Members usually start arriving around 6:30 and sign in at the Membership table. This helps us keep track of how many members are at the meeting, and to ensure that your name is entered into the door prize draw.
If you are new to the Guild and do not know anyone let the person at the Membership table know and they will find someone to show you around and introduce you to others.
Now is a good time to check the Library tables to take out or return books. A current membership is required for this. You can also visit the various tables to see what is available to you — workshops to sign up for, baby quilt kits to assemble, quilts of valor to sew, or even to enter the 50/50 draw.
The president calls the meeting to order at 7pm and this is when the business of the Guild is discussed. Usually members of the Management Committee, reporting to the Executive, give a brief report to the membership on anything going on that wasn’t included in the newsletter.
Following the business section of the meeting, we have our Show and Tell, which is the favourite part of the evening for many. Members are invited to show their completed quilts, fabric art, or sewing projects. Please don’t be shy about participating in this. Bring whatever it is you have finished – we love seeing what other have been making! You provide a brief verbal description of the project while it is held up on the stage, and then it is taken to be hung up around the room for members to admire during the break.
At this point there is a 15-minute refreshment break – time to grab a tea or coffee and goodie then look around at the work displayed on the walls. If you have not entered any of the draws, there is time to do that too.
The meeting resumes with a special program. These programs are an important part of our monthly meetings, and provide members with a wide variety of presenters (speakers) from the quilting world.
When the program ends, the speaker is thanked, the 50/50, birthday and door prizes are drawn, and those who brought Show and Tell retrieve their work. The meeting ends around 9 to 9:15pm.