To encourage excitement for Road 2019, several contests were sponsored under the tag of “Get Ready for Road Give Away.” The first prize offered was a longarm quilting class taught by Linda Gosselin.  

Linda is a Handi Quilter Educator who is a certified Art & Stitch instructor. She teaches online classes for both Handi Quilter’s Art & Stitch and Pro-Stitcher using Simulator. She quilts for customers, Quilts of Valor and for charity, and teaches quilting classes at local quilt shops. Samples of her work can be seen on her website.

Linda was flattered that her class was chosen for the prize. Road 2019 was Linda’s first time teaching at Road to California and her first time visiting California. She said she smiled nonstop during her classes because her students were doing “fantastic work.”

The winner for this giveaway was Lora Gearhart. Her winning entry appeared on our Facebook Page. She said that she was “super excited to win.”  Lora had recently gotten in to free motion quilting on her domestic machine and was looking forward to giving longarm quilting a try. “I want a longarm machine now,” she said during her class.

Lora has been using rulers to help her with her domestic machine quilting and applied some of those principles as she worked on the longarm machine.

Road 2019 was also Lora’s first time at the show. She was employed by the City of Ontario’s Fire Department and was part of the team that inspects the Pavilion Tent each year prior to the Show. From doing that work, she knew she wanted to attend the Road and winning the class was a great way to get her to attend.  

Road to California is all about giveaways before and during the Show. With 2020 being Road’s 25^th Anniversary Show, we are already planning more giveaways than ever before to celebrate. Follow us here on the blog for the first announcements of all the great things happening for Road 2020.  

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Each year, one lucky Southern California Quilt Guild is chosen to represent all quilt guilds by supplying the quilts that hang in the atrium of the Ontario Convention Center.

Their contribution sends an important message as those quilts are the first Special Exhibit that guests see when they come to Road to California. For 2019, that quilt guild was the Coastal Quilters Guild of Santa Barbara and Goleta, California.

The Coastal Quilters Guild of Santa Barbara and Goleta began in 1988 as an idea from a small quilt shop in Goleta, H&H Country Store. They wanted to get quilters together to form a monthly group. Six women showed up at their first meeting, with four of them bringing children along with them.

The first quilt guild meetings were held during the day and grew quickly. They decided they wanted to try to meet without the kids playing around. So, they changed their location to the Goleta Library in the evening. Today, quilt guild meetings are held in the evening on the second Thursday of each month at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Goleta.

Supporting the community by donating specialty quilts to various organizations is one of the Guild’s popular programs. Each year, the quilt guild chooses an organization to focus on. In the past they have contributed over a hundred “Fidget Quilts” to patients with Alzheimer’s who receive daytime care through the Friendship Center. Because many patients with dementia suffer from anxiety and agitation,” Fidget Quilts” can help to calm them by keeping them engaged and occupied.

Some of the other philanthropies they have supported included donating over a hundred quilts to CALM (Child Abuse Listening and Mediation) and to Sarah House which provides residential care for people who are very low-income at the end of their lives. For 2019, they are focusing on quilts for veterans.

To encourage friendship and quilting skills, each month the quilt guild sponsors a “Block of the Month,” where a member wins all the blocks made that month in a drawing at the guild meeting.

The Guild also sponsors a friendly “Challenge” competition. Each year, a theme is chosen for members to interpret and create a quilt which is displayed at future guild activities. For 2019, their Challenge theme is “Don’t Touch.”  Members are to create a Public Awareness sign with a reminder: “Just Look, Don’t Touch.”

Thank you, Coastal Quilters Guild of Santa Barbara and Goleta, California, for supplying such a stunning, visual welcome to Road 2019.

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Giving away cool prizes at Road to California is what we do!!

Thanks to the support of our wonderful Sponsors, who also like to give away cool prizes, Road 2019 had more giveaway winners than ever before.

As in years past, Road’s Daily Raffle giveaway was again very popular. We had so much support from our Sponsors, that on a few of the quilt show days, we held TWO Daily Raffles!!

Thursday Giveaway Winners

Pollard Sew Creative donated a Pfaff Passport for the first Daily Raffle of the day. The winner was Rita Miranda of Chino Hills, California. She was in a vendor’s booth, waiting in line to pay for her merchandise, when she heard her name over the loudspeaker. Rita has attended Road for 18 years and has been a quilter since 1999. She credits Road’s founder, Carolyn Reese, as the one who “taught me how to cut by straightening out my fabrics.” Rita brought two friends to the show who didn’t have any way to get to Road. “If I didn’t take them, they would not have been able to come.” Rita’s giving heart continued when she won her prize. Said Rita, “I might donate this machine to a needy friend who doesn’t have a machine and loves quilting.”

Later in the afternoon, Jean Fry from Goodyear, Arizona, won a Bernina B330 First Love from Mel’s Sewing and Fabric Center. It was the first time that Road had to draw 3 times before a winner came forward to claim their prize (One of the rules for the Daily Raffle is that the winner must be present to win). Jean received a text that she had won and RAN from the tent to accept her prize. A Road attendee for 14 years and a quilter for over 30 years, Rita likes to achieve “quality accomplishment” with her quilting, making things for friends. She was just elected President of the Pebble Creek Quilters Guild.

Friday Giveaway Winners

Moore’s Sewing Centers donated a Baby Lock Joy won by Star Strahle of Columbia, California—a town in the “Mother Lode” area of California. This was Star’s second year at Road. She brought her daughter, Wendy, who was enjoying her first experience at the show. Star has been quilting since 1993 and is excited to replace her older machines with her prize. She loves fabric; she pets it, collects it, and uses it for scrappy quilts.

In the afternoon, Moore’s also donated a Janome sewing machine. The winner was George from Herndon, Virginia. He came to the show with his wife and her sisters. It was their first time ever to attend a quilt show as the women have only been quilting for a year. He thought he was coming just “to be a driver and carry everyone’s stuff.” Little did he know he would be going home with a beautiful sewing machine!! The group was admiring the Elvis Exhibit, looking at the Virginia entries, when he heard his name. “I just laughed,” said George, “And my wife and her sisters screamed.”     

Saturday Giveaway Winner

There was only one giveaway winner on Saturday: 87-year-old Mary from South Bend, Indiana. She won a Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 965Q from OC Sewing and Vacuum. This was Mary’s third visit to Road. “I was sitting in the hallway and thought I heard my name. I started crying and almost went into A-Fib with my pacemaker.” A quilter since 1990, she loves “everything” that Road has to offer.

Sunday Giveaway Winner

As is traditional, Sunday’s Daily Raffle giveaway is a Sewing Table donated from Martelli Enterprises. This year’s giveaway winner was Patrice Marcarelli. Road 2018 was her first time at the show and she had purchased the Martelli Cutting System. She was “overjoyed” to add the sewing table to her Martelli collection. A sewer for over 50 years, Patrice is new to quilting.

Congratulations to all our 2019 Giveaway Winners!! We know they are enjoying their prizes.

Don’t forget: Road 2020 is our 25^th Anniversary Show. We are already planning additional ways for our guests to win. You won’t want to miss out!!   

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Meet Priscilla and Richard from Long Beach, California. Road 2019 was their first time at the show because Priscilla has only been quilting for a year. Their quilting instructor, Gloria Molina, invited them and other members of their quilting group to attend.

Priscilla’s quilting group is unique:  It is made up of all disabled women.

Their disabled quilters group has been meeting for about a year at the East Los Angeles Community Center. It was the center who saw a need for a disabled quilters group and approached Gloria to see if she could lead it.

Gloria, a former Los Angeles County Supervisor, has made a name for herself in the quilting world.  As a member of TELAS (The East Los Angeles Stitchers), Gloria and her group work to promote their heritage and culture through quilting. In 2014, TELAS and a Mexican quilting group from Puebla, Mexico, teamed up to provide a Special Exhibit at Road featuring angels, a translation of both of their cities’ names.

At Road 2019, Gloria and her group sponsored the Special Exhibit, Catrina.

The disabled quilters group meets three times a month. “We all have different limitations, but we are all into quilting,” said Priscilla.  How do they make quilting inclusive? “We find a way around our disabilities and help each other to make it work for us.”

Priscilla was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy at 8 years of age. She was told that she wouldn’t live past age 20 but here she is, 50 years old and has been married 28 years. “The power of doing has kept me alive.”

So far, Priscilla has made three quilts. Richard cuts out the fabric and sets up the sewing machine. “I love quilting,” said Priscilla. “It has become my hobby.”

Richard has also become a fan of sewing. He enjoys helping Priscilla and hopes to make a Washington Redskins blanket soon.

What did Priscilla and Richard think about their first time at Road? They loved looking at all the patterns, materials, and of course, the “beautiful quilts.”

Quilting is an inclusive community!! Do you know of any other disabled quilter groups?

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Who doesn’t need ways to de-stress? One great way to de-stress is to go back to our quilting roots and do some hand piecing.

Pat Yamin, owner of Come Quilt Me and a well-known quilter from New York, led a hand piecing class, Time on my Hands, at Road 2019. Hand piecing is a “lost art” says Pat because “it takes time.” With a background in psychology, Pat easily sees the connection between mental well-being and hand piecing. “It is tactile and healing. Small pieces of fabric are manipulated using your hands—something you can’t get from sewing on a machine.” Another benefit is there is no rush to get it done. “You can take it with you traveling, to doctors’ appointments, or any place you know you will have some down time. Hand piecing is very portable and gives you the feeling of immediate success.”

Time on my Hands was an all-day class. Students received a hand piecing quilt kit to work on and everyone was encouraged to just “take your time” and de-stress. Because there was no sewing machine noise, students were also engaged in great conversations and sharing.

Rebecca took the class to relax. “It’s a great way to de-stress.” While she has been quilting for 10 years, Rebecca was brand new to hand piecing and liked how it was so “incredibly easy.” She also liked how hand piecing provides a” connection to our past because it is what our ancestors did.”  

Gwen shared that because hand piecing is “so relaxing it is also a great way to be creative. You can really get in the Zen Zone.”

Anita is brand new to quilting; she has made one quilt. She took the class because of hand piecing’s history. “I love 1930’s fabric. It reminds me of my grandmother’s home.”

For inspiration, Pat shared a quilt that she had found at an auction.

The quilt was made from feed sack prints from the 1930’s and 40’s and needed some hand piecing repair work. She also added the sashes to give it a different look. She liked how it turned out so much that she enlisted John Flynn to make kits for her out of 1930’s reproduction fabrics and that is what she uses in her hand piecing classes. “It saves time so the students don’t have to cut out the individual pieces and they have more time to do the hand piecing.

A few of the students took the class not only to de-stress but because they were familiar with Pat and wanted to learn more from her.

Cindy has been quilting for 30 years and was familiar with piecing. She came to the class because of Pat and the camaraderie of the students. “Pat is fabulous. She is calm and knows her subject matter.”

Joe has been quilting for over 20 years. When he first started quilting, all he did was handwork. While he has known Pat for over 20 years (they met when he was working part time in a quilt shop) he still wanted to take this class because “I learn something new every time I take a class from Pat.”

Piecing and quilting on a sewing machine are rewarding. But if you are looking for a project without a deadline, can be taken anywhere, and encourages comradery as you aim to de-stress, nothing can compare to hand piecing.  

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If you’ve attended Road to California, undoubtedly you heard many times over the loud speaker: “Attention Quilters. Attention Quilters,” followed by announcements of giveaways, vendor activities, and $5.00 Lecture Classes.  Just who exactly does that booming voice belong to? Why none other than the voice of Road to California, Randy Graves.

Randy came to Road with a unique background. For one, Randy has a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering. He worked for NASA for 26 years, has had his own company making sails, and is now retired—sort of. He still stays busy in his field spending a lot of his time volunteering for his alma mater, George Washington University in Washington, D.C..  He has served on their National Advisory Council for their School of Engineering and Applied Sciences for the past 18 years. Randy is also a director with GWERT, a mentoring organization that provides experienced volunteer mentors to student and faculty startups at George Washington.  And he is on the Board of Directors of the George Washington Alumni Association.  When Randy isn’t working with his GW groups, he spends time with his hobby: doing machine metal work on a milling machine, where one of his projects was designing a four-cylinder airplane engine!!

So how does a man with his background end up being the voice of Road to California? Well, a lot has to do with wife of 52 years, Stevii Graves. Stevii is well known in the quilting world and has been on staff with Road for the past 22 years. One of her main responsibilities is overseeing the judging of the contest quilts. She is also involved in bringing outstanding teachers to the Show.

Seven years ago, Stevii invited Randy to come out to Road with her. Not one to sit around, Randy was looking for ways to contribute. In addition to being the voice of Road to California, Randy oversees vendor check in/check out, and runs the Daily Raffles.

At Road 2019, Randy’s duties were expanded to include the new Daily Roadie Bucks Raffles. Lastly, Randy helps after Road is over, packaging the show quilts to be returned to their owners.

What does the voice of Road to California enjoy most about Road? “Meeting all the interesting people.” Randy’s favorite Road moments are when “the winners of the sewing machine raffles come running down the hall” when their name is announced.

On February 16, 2019, Randy celebrated his 80^th Birthday!!  Randy confided, “I never thought I’d be 80.” He attributes his longevity to staying mentally active with his volunteer work and physically active by playing golf and shoveling snow. (He and Stevii make their home in Virginia). Randy has also taken “massive doses of vitamins every day” for the past 60 years, starting when he was in college. About 30 years ago, he added glucosamine to his regimen to aid in mobility.

Summing up his 80 years, Randy says, “Life is Fun. Every day I wake up it is a great day!”

Randy Graves, the voice of Road to California, is a great asset to the Show!!!

Do you know why the second highest cash award at Road to California’s Quilt Contest is named The Marie White Masterpiece Award?

Marie White was the mother of Road to California’s founder, Carolyn Reese. Marie was very active in the quilting and doll making world until she passed away in 2011, six weeks shy of her 93rd birthday. An anonymous donor approached Carolyn a few years ago and offered to sponsor the first runner-up award on two conditions: One, that she, the donor, would remain anonymous and Two, that Road to California call the prize, “The Marie White Masterpiece Award.” Road gladly agreed to her terms.

The winners of The Marie White Masterpiece Award for 2019 were maker, Gail Stepanek and quilter, Jan Hutchison. They received $7,500 for Spangled.

The most common question people ask Gail and Jan is, “How long did it take to make your quilt?” Gail commented that that is a loaded question because Gail and Jan’s quilts involve two people in the making and quilting. Gail, who lives in Illinois, spends 6-10 months completing the top. Then, she sends it to Jan, (who is lives in Kansas), to do the quilting. This can take Jan up to 3 months to finish. When Jan returns it to Gail, the quilt is bound, photographed, and entered in to the Road to California contest by their October 1st deadline. By the time the Show is held in late January, Gail and Jan’s quilt is already about a year and a half old. Gail and Jan complete one competition piece a year.

What was the inspiration behind Spangled? Two years ago, a booth at Road to California was selling sheets of heat transfer glitter vinyl. Jan and Gail bought several sheets thinking they could possibly use it in a future quilt. Not being familiar with the product, they decided to test it out on the back of their next quilt. They used a hole punch to cut out glitter dots and ironed them to the back of the quilt. After a year of traveling to different quilt shows, the dots were all still there, so they felt confident in using the vinyl in another project.

Because Gail loves round designs, for Spangled, she used a typical Dahlia block with an additional line added to each petal, splitting it in half. The first seven blocks were paper pieced and discarded because Gail didn’t like their intense color and size. She reduced the pattern and replaced some of the colors in the block with background fabric to lessen the impact. By rotating colors and background in each block, it kept her interest and gave a different look to each one. Appliqued dots were used as sashing.

Jan flew to Illinois for a few days to help design the border for Spangled and add the glitter vinyl. They added glitter dots to the sashing and the glittery swag border design. Afterwards, Gail appliqued fabric dots to the border and then shipped it off to Jan for quilting.

Spangled has two layers of batting: Hobbs 80/20 and Tuscany Wool. Using heavy weight black thread, Jan mimicked the loopy border design in each pieced block. Contrasting black thread was also used in the outer border.

Gail and Jan had no idea what the judges would think about the use of glitter vinyl on such a traditional pattern. Gail said, “It was a risk that paid off!” They received an email with the news of the award and were “SO thrilled.” Gail attended Road 2019 and enjoyed talking to fellow quilters while standing by Spangled. Her portion of the cash award was spent at the vendors at the show. Jan is saving her award for future travel.

As an added note, Gail and Jan are not new to winning top awards at Road to California. In 2014, they won their first award for Outstanding Innovative Quilt and in 2015 they won, Outstanding Traditional Quilt. They also won The Marie White Masterpiece Award once before in 2017.

And last year, Jan was awarded Best Longarm Quilt for her independent work.  

Congratulations Gail Stepanek and Jan Hutchison for another Road to California winning design, Spangled.

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What a tradition Cherrywood Hand Dyed Fabrics has started!!

For the past four years, Cherrywood Hand Dyed Fabrics has sponsored a unique quilt challenge. Using the themes of famous musicals and people, entrants are given a palette of Cherrywood Hand Dyed fabrics that accentuate the theme to come up with their own unique design. It began with the musical Wicked, then The Lion King, followed by artist, Vincent van Gogh. In 2018, the challenge was Prince—the iconic Purple Rain singer and actor who passed away in 2016.

The Prince Cherrywood Challenge received 388 submissions and of those, 165 were chosen as finalists to be juried in to the Prince traveling show. The Special Exhibit of the Prince Cherrywood Challenge came to Road to California 2019 and was seen by over 42,000 guests. On Saturday of the Show, some of the Prince finalists came to the show to sign books and share how they came up with their winning idea.

First time entrants, Florann Ramsey and Cindy Meyers, were excited to be included. Cindy entered because she loves the color purple and she loves Prince.

Florann took her project on a family vacation to begin work on it. Her kids said her original design was “awful,” so she went back to the drawing board to come up with her winning design which is based on three of Prince’s songs.

Barb Zeleznik’s “Vinyl Prince,” is a tribute to all of Prince’s record albums. She included Prince’s face, signature and star from First Avenue.

Michelle Baker and Annette McCusker are sisters. Michelle lives in Montana and Annette lives in Glendora, California. Michelle had previously been a part of Cherrywood’s vanGogh exhibit. When Annette saw her sister’s work last year, it gave her the courage to try this contest. Says Annette, “being accepted was a bonus!”

Annette’s daughter, Tracy, who is an artist, came up with the designs for both her mom’s and aunt’s winning quilts. Michelle’s quilt, “Beautiful One,”  has lots of Prince symbolism: music staffs, scariness, and of course, a dove. Annette’s winning design, “Good Morning,” has an electronic music theme.      

Several Prince Cherrywood Challenge winners were also accepted for the Cherrywood van Gogh Challenge Exhibit last year:

Diane Mezerkor’s daughters (who are in their 40’s) knew many of Prince’s songs and gave their mom ideas on how to utilize “Little Red Corvette,” in her design.

Kay Loboda said she chose her theme, “Mysterious Prince,” because “you never knew what was going on with him; he didn’t give any clue to his emotions.

Sally Wright confided that “I had missed the Prince generation.” Around the time of the announcement of the challenge, Sally had an appointment with her CPA to do her taxes and she asked him what he knew about Prince. He said he sang, “Starfish and Coffee,” every night to his kids. After listening to the song for the first time, Sally fell in love with imagery of the lyrics.

Because she was so inspired last year, there was no doubt that Cindy Thompson wanted to participate in the next Cherrywood Challenge. Her “Reigning Prince,” includes a paisley crown and teardrops for “rain.”

Nancy Causey was another winner who didn’t know much about Prince when she applied for the challenge. “A challenge forces you to learn,” said Nancy. Her quilt was a collage of who Prince was.

Four Time Participant

Marilyn Fromherz was the only quilter at Road who had winning entries in all four Cherrywood Challenges. “I wouldn’t have missed it,” she exclaimed. She loves the fabric and tries new techniques each year to enhance it. For the Prince Cherrywood Challenge, she utilized stenciling, fusibles, and embroidery to set the stage. “It was a fun thing to do.”

The next Cherrywood Challenge was on display at the Cherrywood Booth during Road to California. The theme for 2019 is “The Happy Painter,” Bob Ross. He hosted the popular PBS show, The Joy of Painting, which ran from 1983-1994.

For the first time, instead of using one color palette for the challenge, Cherrywood has selected eight different fabric colors. Prospective contestants have until July 1, 2019 to submit their entries.

For more information about the Cherrywood Hand Dyed Fabrics and their Challenges, please visit their website.

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Road to California 2019 hosted two, 40^th Anniversary Celebrations.

The OLFA Rotary Cutter 40^th Anniversary Celebrations

In 1979, Yoshio Okada, the founder of OLFA, invented the world’s first rotary cutter. It revolutionized how people cut fabric by switching them from using scissors to rolling a circular blade over the material. OLFA’s rotary cutters are used by makers around the world!

The most popular size is the 45mm rotary cutter which features a durable handle with a blade cover for safety. The cutter, designed for both right and left-handed use, is a rolling razor blade used to cut materials into shapes, strips and pieces for sewing, quilting and craft projects. The blade is made of high-quality tungsten carbide tool steel for unparalleled sharpness and superior edge retention.

To commemorate this milestone, Olfa designed a limited edition, Ruby Anniversary 45mm Rotary Cutter. It was to hit retail markets this month, February 2019, but since OLFA was a new, Road to California Sponsor, they wanted to make this special rotary cutter first available to Road visitors. They had a limited supply available at the show for purchase.  

OLFA also had a special booth on the main floor of the Exhibit Hall announcing its 40^th Anniversary Celebrations.

Eleanor Burns’ 40^th Anniversary Celebrations

Eleanor self-published her first “Quilt in a Day” book in 1978, igniting a quilting revolution. She introduced an incredibly rapid stitching system, applying the method of assembly line sewing to piecework. Her concise, step-by-step directions were easy to grasp, allowing anyone to be successful at making a quilt. Eleanor Burns is credited for giving quilt makers techniques that compacted months into merely a day, a quilt in a day.

Through the years, Eleanor and her Quilt in a Day has spawned a PBS Television Show, over 80 books, “Signature” fabric lines, several special edition sewing machines, while receiving numerous awards and recognition for her lifetime of achievements. 

Eleanor chose Road to California 2019 to showcase her 40^th Anniversary Celebrations by presenting on two evenings, “Forty Fabulous Years With Eleanor.” The shows were a trip down memory lane with Eleanor entertaining guests with her hilarious stories, outtakes, and timeless memorabilia; all while sharing beautiful quilts and teaching her priceless techniques.

Road to California 2019 was honored to showcase two quilting icons on their fabulous, 40^th Anniversary Celebrations.   Were you able to join in these 40^th Anniversary Celebrations by purchasing a Ruby Rotary Cutter or attending Eleanor’s shows?

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To encourage the excitement for Road to California 2019, we held 3 Giveaways. The final and grand prize giveaway was titled, BFF (Best Friends Forever) Time with Eleanor Burns where the lucky winner would receive for themselves and up to 3 friends, a hotel stay for Road to California 2019, lunch with Eleanor Burns, and front row seats to Eleanor’s Trunk Show celebrating her 40 years in the quilting industry.  

This giveaway was quite popular; over 870 entries were received. The lucky entry chosen, #679, belonged to a Facebook Fan, Marianne Frasca-Troccoli from Wildomar, California. Marianne saw her name announced on our Facebook Page, as well as received an email from us, while she was waiting with her husband (who is on the list for a kidney transplant) at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona. “I screamed when I saw that I had won. My husband and everyone around us asked me if I was OK,” said Marianne.

When Road talked with Marianne to set up the details for her prize, she expalined why this prize was so meaningful to her: “My mom died suddenly 16 years ago. I was really spiraling and couldn’t function. One morning, I turned on the TV and there was Eleanor, flipping fabric and smiling. I though to myself, that is one happy person, and I immediately fell in love with her.”

So, it was Eleanor Burns that got Marianne through a dark period in her life and inspired her to start quilting. In the years since her first introduction to Eleanor, Marianne has made several of Eleanor’s patterns, has several of her books, and even bought an Elna Quilter’s Dream sewing machine because of Eleanor. Currently, Marianne is working on a quilt from Eleanor’s Day and Night book. Marianne brought the book for Eleanor to sign!!

Marianne’s BFF with Eleanor Burns luncheon was scheduled for 1:00 PM on Saturday of the show in one of Road to California’s offices in the Ontario Convention Center. Marianne arrived first with her friend Linda, her Book Club and quilting friend, who shared Marianne’s prize with her. A few minutes later, Eleanor arrived. There were lots of hugs and some tears for Marianne, as the two got acquainted.

Road to California owner, Matt Reese, and his wife, Jennifer, peeked in at the start of the BFF with Eleanor Burns luncheon to meet Marianne and offer his congratulations for winning the giveaway.

So, what did Eleanor and Marianne talk about during their luncheon? The kind of stuff that you would expect from BFF’s: grandchildren, sewing tips, and hair color (Marianne’s gray hair is accented with blue at the tips).  Marianne also asked Eleanor, “Are you still quilting?” Eleanor quickly responded,” Am I still quilting? I just finished making a ‘signature quilt’ for Accuquilt called Falling Leaves. I’ve been working on leaves all week.”

Part way during the BFF Luncheon with Eleanor Burns, Eleanor’s sister, Patty, was able to join the group. Eleanor described their sibling relationship as, “I am the engineer; she puts the color in to it.”

Later that night, Marianne and Linda took their seats on the front row to see Eleanor’s 40^th Anniversary Trunk Show. Marianne was invited to share her winning story with the guests in attendance before the show began. And in true Eleanor fashion, there was a lot of laughing, dressing up, and sharing quilt tips during her presentation.

When her BFF with Eleanor Burns time was over, Marianne remarked, “Thank you for a spectacular experience. We had a blast. Already looking forward to next year’s Road to California.”     

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