Bohin France, you cover it with a gigantic handmade quilt of course!!!
Bohin, France’s last needle maker, has been a popular vendor at Road to California the past few years. President Didier Vrac and Marketing Manager, Jerome Doussard, have become familiar faces to Road’s guests who never tire asking these two gentlemen questions about their needles and scissors, just to hear their French accents.
At the Bohin Factory in Normandy, France, they recently opened a beautiful museum. While the museum is “amazing,” the entrance outside was just a “very big white wall,” noted Catherine Bonte, president of the French quilt guild, Association French Patchwork, an organization with over 12,000 members!! Catherine was very close to the museum project for several years and let it be known that she was not very fond of the huge blank entrance. So, Didier told Catherine to do something to improve it.
Catherine invited all the members of France Patchwork to work on a “nice block with curves,” using the colors of their guild’s logo—white, black and beige — and the color red for Bohin. At the guild’s office in Paris, near the Eifeel Tower, more than 3,500 blocks were sent in!! A team from the guild assembled the blocks to cover the wall. In fact, they could have covered 6 walls with all the blocks they received!!
In addition to the quilt blocks, the group also pieced together a portrait of Benjamin Bohin and put it in the center of the giant quilt. Benjamin is the founder of the Bohin factory and they wanted to honor him that way.
“Le Projet Fou” was turned over to Didier Vrac on May 21, 2016 and work began immediately to get the quilt up on the wall. People have come from all over France to see it.
Catherine and her guild know that the giant quilt will not be there on the factory wall forever. But for the time being, all of the visitors to the museum have “completely” fallen in love with it.
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Archive for the ‘Vendors’ Category
Le Projet Fou or "Crazy Project"
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2016Meet 2016/2017 Vendor: Pollard’s Sew Creative
Wednesday, July 27th, 2016 Pollard’s Sew Creative began from a passion for sewing and has grown to become a creative sewing center as well as an authorized dealer for Pfaff, Husqvarna, and Viking sewing machines.
Founders Bill and Marcia Pollard, along with their daughter, Jennifer Noble, each bring their own area of expertise to the business. Bill repairs the machines brought into their stores. Marcia is the “creative juice” behind the company. It was from her observations 20 years ago that there wasn’t much sewing education available for the consumer that led the Pollard’s to provide a source where they could show “everything that can be done with a stitch.” Marcia is also known for her digitized machine embroidery exclusive collection for Elegance Threads and Designs.
Jenny joined the business 14 years ago. With a background in technology (she has 2 degrees in technology and is the former head of the Ed Tech Department at the University of LaVerne), it was the recent technological developments with sewing machines that brought her to the business. Today, she oversees Pollard’s Sew Creative business operations. Jenny is also credited with involving their company with Anime Expo, an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California the first weekend in July and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). Pollard’s providing sewing machines at the event to encourage youth to sew their own Anime costumes for the convention. 
Pollard’s first store was opened in Glendora, California and they have just added another location in Arcadia, California. Each store offers daily classes and carries products to “sew on and sew with.” They are leaders in an evolving industry, combining computer technology with sewing machines. Their “full package” includes not only selling one-of-a-kind products, fabric, and notions but also offering sewing classes. In addition, they give computer classes on the Dell laptop computers they sell, bringing together computer programs and sewing machines.
Why do the Pollards like coming to Road to California? Says Jenny, “We like to connect with the people and tell them about all the options there are available to inspire.” As the industry continues to change, Pollard’s Sew Creative will “keep pushing outside the box.”
To learn more about Pollard’s Sew Creative, visit their website.
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Meet 2016/2017 Vendor: Eye of the Beholder
Wednesday, July 6th, 2016Eye of the Beholder Quilt Design will be returning to Road to California in 2017
How does someone go from professional dancer to quilter?
That is exactly what Margaret Willingham did. For many years, Margaret taught choreography for a modern dance company specializing in classical ballet and modern dance. When Margaret developed major back problems (she had 5 surgeries in 2 years), she realized that teaching dance was no longer an option. Newly divorced, Margaret had to find something she could do to make a living. So she turned to her passions to find the answer. [caption id="attachment_4151" align="aligncenter" width="552"]
Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption]
Margaret loved being creative, artistic, and quilting. For Margaret, fabric was “fun to play with.” She “followed the doors God had given” her and started Eye of the Beholder Quilt Design. She has been in business going on 6 years. Instead of choreographing dances, she is choreographing quilts.
Eye of the Beholder Quilt Design specializes in original applique patterns inspired by the world around us. Margaret has developed a reverse applique process that is “a no brainer.” Just Trace-Baste-Snip-Stitch. Margaret shared that she’s even had 10 year olds master her technique. “People are amazed at how easy and simple of a process it is.” Eye of the Beholder Quilt Designs can also be done as machine reverse applique because Margaret has found that some people don’t like to do hand work.
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Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption]
From August, 2015 to January, 2016, Margaret put 11,000 miles on her new van traveling to various shows. She spends most of the time in her booth demonstrating her applique steps with her customers. She has also put up tutorials on her website, has a booklet that explains her technique, and writes a blog sharing applique tips and experiences.
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Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption]
Road 2016 was Margaret’s first time at the show. She had never really been to Southern California before and was excited to be at Road as she had “heard good things about the show.” She is looking forward to returning to Road 2017.
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Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption]
You can learn more about Eye of the Beholder Quilt Designs on their website.]]>
Meet Road 2016 Vendor: ADORNit
Wednesday, June 1st, 2016 
In 1985, Carolee was just 23 years old and a new mom when she started her first business promoting decorative or “tole” painting. She taught classes and created patterns for tole painting books published by Provo Craft. When a set of twins arrived, Carolee started self-publishing her own books. As her family grew, Carolee was a stay-at-home mom who kept her small business going by continuing to write books. She tried to attend two conventions a year to meet her customers and outreach with her products.
When her last child was born in 1995, Carolee became a pioneer in the new trend of scrapbooking. She noticed that there wasn’t any clip art available to embellish photographs of special events in a person’s life. So, using her folk art background, she created a CD-Rom of scrapbooking clip art. This led to starting her own scrapbook paper line, Carolee’s Creations. Her designs and concepts revolutionized the scrapbook industry and eventually included stationary products as well.
In 2004, Carolee wanted to get back in to the soft market with her art and began licensing fabrics along with her paper products. Incorporating words onto both paper and fabric has been very popular. Says Carolee, “People want the inspiration that words give.”
Today, Carolee employs three of her daughters in the ADORNit business. Georganna serves as president overseeing sales; Alison is a designer; and Jackie works part time making samples. They continue to show how young women can add to their family’s income while pursuing a creative outlet.
ADORNit uses trade shows to outreach to the public, letting them know who they are, what they represent and that they have good ideas. ADORNit’s future plans include expanding their fabric line while staying hip, relevant, and trendy in the design world. 
To learn more about ADORNit, please visit their website.
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Welcome to Carol’s Zoo
Saturday, April 9th, 2016In the mid-1980’s, Carol Cruise got cancer.
When she was going through her chemotherapy treatments, she wanted something to do on her “good days” when she was feeling better. A friend gave her a kit to make a teddy bear. Unfortunately for Carol, the kit had a million pieces and she did not enjoy putting it together. Carol thought, “If you are going to make a stuffed animal, you should have fun while you are making it.” So she set out to reduce the pieces of the bear to make the project easier. She ended up with a stuffed bear pattern that had just 2 pieces!! [caption id="attachment_3963" align="aligncenter" width="611"]
Photo by Brian Roberts Photgraphy[/caption]
Later, Carol thought, “If I could make a bear with just 2 pieces, what other animals could I create?’ That’s how Carol’s Zoo began.
Today, Carol’s Zoo has 20 simplified animal patterns with 8 new ones currently in the “incubator.” Carol is also looking to expand to baby quilts, utilizing a flat or applique version of her animals.
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Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption]
Carol started sewing when she was 5 years old, under the guidance of her mother, a Vogue couture seamstress. Carol’s mother believed that the inside of a garment should look as good as the outside and trained Carol in that philosophy. That training came in handy when Carol started working on simplifying her patterns.
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Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption]
Starting a business as a “zoo keeper” was not Carol’s original plan. She was actually one of the first 5 people to start the customer service department for Levi Strauss. For several years, she had her day job and shared her animals at local shows in the San Francisco Bay area on weekends. It wasn’t until the late 1990’s that Carol plunged in to making Carol’s Zoo her full-time work. She sold 3 of her patterns to McCalls who still carries them in their pattern books.
What is Carol’s creative process? “I stare out a window and mentally trace my designs, thinking about how I want a pattern piece to look like. Then I draw it out, tweak it, and redraw it until I get what I envision.” Carol has “so many ideas” that she is working on: scarves, vests, tote bags, spirit dolls, and purses too. She keeps a notebook with her everywhere she goes just in case a new idea pops up.
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Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption]
Road 2016 was Carol’s first experience as a vendor for the show. What did she think about Road to California? She enjoyed all of the enthusiasm of the customers and appreciated the opportunity to showcase what she loves doing most: designing and sewing stuffed animals.]]>
Do You Know Cuddle Fabric?
Thursday, April 7th, 2016 Shannon Fabrics had a big presence in Road’s 2016 Marketplace. Featuring their signature “Cuddle” fabric collection, Shannon Fabrics showed guests why they have become a household name when it comes to plush fabrics and how they are Making The World a Softer Place™. In their booth, they were able to demonstrate a variety of tips and techniques using Cuddle, as well as how all their fabrics can be used alone and together with other fabrications, including quilting cottons.
A huge hit with Shannon Fabrics booth were all the Cuddle Charm Packs they gave away. Their charm packs were a great way to be introduced to using Cuddle Fabric and are perfect for making a baby blanket or a baby pillow.
During the show, one of the $5.00 Lecture classes featured Quick Quilts With Cuddle. The class was taught by Cuddle experts Pat Wodskow and Cindy Surina. Pat and Cindy shared tips and techniques on how to work with Cuddle fabric. The first thing they pointed out was why Cuddle is a superior fabric to Minky. While Minky was the first plush fabric, Pat remarked how it has a thinner backing and is a cheaper quality. That is why you can find it at Wal Mart and JoAnn’s. Cuddle has a higher weave backing along with a higher, thicker, and longer pile making it more stable than Minky. As Pat noted, “Cuddle is the good stuff.”
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Pat Wodskow and Cindy Surina being introduced in their class by Randy Graves. Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption]
What were some of the tips Pat and Cindy Shared?
When Cutting Cuddle
- Cuddle does not fray but you will get some “Cuddle dust” when you cut it.
- For shorter fiber Cuddle fabrics, use a rotary cutter. For the longer fiber Cuddle fabrics, draw a cutting line on the backside of the fabric and cut through the backing only with scissors. Pull apart and place in dryer to control the “Cuddle dust.”
- Check the nap before cutting each piece to make sure it is going in the right direction.
- The best pattern pieces should be sturdy. You can iron tissue paper patterns to the waxy side of freezer paper. Cut all pattern pieces out first before using them on the fabric.
- Do not use pins to secure pattern pieces on fabric layers. Instead, use pattern weights. Soup cans, coffee cups or tuna cans also work well to keep pattern pieces in place.
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Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption]
Assembling Cuddle Pieces
Sewing Cuddle
- Be aware of the straight of grain and stretch. Cuddle is way more stretchy on the cross grain. Never put cross grain and straight grain together.
- Use a Walking Foot.
- Use a size 90/14 ballpoint (stretch) needle for more stability
- Lengthen the stitch length to 3-3.5 mm
- Sew straight edges.
Caring for Cuddle Projects
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Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption]
- Machine wash in cool water. Tumble dry low heat. Take out of dryer just before it is completely dry and hang.
Meet 2016 Vendor: Hearts to Holly
Friday, March 25th, 2016Looking for something to do as a family after they left the corporate world 9 years ago, Sue and Mike Miller decided to set out and open a quilt shop in Northern Michigan. Why a quilt shop? “Because there wasn’t one in our small town of Charlevoix. All four of our daughters quilted and they taught their mom to quilt too. It was something we could do as a family,” explained Mike.
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Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption]
They named their store Hearts to Holly to advertise that they carry items for all seasons – from Valentines (Hearts) to Christmas (Holly). Sue and Mike are the shop owners and their daughter Val Krueger, is the chief designer of their patterns which they have been offering since 2009.
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Val with one of her patterns. Photo by Brian Roberts Photography.[/caption]
All of their Heart to Holly patterns are exclusive to their brand and incorporate using fat quarters. A Holly Bunch is their trade name for their fat quarter bundles. Each Holly Bunch is a pack of 12 fat quarters specially coordinated by Sue to be used with their Hearts to Holly patterns. Val shared that quilters love the unique Holly Bunches because they are simply packaged, are weekend friendly, and are family oriented. “We’ve watched moms use our product to teach their daughters and grandmothers teach their granddaughters.”
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Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption]
Going to quilt shows allows the Miller family, a military family (Coast Guard and Air Force), to get together. After appearing in Quilt Sampler Magazine in 2011, Hearts to Holly attended their first national quilt show in 2012. While Val, (who also longarm quilts and lives in Las Vegas) has attended Road to California every year since 2005, Road 2016 was the first time for Hearts to Holly to have a vendor booth.
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Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption]
“We were thrilled to be invited (to Road) because we have heard so many positive comments about the show,” said Val. The goal for Hearts To Holly has always been to provide a place “where quilters and “wanna be” quilters can visit often, feel welcome and always be greeted with a smile.” That philosophy held true during Road because as Val noted, “Our guests kept coming back again and again to our booth.”
While Hearts to Holly is currently housed in a brick and mortar store, they will be expanding soon to include an online store on their website. Keep checking back to their site to be one of the first to place an order online.
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Meet Road 2016 Vendor: Missouri Star Quilt Company
Saturday, March 19th, 2016Missouri Star Quilt Company, the quilt destination from Hamilton, Missouri, made its way for the first time to Ontario, California and Road 2016.
Founded in 2008, Missouri Star was started as a way for Jenny and Ron Doan to earn a living after Ron lost a hefty portion of his retirement savings and his job as a mechanic with the Kansas City Star newspaper became vulnerable to layoffs. It was their children – Allan and Sarah – who came up with the idea for a quilt business combining their mother’s love of sewing and her quilting hobby. The first thing they did was buy a longarm machine and then they purchased a building in Hamilton (a town a little over an hour’s drive from Kansas City with a population of 1,500) to house it and a quilt store.
With a shoestring advertising budget, Missouri Star got very creative with their marketing. Missouri Star began putting video tutorials online starring Jenny. Soon, the tutorials were the most searched for quilt videos on You Tube. Viewers wanted to purchase the same fabrics that were used in the videos so Missouri Star decided to make pre-cut fabrics (which revolutionized the quilting industry) and sell this core product in their online store. Pre-cut fabrics are bundles of fabric, cut in various shapes and sizes, featuring an array of coordinating prints from a designer fabric line. In less than four years, Missouri Star has grown to offer the largest selection of pre-cut fabrics in the world, processing 3,000 – 4,000 fabric orders a day!!
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Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption]
As Missouri Star’s popularity has grown, so has their interest in the small town of Hamilton. They embarked on a project to restore from top to bottom many of the original buildings which were in pretty bad shape. Today, there are 10 quilt shops, each with their own theme, for fabric and merchandise. For instance, the old JC Penney building was restored and houses all of Missouri Star’s solid fabrics.
There’s even Man’s Land which offers recliner chairs and a big screen television. It’s a great resting spot for those visitors who come to the quilt store town as drivers and/or shopping bag carriers. 
Always growing, Missouri Star currently sponsors three YouTube Channels: the original series featuring Jenny Doan which offers a new tutorial every Friday; Man Sewing with Rob Appell which has new shows every Monday; and their newest addition, Crafty Gemini Vanessa Vargas Wilson offering tutorials on the Crafty Gemini Creates channel, every Wednesday.
It was a long drive from Hamilton, Missouri to Ontario, California. Missouri Star enjoyed meeting many of their trusted customers and making new friends at their location in the pavilion.
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Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption]
We look forward to having Missouri Star return with its Midwest charm for Road to California 2017.
Want to learn more about Missouri Star? Please visit their web site.
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Meet Road 2016 Vendor: Southern California Quilts of Valor
Tuesday, February 16th, 2016The Quilts of Valor Foundation was founded in 2003 in Delaware and is an ongoing national service effort whose mission is to “cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.” The quilts serve as tangible reminders of appreciation and gratitude to service members and unequivocally say, “Thank you for your service, sacrifice, and valor.”
The Long Beach Chapter of Quilts of Valor is headed by Chairman, Barbara Winkler.
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Barbara tore her tendons and had surgery on her foot before Road. Being in a wheelchair did not hold her back from sharing her group’s message!! Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption]
They have been a vendor at Road to California since 2007, meeting quilters and piecers, encouraging them to be a part of this great cause. Of their booth, Barbara commented, “We get great exposure at Road, making connections from all over.”
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Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption]
The group also receives donations during the show ranging from quilt tops to selling raffle tickets for their opportunity quilt. The drawing for their opportunity quilt is held annually on Veterans Day at the Long Beach VA Hospital.
During the year, Long Beach Quilts of Valor goes to various veteran events around Southern California, telling their story and presenting quilts. In 2015, they gave away 417 quilts to service members and veterans. At the time of Road 2016, they had already given away 134 quilts with 78 more being donated January 26th to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder sufferers affiliated with the West Los Angeles Veteran Hospital.
Not every recipient requests a patriotic themed quilt; it can be a painful reminder of what they went through, especially with POW’s. For those instances, Quilts of Valor volunteers make quilts in a range of colors and themes such as animals or sports. “You never know what a veteran will request. Whatever type of quilt we make, it always finds its rightful owner,” remarked Barbara. No matter what the quilt looks like, all quilts given by Quilts of Valor are numbered.
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Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption]
Each year the Southern California Quilts of Valor in Long Beach sponsors a Sew Day at Lakewood High School. This year it will be held on Saturday, February 20th, from 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM in the school cafeteria. Between 50 and 100 students and parents are expected to participate in sewing quilts as a means to give back to the community. Quilters from the community are welcomed to come assist the young sewers.
Since the 10 years the Long Beach Quilts of Valor has been organized, they have given away over 3,480 quilts. In 2015, the chapter presented a quilt to one of the last survivors (at the time of the gift, there were only 9 alive at the time) of the USS Arizona that was sunk in Pearl Harbor. For Barbara, one of the most touching donations was to a veteran from the Korean War. “He told me he had waited 62 years for someone to say thank you.”
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Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption]
Are you interested in helping with Quilts of Valor? Until December 31, 2016, they are sponsoring “BE A STAR – FOR OUR TROOPS” Participants are asked to contribute two star themed quilt blocks every two months. The only requirements are the blocks need to be 12.5” X 12.5” (12” finished), one block must have the focus color/print as the star with white as the background and the other block must have the color/print as the background and white as the star. The remaining two month periods and their themes are:
March thru April: Blue May thru June: Patriotic
July thru August: Gold September thru October: Service Branch Specific
November thru December: Maker’s Choice
Long Beach Quilts of Valor will assemble the quilts, make bindings, and supply the backings. For information about this project, Sew Day at Lakewood High School, or Long Beach Quilts of Valor, contact Barbara Winkler at 562-925-7673 or email socalqov@aol.com]]>Road 2016 Faculty and Vendor: Meet Michele Crawford Plus A Giveaway
Wednesday, December 16th, 2015Michele Crawford will be teaching on Monday, 1003R Carpenter Star, and an evening class on Saturday, 6066C Crumb Quilting
Michele’s company, Flower Box Quilts, will have a booth on the vendor floor.
The Flower Box Quilts booth is known as the “happy booth.” She likes to showcase many different styles and techniques to inspire her customers. Featured in her booth are seasonal and non-seasonal fabrics as well as 100 of her original quilt patterns including those for quilts of all sizes, runners, place mats, pillows, Christmas ornaments and tree skirts, and other decorative items. She still likes to combine counted cross stitch with quilting and has started to offer other types of handwork including working with wool felt and embroidery, and hexagons.
Michele is looking forward to teaching her two classes. She enjoys interacting and being with the quilters, and sharing her tips and techniques for quilting. She wants her students to have FUN and reminds them that there are many ways and techniques to achieve the same results in quilting. Her motto? “We cannot achieve perfection but we can strive for excellence.” She especially loves it when she sees the “light bulb” come on in a student’s face when they have tried something new that she taught them and it works for them.
There are several sewing tips that Michele likes to share. One is Don’t wash fabric before piecing. She believes that the finishes help achieve a “cleaner” cut with a rotary cutter. Some other tips: Iron as you go; It’s OK to sew over pins; and Use 100% Cotton thread. To learn more of Michele’s tips, you’ll just have to take one of her classes!!
Michele is looking forward to being at Road 2016: “I LOVE the amazing and positive energy of all the quilters – vendors – staff at Road! The extreme excitement of being at the cutting edge of quilting and being inspired by so many incredibly talented and creative people is mind boggling, humbling, and fabulous!”
To learn more about Michele, please visit her web site.
Now for the giveaway: Michele is giving away 5 copies of her book, Just Cut The Scrap. To enter, simply comment below what you are looking forward to the most at Road 2016. You have until midnight on Sunday, December 20, 2016 to enter. Five lucky winners will be chosen using Random Number Generator and will be notified on Monday, December 21, 2016. Good luck to all who enter.
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