I'd kinda stay away from the guilds, has been my experience that you get a bit swallowed up in them and there is way too much politics.
Not sure if she is still on here but Uglycook is an awesome quilter and friend up that way and she has a couple of friends close to her as well. She is part of our WOMBAT group and the nicest gal you could ever meet. If you can't find her on here PM me and I can get ahold of her via landline.. She is really good at petting fabrics and finding gadgets to use.