These four friends live in the Chicago area and belong to the Needles and Threads Quilt Guild. They were easy to spot with their matching quilt guild accessories. Together, they have been quilting over 30 years. They were thrilled to leave the Midwest weather and “hang together” to see what was new in the quilting world and all the “gorgeous” quilts. Karen and Dee are locals; they live up the street from the Ontario Convention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. Karen has been attending Road for the past 10 years. This was Dee’s first time at Road. She had heard about how fun the show was from her local quilt shop, The Quilt Loft, and from Karen. Karen said she had warned Dee beforehand by telling her to be “prepared to be overwhelmed.” They enjoyed seeing the quilts and the variety of vendors. Dee can’t wait to take classes next year. [caption id="attachment_4921" align="aligncenter" width="490"] L to R: Karen and Dee[/caption] Marquita is from Simi Valley, California and Kathy is from Delaware. They have been friends for over 60 years, growing up across the street from each other in Sepulveda, California. For the past 15 years, coming to Road to California has been their annual get together. It’s how they stay in touch. They come to the show for 5 days, bringing their sewing machines and stay up sewing each night until after midnight. They also bring lots of food— and wine!! Both have been quilting since 1989. Marquita prefers traditional quilting and Kathy loves machine embroidery. [caption id="attachment_4924" align="aligncenter" width="483"] L to R: Marquita and Kathy[/caption] These friends worked together at Kaiser Permanente for 30 years. At that time, neither Delcina or Maria were quilters. When they retired, they were looking for something to de-stress so they took a furniture upholstery class. That teacher suggested they go to a quilting class and they have been hooked ever since. The class is held every Saturday in Baldwin Park, California.  Road 2017 was their 5^th time to come to the show. When they first started coming, they focused on looking at all the quilts, walking the whole show one row at a time. Now they’ve added also taking classes.  “There is lots of inspiration here,” said Delcina. [caption id="attachment_4923" align="aligncenter" width="502"] L to R: Delcina and Maria[/caption]   Which friend will you be meeting up with at Road 2018?  ]]>