in October. Members are encouraged and guests are invited to participate creating quilts for donation to the Rochester Breast Cancer Coalition. We schedule time after our monthly meetings in October to make kits in preparation for our ‘Quilt Pink’ day. After our November meeting, our members stay to create baby quilts for donation. The after meeting workshops are part of our programs and are usually members only unless we have guests.
  • We have both a spring and fall retreat in Ulysses, PA. It runs from Thursday through Sunday. The Penn York retreat center is in a beautiful country setting with walking trails. The huge sewing room has its own kitchen for between meal noshing. There are several restaurants nearby, if you don’t want to eat on campus. The dates are May for spring and September for fall. This is a members only activity.
Is it worthwhile to have the quilt show raffle quilt at other places (banks, mall, etc.) to sell raffle tickets? Do guilds offer incentives for members to sell "lots" of tickets?
  • No
  • Yes. Same dates as the Consortium’s, The Best of New York Quilt Show in September for 4 days. There are other smaller quilt retreats throughout the year at the Old Creamery and other locations for varying lengths of time. Yes, other people can join any of our retreats at the same price that members pay
  • Yes, we have a retreat in February for 5 days. Mostly members
  • Yes, September 4-8 at Watson Homestead in Painted Post NY. All quilters & non-quilters are welcomed.
  • Do not have a retreat.
  • No
  • Yes, in September for 3 days.
  • Yes, April, 3 days and yes, we allow outside people to attend
  • We have two retreats a year, spring and fall. They are held at Stella Niagara, just north of Niagara Falls, NY. We can come any or all of the time from a Thursday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. If our guild members do not fill the spaces we do open it to others
  • We do have a quilt retreat in September but we keep it to a minimum and there is always a waiting list to attend
  • No
  • Not yet
  • We do not have a guild sponsored quilt retreat. We do have a full day quilting day in October. Members are encouraged and guests are invited to participate creating quilts for donation to the Rochester Breast Cancer Coalition. We schedule time after our monthly meetings in October to make kits in preparation for our ‘Quilt Pink’ day. After our November meeting, our members stay to create baby quilts for donation. The after meeting workshops are part of our programs and are usually members only unless we have guests.
  • We have both a spring and fall retreat in Ulysses, PA. It runs from Thursday through Sunday. The Penn York retreat center is in a beautiful country setting with walking trails. The huge sewing room has its own kitchen for between meal noshing. There are several restaurants nearby, if you don’t want to eat on campus. The dates are May for spring and September for fall. This is a members only activity.
How much are your dues and how often have they been raised?
  •  $24 have not increased in a long time
  • Dues are $30.00. Dues are only raised if absolutely needed.
  • $15 and it would require an Act of God to change them, it is written as such in our by laws, a taboo subject to discuss changing anything in them.
  • Our dues are $25. & have been so since @ least 2003 when I joined the guild.
  • Dues are now $25; the only increase (from $20) in the 12 years I have been a member.
  • One Guild is $35 (includes a museum membership) and the other is $25. Not sure how often they are raised but it has been the same for the past couple of years.
  • They are 15 dollars a year and I think they have only been raised once but it was before I became a member.
  • Dues are $15 per year and they haven’t been raised in forever.
  • Our dues are $25 a year. I have been a member for over ten years and only recall them being raised once or twice. The facility we use is rent free.
  • Our dues are $30.00 a year and we just raised for the first time last year.
  • $20. The price has changed twice in 35 years: once reduced to $18, then reduced to $15, then raised back to $20 (for at least the last 10 years).
  • Our dues are $10 and have only been raised once. We’re a small guild of 25 members.
  • Our dues are $20 for guild year which runs September through September of the following year. They have not been raised to my knowledge for the last 20 years that I have been a member. As our operating expenses increase, we may need to raise them this year. If the membership decides against having a quilt show or a making a raffle quilt, then a significant increase would need to be made.
  • Our dues are twenty dollars a year. We have actually lowered our dues as we are lucky to have a good bank account.
Where does your organization store and how do you track your items (books, quilt racks, coffee pot, etc.)?
  • Stored at our meeting location in a church
  • We are very fortunate to have access to 2 churches, the one we use primarily for meeting has the refreshment supplies and is our regular meeting place. The other, larger area in that church, allows us to store our fabric and batting for Honot Flight sew days. Our quilt display racks that are used for our quilt show are stored at a member’s home.
  • Right quilt rack storage is a rental we share with another guild. Previously in a member’s garage. Coffee pot, etc. is at the meeting site.
  • Our library is stored at a member’s house and monthly she brings one crate, and coffee pot etc is stored onsite.
  • Various items are stored with various members: coffee pot with hospitality chair; quilt racks with show chair. Some hospitality items (paper goods, tea bags, etc.) are stored at the meeting venue in a cupboard we are allowed to use. We disbanded our library of quilt books several years ago (it was stored in a local quilt shop) because of non-use.
  • Unsure
  • Our racks are stored in a member’s dry barn – items for meetings are stored in our meeting site.
  • Our items are stored at various members homes. Fabrics at on charity committee member’s home, batting and finished quilts at another committee member’s home and our quilt racks at the President’s home.
  • We have locked cabinets in the facility we use.
  • Officers and Committee Chairmen store and track their items, who pass them along to the next person.
  • We are able to store our belongings in the church where we meet.
  • We have depended on the generosity of our members to store quilt show materials and quilt racks item. Our meeting location provides a portion of a locked closet to store our meeting materials and a few supplies. It has been difficult to keep track of inventory and items. Some critical documentation has been lost as members moved, passed away, left the guild etc. This year we added an off-site storage locker to store our quilt racks, car quilt, show props and any historical documents required to be maintained in case of IRS Audit. We are in the process of updating our records and hope to utilize our web site as a place to store documentation regarding policies and practices and standard forms.
  • We liquidated our library and put the funds in a scholarship fund. Our quilt racks and other show equipment are in a rented storage shed.Our meeting facility has coffee pots and allows us to store a bin with coffee/tea supplies.

Q&A from previous years

What's the best stuff to put in a raffle basket?
  • fabric, gift certificates, new innovative tools/gadgets
  • just fabric. I have enough tools, patterns, notions, etc. But I do like gift cards to restaurants (the bigger chains, since I don’t always come back to a local area).
  • fabric!! a new book, marking tools and of course, snacks
  • fabric, good scissors, gift certificate, sewing related stuff
  • fabric, newest gadgets, chocolate, gift certificates to local quilt shops
  • doesn’t matter – I’m making a contribution to the guild, anything is fine.
  • fabric, patterns, gift card to quilt shop, thread
  • fabric: fat quarter sets, jelly rolls, layer cakes; Aurifil thread sets; Amazon gift cards, gift cards from Dunkin Donuts or Barnes & Noble.
  • variety of items, items that reflect the local area
  • specialty rulers and a pattern using it, large piece of fabric for backing, batting, thread
  • fabric fat quarters, rulers, pattern books, latest gadgets
  • rotary blade refills and new cutters, cutting mats, batting, solid fabric, gift certificates to quilt shops
  • fabric, sewing gadgets, patterns, wine and chocolate
  • fabric, something new in the quilt world, gift certificates, chocolate, and something very unique and creative.
  • curvy pins, glass topped straight pins, nice seam ripper, Copic markers for fabric writing, design wall, calculator
  • fabric – half yard cuts of blenders you can use in any quilt, new quilting tool, oil for my machine, good quality quilting thread in neutral colors, binding clips, Best Press, a good pair of fabric scissors.
  • fabric, patterns, thread, chocolate
  • gift certificates, batik fabrics or an upbeat/bright line of fabric like polkadots or tula pink, specialty threads, nail file that has quilt stuff on it, note cards with quilt stuff on it, misty fuse, nice small sharp scissors, good marking pens, 18” x 3” ruler
  • fabric, notions, chocolate, patterns
What kind of short programs would you like at QCNYS Quarterly meetings?


• Business members speaking on programs they can offer to guilds, speakers, deals, etc.
• Short history of Women’s suffrage
• Demo of discharge dyeing
• Demo one quilt or block in different color ways and quilting patterns, explain reasonings for each
• Ideas to keep members more interested in participating in the guild.
• A lady who wants to get a barn quilt trail started in the Finger Lakes Region. She would be great
• Someone with something new. It could be an instructor with new patterns or techniques to demonstrate or a vendor with a new tool or notion that can be demonstrated with ahnds on area set up for members to try.
• Something humorous! Not sure who but someone who offers a goofy sing-along based on quilting myths or a poetry reading based on the foibles of quilters.
• Ideas to keep our members interested in the club and its activities
• Demo on something someone has made and received requests for pattern/instructions
• Brainstorming session on Community Service projects and organizations that guilds can donate their quilts to, where they will actually be used and appreciated.
• Ideas for programs for our guild! We’ve run out of ideas.
• QCNYS member teachers sharing highlights of their lectures and workshops.
• How to attract younger members to guilds
• How to generate ideas for quilts by visiting cultural hot spots.
• No ideas
• Designers with new trends, teachers with new techniques, vendors with new gadgets. Any of those could also be presented by shop owners.
• No response
• Someone who does contemporary style art quilting or surface design work.
• Lecture on techniques to work with photographs, art quilts, etc.
• Trunk Show/Demo
• Someone who is doing something interesting/unusual/unique.
• A mini-class
• New items from Quiltmart
• History of quilts, someone from one of the NY museums
• Technique demo for crazy quilt design, paper piecing or ruler foot free motion stitching
• An art quilter, someone who employs surface design in their work like Pat Pauly
• Demo on what’s new, I just returned from a Get-Away and it seems that jelly roll rugs are new.
• How to use the QCNYS website.
• Copyright rules! From the pattern makers point of view to the quilter who makes someone’s quilt and puts it in a show, has a picture of it in a newspaper, sharing patterns, teaching a class, etc.
• Fun stories and anecdotes from quilters who travel about their travels.
• Demo on quilt finishes – binding, reverse binding, facings, turning inside out and top stitching.
• Demo on special ruler and what it does
• How to prepare for juried shows
• How to develop a portfolio of your work

 

Quilt Show Judges: Recommend someone. What qualifications should we look for.

• I have judged quilt shows and continue to do so. My qualifications are the fact that I have over 40 years of quilt making and teaching experience, and am a quilt appraiser certified by AQS. Linda J. Hunter, hunterlj@roadrunner.com
• Contact big shows and see who they had as judges.
• We have a local professional appraiser and judge, Linda Hunter, that we use for one of them. The others are usually people with professional artist skills. We make sure to have a judge’s choice award for each one.
• Don’t know, we don’t have judges for our shows.
• We do not have any experience with this situation, we did popular vote. I would like to know the description of the categories, what the judges will be looking for.
• Don’t use judges, our ribbons are based on viewer’s votes.
• I think that the judges should be more open minded about colors in quilts.
• We do not use a judge at our show.
• We have used local teachers and certified quilt appraisers.
• Our guild does not have any judges, we like to encourage all levels of quilters to show their work.
• We have never had a judge; the cost was more than we could do.
• At this point, we don’t have our quilts judged.
• We use national judges. We are using Eugenia Barnes from Syracuse for our 2019 show.
• If interested, I can give names and contact info of people we used for our show. (Carol Clothier, cclothier@aol.com, Morningstar Quilt Guild)
• love Genie Barnes and not sure who else is available. Possibly send a request back with delegates to ask the members of each guild.
• Ours is not a juried show. Members vote for favorite quilts in different categories.
• We don’t judge our shows. They are viewer’s choice; however, it is something that we may do in the future.
• We had a local professional judge 4 or 6 years ago. The past two quilt shows, we used quilt club members who judged the quilts. We used a point system and awarded ribbons based on each person’s point totals. So, they were basically competing against themselves out of a total of 100 points. There are professional judges in New York State if that is what you are looking for.

Quilt Show racks: What kind of quilt racks do you have. Where did you buy them? Have they held up?

• Webster Quilt Guild uses racks that were designed and built by a member. Made out of wood with strong, sturdy wood bases. Steel poles are threaded through the top with multiple holes in the support. Two quilts can be displayed back to back. We lease these racks to other guilds for a nominal fee.
• Wood racks that were made by members and member’s family. They’ve held up so-so.
• We don’t own quilt racks. We borrow them from another guild.
• We have a member make ours. He works with wood as well as quilting. Ralph Winston, he often comes to QCNYS meetings.
• We rented the racks from Webster Guild. They are wood 2×4’s of different heights – 8′ and 10′ I believe. Holes have been drilled in the side to accommodate the metal pole which you can hang quilts using sleeves or hangers. We rented the hangers from Perinton Guild.
• We had wooden racks built which we then cover with black fabric. They are sturdy and hold up well. We clamp the large quilts to the top and the smaller pinned onto the black fabric. The only small problem is storage as the pieces are as long as a bed size quilt.
• Our group does not own quilt racks. We had to rent them for our show from another guild.
• We have a show every two years. We have wooden racks with metal bars. They were made by members of the guild.
• We have wooden racks that were made by one of our members. They come apart and store easily. They can be combined into an array of sizes. They are used by our guild and Endless Mountains guild. They are fairly new, only four shows old and holding up just fine.
• we have some racks we purchased …. they are old and do not work the greatest. a lot of adjusting and putting new straps on to accommodate the quilts. Bulky stands and take up more space for storage. Think about storage when making or purchasing.
• We have a very small show at Patchwork Plus in the classroom. We just use portable racks that members borrow or the walls in the classroom and tables.
• The past year was the first time we used our new frames. Different parts were from different places. Please contact us if you want info (Plank Road, Linda Lupole, auntlindalee@yahoo.com)
• They are solid wood with a polyurethane coating, one of our member’s husband made them as far as I know. We have had them for a long time.
• We are currently modifying our racks.
• For home use: I love the Hang-it Dang-it quilt rack. It is one aluminum rod that extends, three sizes – small 18″ – 36″, medium 36″ – 63″, large 63″ to over a hundred inches. Only one hole in the wall to hold it and it is self-leveling. I now hang all of my quilts this way. So easy to swap out a quilt and replace with a different size quilt. Just re-adjust the sliding rod to the new size.
• We have a company put up “pipe” and recently we purchased (together with another guild) a hanging system exactly like the one used at the AQS Show held in Syracuse 2 yrs ago. We have only used it once since we purchased it and it did require a bit of a learning curve but we really like it and it gives us a lot of flexibility in hanging height.
• 2×4 painted black with hooks that support conduit on wood bases. We made them. They hold up well.
• They were purchased from another guild a long time ago. They are holding up.
• We have wooden racks with posts that fit into a four-pieced stand. They were purchased years ago. A metal rod slides into loops at the top of each of the posts. This year, someone helped to replace the loops. The stands are very heavy and take up a lot of space to store. We have to stand on ladders to attach the quilts. We have other groups who rent the racks from us for their quilt shows. It would be very expensive to replace them all, but we have had discussions about this. We purchased a new, extendable quilt rack that is portable to use for our raffle quilt every other year. It is much easier to set up and transport.
• Not sure what kind they are but there were made not purchased. They are durable.
• We have beautiful wooden racks. They even won a vote during our last show! They were made by a group of volunteers over the summer of 2018 so we have only used them once. We expect that they will continue to hold up well, because of the quality of workmanship.
• Our old racks were hand constructed by guild members and their families. They were rugged and sturdy. Hard to store and cumbersome to set up. We have given those away and purchased some. Not sure about the company. But, much easier to store. Downside of them: expensive and only can hang one quilt per rack. Old ones could be configured to hang 2 –one row of racks and quilts on both sides.
• We rent quilt racks (display) from Hand Parker’s. We own chains and steel rods we hand quilts from.

 

It seems like a small group of people tend to do everything. What are some reasons why people do not get involved?

• It feels like there is a clique – intimidating.
• People don’t get involved because of work, family obligations, financial reasons, physical limitations, etc. I don’t get involved more because I’ve been involved all my life and now it’s time for me.
• It is the 80-20 principle. 20% of the people do 80% of the work. Not sure why, but so many people think they have no time or no talent. In reality, it is the busiest people that end up doing most of the work. The busy people get tied of those who don’t want to help and just do it themselves. I think we need to take more effort to initiate mentoring programs to encourage and equip those who feel they can’t be involved.
• I agree, that’s true. I no longer stress about it. The key is not attempt to pick up what others are not willing to do. It something is important, someone will do it; if not, it wasn’t a priority, so let it go.
• Personal invitations work. We arranged for EVERY member to be called and asked to pick a project, office, etc. We even had to have elections as the response was so good.
• Timing doesn’t fit with lifestyle, members are too demanding, position is too large or demanding. Age/health restrictions. Most folks will volunteer to help but not chair a committee.
• When you have a handful of people doing it all, it becomes overwhelming for anyone to step in. In taking a position and dividing it down to several small tasks, assigning the task to an individual gets them more involved. Even if it’s to bring cups/napkins to the next meeting. Everyone is busy, but together, everyone accomplishes more.
• I am not able to attend meetings because they are during a time when I am teaching. However, I do appreciate being able to have contact with NYS quilters and information.
• Some of our members are very involved with family and do not have the time or desire to get more involved other than attend meetings.
• They may not know what is expected when trying a new thing.
• People need to be asked to volunteer – not as a group but individually. Many people are shy or insecure that they will not do well at the task and so they do not volunteer. The leader of the organization should always thank volunteers and keep complaints to a minimum.
• Some people are shy and only need to be asked to join in projects. There are also several types of members. Some are there to participate as officers, some like classes, some like projects (charities) and some just want a social outlet.
• some reasons I hear are: I’ve done it before, let the others do it, (this was 20 years ago when they held an office) I work…., I go to Florida for the winter, the younger ones can do it (note there are no younger ones). Do we need to nag …..and remind….and re-remind……this gets so old and draining….. we are adults and I wish people would step up.
• I am one of the ones that do a lot… people don’t or aren’t willing to put time and effort in, the ones that do help aren’t all in and are not organized…it bugs me …but i have to tell myself that this is better than nothing????
• Most believe they are not qualified.
• Some people seem intimidated because their quilting skills are not as advanced as others even though we try to discourage this.
• Good Question, I’m one of the ones that always gets involved.
• I personally think that some people feel they have no experience heading a committee or taking on a job they’ve never done before so they let someone else do it. If the current person in any position took on an apprentice or someone part time to help during their tenure maybe that would help going forward.
• Some people feel they “don’t have time”. Not sure how to deal with that one!
• It seems like some people always think that “someone else will do it” or they don’t feel like they have something to contribute. Our organization has the same problem. We try to explain that none of our Board members are experts, and all contributions are welcome. We also try to stress that everyone helps each other and none of the Board member positions are hard. We had quite a time this year getting a new Vice President. Our Vice President moves up to President the following year and each position is a one-year term.
• Some don’t have the confidence to lead. Some are happy to sit back because they know in most cases that someone will step up.
• I wish I knew the answer to this question. It seems to be an uphill battle to get some members to take part in being on committees and such.
• Involve more people in committees. Give the group parameters–budgets/locations/whatever–and then, let ’em do the job with no criticism or second-guessing. Too often, those new folks who volunteer are ‘shut down’ by the older folks (older in years of service/volunteerism, not age.) If asked to do a job…volunteers must feel as though’ their contribution is valued
• I have no idea why as I’m a do-er.
• No time. Don’t want the responsibility.
• I think some of it is lack of communication, we do everything that we can to let people know what we are doing but it doesn’t seem to matter. I have noticed that by having little hand-outs at the meetings we are starting to get a little more participation. I think this is mostly because people have them in their hand and can review the information quickly and don’t have to log into their computer (which we don’t have time for) to check things out. We will see how this works throughout 2019.

 

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