More from Road To CA Quilt Show 2024

I went to Party Time again this year.. this used to be a really fun party, and you got a lot of value in the give-aways. One year everyone got a baby quilt batting as they went out the door. The prize table had lots and lots of fabric and tools and other goodies.

This year, not so much. I think they didn't get as many donation items from the vendors - and there were not as many vendors and a few of the big names were not there this year - it only took me a little more than 2 hours to go thru the vendor mall - at the hey-day before Covid, they had an extra tent outside the Convention Center stuffed to the gills with vendors. They didn't have the prize table - if a table won one of the games a 'walker' brought a bag with enough items for the table right to the table - no choosing. 

Probably won't do Party Time next year - its late at night and I was TOTALLY exhausted by the time the party started. 

The tool bag is ok - I stuck the popper on my phone - not sure I like it, but it is interesting.
Needed a new seam ripper! The nail file is glass - I have a small one I got years ago - they last for a lonnnggggg time.

Thank goodness I thought ahead and brought my camp stool - a lot of ladies thought that was really smart and they are thinking of bringing one next year! I got the idea from an ad were they put a backpack around a camp stool and advertised it- I looked at ordering one, but it wouldn't have gotten here before the show.  And the one I have is really light, so carrying it was not a problem. I made the strap out of a strip of fabric - I love that fabric, but I only had that one strip!

I sat down quite a bit. I stuffed the camp stool in one of the past Road To CA bags (I inked what was just plain canvas with InkTense pencils and water.) so I could wear it over my shoulder - DH came up with the idea to put it upside down with the legs pointing up. It worked!

One thing different they did this year was have the vendor mall open on preview night. That probably helped the vendors a lot! Though, unless folks were ready for it, they might not have brought funds!

The quilts, except for the major prize winners and a couple of exhibits (Cherrywood Challenge) and one other if I recall, were all in the ballroom. It was dim in there with spot lights on the quilts and there was gentleman playing an electric piano - he is terrific (but I wondered why he played the 'Go to Sleep Lullaby"!!!) 

Road To CA Quilt Show 2024

I went to the Road to CA Quilt Show again this year...first time since Covid. I used to go every year.

The highlight of the show was seeing fellow Valley of the Sun Retreater Kathi's Tropical Dreams quilt that Ami, also a Valley of the Sun Retreater,  quilted and it's ribbon!

and yes.. it WAS dark in that room with spotlights from the floor...not my favorite way of presenting quilts, but evidently done on purpose...yuck!

This was another one that was splendid:

You can follow Road to California Quilters Conference & Showcase on FB to see LOTS of pictures of the winners. They haven't posted this year's winners yet on their website.

I took a  half -day class from Grace Errea - Randomly Pieced Backgrounds... evidently my distaste for patchwork carried over to this technique...sigh.. I did so many things wrong - only got TWO blocks done and a bunch of...well.. not so good chain pieced pieces.

My workstation - Moore's Sewing Machines supplied the Juki..its a good machine and I didn't break the thread!!! (I had one class where I was fighting the machine every seam I sewed)

Grace explaining the technique

I think I would be able to do this better if I didn't do her chain piecing but built it one block at a time(less chance of getting every single freaken one in the chain wrong, like I did :(  ) I will try it again at home! Here are the two blocks I got done in class

But.. you end up with a cool background. Grace's eye for color is terrific and her samples are really interesting! I finished my piece at home. The gal sitting next to me in class said I should put a chicken on it..we will see!

I will try again. Here is my second set of fabrics - but Grace said we shouldn't have seams in our pieces to try this technique...but now that I think about it, I could have just cut the pattern pieces on that fabric after I cut all the rest of them - and that is what I will do with these fabrics. Might put some koi fish on this one!

 The blue arrow is pointing to the seam

After my class, I went to a lecture from a wool vendor. They had some really cute stuff. I ended up buying one of their kits to make a pillow. They have a sew-along for the month of Feb - a new video each day. That will be fun. I love the design on the pillow! Only thing I wanted to change is the background. DH is not fond of black. But I didn't find any pieces in my wool collection I liked any better, so black it is.

Then, on to see the quilts and the vendor mall.
I stimulated the economy a bit - got a bunch of FQs from a new vendor...some really cool pieces! Here is my haul 

One of the vendors intrigued me - CutterPiller. They make lighted boards that have a translucent cutting mat over the light. But, the price was out of my budget. So I ordered a small translucent mat from Amazon that will go over my LightUp Pad.

Road to CA - Day 4 - Party TIme and the Vendor Mall

Party Time is one of the most fun events at Road..it is SUPER popular - evidenced by the number of requests begging for a spare ticket or two! 250 mostly ladies...at 25 tables, playing party games! Prizes are awarded...and there is chocolate! The vendors donate stuff for the prizes - Thank you, Vendors!!!

Here is the stuff I came home with...A Cuddle layer cake, a Machine Quilting magazine, a Stripology book, a crib size batting from Mountain Mist, a Road to CA folding bag (that makes 4 of them that I have now!), 3 fat quarters, a domestic machine ruler work ruler, a pair of super sharp embroidery scissors from Sharon Bradley and a Bohin purse pack...

 The purse pack has needles, a threader, a measuring tape, a pair of fairly sharp scissors and piece of very colorful woven ribbon..all in a cute folding bag..

I walked the vendor mall after my class until it was time to go to Party Time - 4pm to 6pm is the best time (only other better time is Sunday afternoon!) to visit the vendor mall..most of the crowds are gone and you can actually see the booths!...was only interested in a couple of things..I bought a 60 degree ruler - a small one - I figure if I need it longer, the long ruler placed over the edge will do the trick...and a sample pack of battings from The Batty Lady...Poor Batty Lady had their trailer stolen a couple of weeks ago..with 45K in merchandise in it...the trailer was recovered but it had nothing inside when it was found..The Batty Lady said she wished it had been the other way around - the trailer was 100% insured...but the merchandise was only 10%... 

Did see a wonderful applique pressing sheet  at the Sharon Bradley booth that I would love to have if it were not so pricey...its called Fusamat - it has wee little holes that make the fusible not leak out from behind the piece..and it is tacky - Sharon was able to lift up the pieces and all her pieces of the applique stayed stuck! 

I also watched a back basting demo..that lady uses a LARGE needle so it makes definite holes so you know where the edge is supposed to be lined up.

This is the kludged tote for my second class..not the evil one that tore up my back..This one is a laundry basket bungeed to the wheels of the ice chest..wish I had thought of this solution first...
Oh..and this year's tote bag from the Show...bag is canvas and the design just begs to be colored in! Which I presume I will do..but not today...

I am sitting here, wearing my Medieval Torture Device as a back brace. Evidently, its going to take at least 6 weeks to heal up..sigh....can't wait til Wednesday so I can get another massage..

Road to CA - Day 4 & 5 - Luminous Painted Ilusions

Oh...I loved this class with Esterita Austin...

This is a mono-printing technique developed by Esterita..You paint a picture on parchment paper using metallic Lumiere paints...you can enhance with other types of paints or inks - but the base has to be the metallic Lumiere...the painting is then fused to a super sheer nylon organza with MistyFuse...

First, you blow up your selected photo..mine was a picture of a Cape Daisy (or Osteospermum) that was taken by a friend at work:

Then you make a 'cartoon' by tracing over the major details of the subject using Sharpie on a piece of vinyl:

Then you paint over any spots that are going to need other types of paints using white pearlescent Lumiere as the base..you can see the center of the daisy is whitish...then you paint the lights and add layers to make the shading..this is before I added the purple:

 This is after I added the purple, finished the center, and added opaque white highlights and Sharpie 'Stained' accents. Also added some Inktense ink..- you use the Inktense blocks like water color paints...as long as its over the metallic Lumiere..it will transfer!

This piece was done in two chunks...the flower in front, and the background - you fuse the front piece first, then add the back piece..and if anything doesn't transfer, you add more MistyFuse and try again! 

This will get fused to cotton batting, and quilted..not sure if it will be quilted by Retreat or not, but it will be coming to Retreat!

Once again, I did not attend the preview show..it's such a madhouse! And..my back is still bothering me..

Road To CA - Day 1 - Stained Glass Quilting, Allie Style

My contraption and I headed off to class bright and early Monday morning...unfortunately...the closest way to the doors at the Convention center was thru the parking lot..BAH!! my contraption did not keep up on the rough pavement! I ended up wrenching my back trying to keep the machine upright...and my poor back is still whining...

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Oh well..the class though was SPLENDID! I got to meet Allie Aller...and spent the day learning her Stained Glass Quilting techniques:

Here is a picture of the class and the lovelies created

This is my leaf block (with purple bells)

This is my exercise block for the leaves...looks kind of like Tiffany or vaguely Egyptian to me!

And this is my set of blocks from the morning

I  chose to do my 'leading'  in gold..the lady next to me used a Kaffe Facett print...I think the rest of the class used black.. You actually can use anything for the leading as long as it contrasts...and it does not have to be fabric...it can be ribbon, yarn, embroidery thread (the thicker stuff works better). 

The block with blue fabric was my 'trial' from home..I had a wee strip of stuff with fusible that I cut off the bigger block for the class...I had to find out the answers to several questions! Would my machine like stitching over this stuff - its a bit heavier than normal quilting cotton?... what color thread?... what stitching method was I going to use?  I tested narrow zigzag, wide zigzag, feather stitch, short stitch length, long stitch length, single row of straight and parallel straight... would my iron make marks or discolor the gold fabric and would my little Petite Press iron  get hot enough to do fusible?... turns out I had some gold Glide thread that was just right...my machine handles stitching on it just fine, I settled on the parallel straight stitching and the Petite Press works a treat and did not discolor the fabric! Saved me a bunch of 'experimenting' time in class...

I used my 'redneck turntable cutting mat' - an old lazy-susan rotating shelf that the top layer cracked off...with a small cutting mat on it..I think I am going to mount a real cutting mat piece on it..it works quite well!

I am thinking of adding leaves in the ombre blocks..and making it on-point by adding triangles to the sides..maybe the leaves will come in from the setting triangles..we shall see!

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I used the sidewalks on the trip back to the car..only had a small patch of pavement that I had to deal with..my back was on fire by then..

Road to CA 2018

Road To CA 2018 starts Monday!!

I am taking a class on Monday - 'Stained Glass Quilting, Allie Style' from Allie Aller...

I am taking a class on Thursday-Friday - 'Lumionous Painted Illusions' from Esterita Austin....

Attending Party Time and the Jenny Doan lecture...

I shall be pooped by Saturday night!

Today I packed up for Allie's class..and boy...am I glad I did that today...

My sewing machine trolley broke an axle last Road To CA (in the middle of the road, mind you!! I was most displeased)...I 'fixed' it..but the wheels don't really turn too well and they are not something that can just be replaced...

I got a 'scoot around' a while back and have pressed it into service!

So the trolley is now sitting on top of the scoot around...I have it tied from one side handle to the other  with a piece of clothes line  thru those hand hold slots, snapped from the bottom to the top with two bungee cords (I was most fortunate to FIND the bungee cords!!) AND a lifting strap across the top...it's a kludge!

Took it out into my back patio and it works..well... well enough! At least it has the multi-directional spinner wheels...and if I go slow,  it's not too unstable..

I need a new trolley...sadly..I don't think they make this style of trolley anymore..it was a faithful workhorse for many a year...or I need to figure out how to get the bottom section OFF the current trolley and wire the scoot around to the bottom with maybe a piece of plywood for stability.. Project for another day...currently its packed for Monday's class..

Will have to get a picture of my contraption..

Embarrassingly, I find I forgot to post the rest of  last year's Road to CA show...chalk it up to not feeling well, I guess...it was a strange year...

Road to CA 2017 - Day 1

Class today was with Amanda Leins - Fundamentals of FMQ.

Enjoyed the class...hated the *(&#$( machine..the first half of the class, the machine I was on kept shredding the thread...I would be going along fine for a few minutes and blamo, it would shred and break. The tech changed the needle..that didn't help...she adjusted the height of the sensormatic foot...that didn't help...After lunch, I was able to move to a different machine - the lady next to me had to go home. Her machine worked fine! So I don't think it was anything I was doing (you have your doubts when its a strange machine!) Anyway, not feeling the love for Phaff machines, just sayin'

Amanda had this neato overhead camera gizmo that she could project up on the wall..with a Surface computer..I want one!! You can see it in the picture above..

Here are some of the practice drawings we did...

The color pencils show the order of how the motifs are to be sewn....I really like the loopys on the hooked feathers on the left side..

And my practice piece...not even half of the quilt sandwich I came with...

Oh..the air pressure in SoCal is so radically different today due to three back to back storms coming in  - the rest of the quilt show is going to be very, very soggy! Not attending the preview night this year..I have a monster headache. Hoping once it starts raining, the air pressure won't drop anymore.

Tomorrow I am going to see the quilts, go thru the vendor mall and attend Party Time - it's supposed to be a blast..there are prizes!

I had to repack all of my supplies for Friday's class..the wheelie case I have used for years decided it was a great time to break - right in the middle of crossing the road between the convention center and the parking lot! I don't think its repairable..I will just have to get a new set - wonder if they have any cases with the 360 wheels that I can afford.

Mandarin Duck Progress

I have quilted the center of the Mandarin Duck and added binding, which is now finished...
I am going to add quilting in the brown border - Flying Geese...with feathers in the corners, as a nod to Jenny Bowker, the teacher of the class (Images in Landscapes), who uses traditional blocks to expand the size of her quilts to HUGE...
Still have to decide if I want to do the FG in Monopoly like the rest of the quilt or brown quilting thread...but that will be for another day!

Here is what I started with...the picture of the Mandarin duck was taken by my daughter at the LA Arboretum...

Here is what that picture got turned into in class..

...and here is the quilt before I finished the binding...

The quilt is currently drying from being blocked..

More Hexie Daisy Progress and Packing for Retreat

Here are a couple of shots of my experiment with back stitching hexies - it works much better if the opposite outer edge is supported with a WonderClip. Do I like it? I think so. It's way neater than the whip stitch...and a bit easier to do than the ladder stitch (no folding) - when I try the ladder stitch, the stitches seem to still show though that may be just practice.. Will have to try to see if I can do this thru the glue on the Wee Hexie Basket...

I still have 14 wee side pieces to add to the pointy sides since I have determined this is going to be a straight edged piece..thought were it goes from there is anybody's guess at this point! 

I am almost packed for Retreat...I don't leave for another week..but I cannot stand not knowing if stuff will fit! This year I am flying, so have to be super conservative on what I bring...

Hexie Daisy Progress

Finished the prep work for the Hexie Daisy block...now on to stitching them all together!

Road To California Hexie Daisy Class

I don't usually get pictures of me at Road to CA...but this class had several!
Here I am stitching my center flower - almost done so we can show how to stuff the center of the Hexie Daisy

 Teacher Cheryl See is the other lady in teal...

 Showing how I do the back stitch join...

Road To California Report

Fisrt, some eye candy:
Road To CA Quilts

Wednesday, I took two classes on the Brother Scan N Cut...the first one, we unpacked a brand new machine...learned to read the menus, created a card, and cut a purple heart out of fabric (we all went home with purple hearts!)....the second, we learned to pair a Brother Dream Machine embroidery machine with the Scan N Cut..cut the appliques and watched the Dream Machine stitch...

I was less than thrilled with the embroidery machine aspect - not my cuppa tea...but the Scan N Cut...now..the lady packing the boxes after the class I told her she was just gonna have to wipe my drool off it (she laughed) - I loved it!...My friend who was in the class with me bought her Scan N Cut..but whoo doggie, she spent a pile 'o cash! Even with the show special of 20% off, it still was almost $1K to get the machine and all the optional geegaws that go with it...

I made my embroidered piece into a mug rug...

I like the back almost as much as the front:

This is a picture of the Brother Dream Machine stitching out placement markers - it tells you where to stick the applique pieces on that you cut with the Scan N Cut

And then it tacks the pieces down and satin stitches them...automatic thread loading, cutting  - practically does the whole thing for you! And..no thread tails on the front of the piece - not quite sure HOW it made all of them go to the back ...probably magic...

The machine I was using kept un-threading its needle...so though its automatic, it was a bit frustrating to have to re-thread the machine...

Friday, I took a 'thread sketching' class from Shannon Shirley..utterly fantastic class...I was able to get my entire quilt DONE..not just the stitching/quilting, but the binding, stitching the back of the binding down AND dissolving off the washaway that we used to 'transfer' the design from the pattern to the fabric...

First, we traced the pattern onto dissolvable film using a Sharpie pen:

My hands have some kind of grease that makes the Sharpie pen marks rub off the dissolvable  film...the teacher let me borrow a pair of Graberoos - they are kinda like Machingers, but purple (so they don't get as groody-looking as the white ones) - and they don't make my hands hot! That solved the problem so I have a pair on order from Amazon...tried to find them in the vendor mall, but couldn't locate a pair...

I learned a new binding join technique that is fast, accurate and non-frustrating..and it requires no measuring or pins (whoohoo)

Here my finished piece:

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that it is finished! G thinks it could use some color..so maybe I will attack it with the Inktense pencils...have to try coloring the pattern first though to see if I even like the effect...

Saturday I took two classes...one on hexies from Cheryl See, who won the Best Use Of Color for her Starlette hexie quilt at last year's Road...and the other was a Zentangle pincushion class put on by the Janome dealer...

The hexie class was very interesting. She had us cut at least 70 two inch squares of a color family from our stash..mine is GREEN of course! (If you know me, you know I love green!) I actually had 82 green scraps without cutting any of my yardage or fat quarters...

There were only 8 students, so we got very individualized attention from Cheryl....we arranged those scraps in a watercolor format on our quilt scrolls - I made mine using a pool noodle, a piece of fleece, the cardboard tube from a dry cleaning pants hanger and two hair scrunchies...after I got fabric on the fleece, I regretfully realized that the back side of fleece is equally sticky..Yikes! So, right now I have a large plastic bag inserted into the roll to keep the wee pieces of fabric stuck to one side of the scroll...I will have to back the piece of fleece with something ...maybe one of the home dec fabrics would work...

Here is my hexie daisy block on the scroll:

and here is the hexies I got done in class - the center round is stuffed - the petals have to wait until the surrounding hexies are stitched on to be stuffed..

Learned lots from the Hexpert! We traded stitching techniques and I showed her the doodled hexagons...She had never seen the 'back stitching' method nor doodled hexies...

The Zentangle pincushion is cute...I like how mine turned out but the relaxing part of the whole Zentangle experience was out the window! We stitched on a piece of fabric that was prepared using Terial Magic so you don't need stabilizer..it was kinda fun picking the patterns on the Janome machine..and it is another COMPLETED project..so there is that - but it was a bit stressful not knowing exactly how big the patterns were going to come out (the machine does give you a hint, but I was so unfamiliar with the machine that it didn't register til almost the last line I stitched)

So..the hexie daisy block is my ONLY UFO this time..pretty darn great!

I did not buy too many things at Road this year...

10 zippers in assorted colors - they were only 50 cents each! The wee and very sharp scissors - the blade guard is attached so it cannot get lost, a very cute snail tape measure (Missouri Star Quilt Company), some fusible thread from Superior  called Charlotte's Fusible Web, a hard shelled credit card holder, some Bohin needles, and a hexie project - pieces and book - to make a jewel box necklace...The Superior booth was giving away Dr Bob's Thread Therapy discs and a catalog of all their threads..I also bought a hand dyed 3/4 length sleeve T-shirt...and a multicolored jacket...its so lightweight but its really warm! (that was an excellent salesperson..she was bound and determined I was not getting away!)

I am looking forward to trying the fusible thread...just to see if that works!