around the world?
Birgit, Heike and Ute are from West Germany. These friends have been quilters for over 20 years and belong to the same quilt group.
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Birgit, Heike and Ute from Germany[/caption]
They planned for two years to come for their first visit to Road. Ute owns a quilt shop in North Germany near Hamburg and was on the lookout for some quilting adventure ideas. It was actually Heike who had heard about Road to California and suggested it to the others. They made the most of every opportunity at the show, including taking one of the bus excursions offered by Road. They were excited to see the stops in Southern California as well as visit the quilt shops along the tour.
Road 2017 was also the first visit for these friends from Mexico City.
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Silvia, Lourdes, Monica and Maria from Mexico.[/caption]
Silvia organized the group’s visit which included all of them taking several classes. She owns a quilting studio (“The best in Mexico!!” declared Lourdes) as well as organizes Mexico’s Quilt Festival every September in Mexico City. Silvia has attended other shows in the United States and had been trying for years to come to Road. They are all long-time quilters who were anxious to learn new techniques in their classes, find new gadgets, meet new people, and “have fun.” Silvia remarked, “The people who come are the best part of the show. Quilters are nice people.” In addition to participating in all of the Road activities, the ladies also visited iconic downtown Los Angeles landmarks like the Museum of Modern Art and the Catholic Cathedral. They all hoped that this would be the first of many trips to Road to California.
These three friends traveled from a rural area east of Calgary, Canada to attend Road 2017.
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Sue, Heather, and Karen from Canada[/caption]
Heather was the ringleader for this trip. She learned about Road to California on Facebook. The timing was good to come this year and it didn’t hurt that they would be “getting out of the snow.” They were in Southern California for nine nights, planning their trip well in advance of when registration for Road opened last July. Heather created a spreadsheet of all they wanted to accomplish while they were here!! Each of the women took classes (7 in all) to further their education “past piecing.” They were also interested in taking longarm classes as both Heather and Karen own longarm machines. They were also sure to include Party Time in their schedule plus time to visit all the vendors because they don’t have much in quilting fabrics and supplies near their home. They were all “thrilled” to attend and said they are definitely coming back!!!
How far did you travel to come to Road 2017?]]>
Posts Tagged ‘International Quilters’
International Appeal
Sunday, February 26th, 2017Traveling The Globe To Get To Road
Thursday, July 21st, 2016 
Mary Allum and Catherine Dodd[/caption]
Catherine Dodd came from the Isle of Harris in Scotland. Her hometown is famous for producing Harris Tweed. Catherine journeyed 30 hours to get to Road to California. Her trip began from her home where she drove a half hour to get to the port where she boarded a ferry for a 2 hour sail. When she got to the mainland, she next drove 14 hours to Heathrow Airport in London for her 11-1/2 flight to Los Angeles. After arriving in Southern California, she drove 1-1/2 hours to Mission Viejo to stay with her sister. Catherine was in California for 2 weeks, which included she and her sister attending Road to California. Catherine’s sister, Mary, is the sewer in the family and has lived in the United States just one year. She heard about Road to California from Mel’s Sewing and Fabric Center. Their first stop at Road was to take the bus tour that included going to Hoffman California Fabrics. Mary was looking forward to going to Hoffman and Catherine was interested in seeing all the fabric on their bus tour.
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Jenny Bacon and Margaret McDonald[/caption]
Quilters Margaret McDonald and Jenny Bacon came to Road from Australia. Both friends spent 10 days in the Southern California area. Jenny is not a stranger at Road. She has attended the show for the past five years and helps with the quilt contest judging. After 3 days of judging, Jenny was looking forward to getting out and seeing the show. It was Margaret’s first time at Road. She was looking forward to all the new experiences that Road had to offer, including going on a bus tour.
Road 2017 is already set to welcome more international visitors. Teacher Jenny Bowker will be coming from Australia to teach her classes along with the Tentmakers of Cairo who will be showing their quilts as well as teaching classes with Jenny.
No matter where you live, getting to Road is easy. We have suggestions for your travel arrangements on our web site.
How far will you be traveling to Road to California 2017?]]>
Quilting Latina Style
Thursday, October 16th, 2014 Road to California welcomes quilters from all over the world to attend its conference. Meet these Latina quilters who cross international borders each year to broaden their quilting experience. 
For the past three years, Perla Cabanillas (Mexico), and Carolin Menendez (Puerto Rico) and Susan Labounty (Cypress, California), have chosen Road to California as their destination spot to renew their friendship and support their love of quilting.
The three originally met through their church. They became friends when Susan taught a quilting class that Carolin and Perla joined. For six years, they met on Thursdays at Sue’s home to quilt.
Susan has been quilting for the past 10 years. She first learned to quilt along with her neighbor at a quilt store near their house. Carolin began quilting 13 years ago. She first learned to sew in school in Austin, Texas. Perla credits Carolin for introducing her to quilting. Carolin had invited Perla to attend Susan’s class and helped Perla buy the fabric for her first project.
Why do they love meeting up at Road? “Nothing compares to Road,” stated Carolin. “I like how the show combines old traditions with modern approaches.” Added Perla, “I love seeing all the modern quilting.” 
You might be aware that tour buses come from all over the country to bring excited quilters to Road to California. But did you know there is a tour bus that brings quilters from across the border? Three friends from Tijuana, Mexico, made the journey by tour bus to attend Road for one very full day.
Maria has been quilting for the past 10 years. She and Tere have made the trip to Road from Tijuana for the past 5 years. In 2014, they invited another quilting friend, Antonia to join them.
Why come all the way from Tijuana for just one day? Says Maria, “I do hand quilting and Road has good materials for me to use.” Antonia thought everything at Road was “very beautiful.”
While only Maria spoke some English, the three did not feel that their language barrier created any problems. After all, a love for making and appreciating magnificent quilts knows no boundaries.
How far will you travel to attend Road to California’s 20th Anniversary Show January 21-25,2015?
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