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So You Want To Make A Winning Quilt- 1st Place Modern Piecing

September 16th, 2016

Rebecca L. Smith of Rapid City, South Dakota won $1,000 from sponsor Clover USA for winning 1st Place for Road 2016 Modern Piecing.

[caption id="attachment_4326" align="aligncenter" width="336"]

Modern Medallion[/caption]

Rebecca L. Smith says she was “very fortunate” to have had a grandmother that quilted who patiently taught her to hand piece and quilt many years ago. Rebecca added, “I miss her every day.”

Modern Medallion was started in 2014 and finished in 2015, taking 60-70 hours to quilt. The quilt was inspired by Rebecca’s rather large collection of beautiful gradated fabrics and from the interesting curved patterns from Sew Kind of Wonderful. She said she learned a lot about curved piecing on this project. The quilting on Modern Medallion is mostly free hand.

What did Rebecca think about winning 1st place for Modern Piecing? She was ‘so excited” when she found out and was pretty sure she spent her prize money on buying more fabric.

Rebecca is hoping that her future quilting endeavors will challenge her to design an original pattern for her next quilt .

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Tags: Clover USA, Curved Piecing, Modern Quilting, Pieced Quilting, Sew Kind of Wonderful
Posted in Road 2016, Winning Quilts | No Comments »

Meet Road 2017 Teacher Susan Else

September 14th, 2016

Susan will be teaching two, two day classes: 4502C “People, People, People!” on Thursday and Friday

and 6702C Beasts in the Jungle on Saturday and Sunday.

A native of Northern California, Susan Else is known for her use of 3-D elements. She is nationally and internationally known, and teaches at art centers, museums, conferences, and fiber guilds across the U.S. Her work is in public and private collections, and she has completed many commissioned pieces. In addition, Susan serves on the board of the Studio Art Quilt Associates, so between that, teaching, and working in her studio, she is one busy lady!!

Susan has always an interest in textiles; she started out as a weaver and spinner. She grew up in a family of artists and learned a great deal from watching their process, even though she never expected to become an artist herself. Her mother was a sculptor and she also taught Susan to sew. Susan learned how to quilt by taking an adult ed quilting class so that she could make a baby quilt for her first child. She didn’t actually finish that project until her daughter was seven years old. Since then, she’s has learned bits and pieces from every class she’s taken,although what she does now, she has developed on her own. Susan began her journey into 3-D in 1998 when she attached 3D elements to flat wall quilts, and it took off from there. One source for her inspiration was Michael McNamara’s bird figures and she patterned some figures of her own. Susan shares, “My brain seems to generate these wry commentaries on contemporary life. My work is often based on my own experience in some way.”

What are Susan’s favorite quilting tools that she uses with her technique? “My stuffing fork, my spring-loaded scissors, and the extremely thin curved needles I use for all my hand-work. Over the years, all of these have helped to keep the arthritis in my hand stable, and I’m still able to sew.” Susan has traveled as far away as Finland with her fabric art experiences. She is looking forward to teaching at Road 2017 because she loves when her students get excited about what they can do with the techniques she teaches them. “It opens up a whole new way of looking at fabric,” says Susan. She hopes her students will “play” and get more tools of what they can do with fabric and thread.

To learn more about Susan Else, please visit her website. ]]>

Tags: 3D Fabric Art, Fabric Art, Susan Else
Posted in Faculty, Road 2017, Road to California | No Comments »

Meet Road 2017 Father/Daughter Teachers: John Flynn and Kate Flynn Nichols

September 8th, 2016

Tuesday classes.

John will be teaching 2003C Double Wedding Ring

and Kate will be teaching 2004C Storm at Sea

In addition, Kate will be teaching a Friday night class, 5061C Half Rail Fence

What could be more fun than sharing your passion of quilting by giving workshops, creating innovative templates and kits, and bouncing off new ideas with someone from your own family? That is exactly what John Flynn and his daughter, Kate Flynn Nichols, have been doing for over 17 years. Both residents of Montana, they spend a lot of time together fine tuning patterns, assembly directions and pressing techniques so that their templates and laser pre-cut kits go together as easily and smoothly as possible.

John got in to the quilting scene in the 1980’s when he was testing the quilt frames that he was designing and building for his wife Brooke. He soon discovered how relaxing hand quilting was and has been working at it ever since.

Kate started quilting in 1988. She grew up watching both her parents quilt. She went to guild meetings with them and started stashing fabric at a young age. Kate entered her first quilt show when she was just 8 years old!! As she grew older, she was “actually surprised to find out later in life that not everyone quilts!”

They each find inspiration for their designs in different ways. For Kate, it comes from nature and her parents’ old magazine collection. John has an engineering background so he finds inspiration in the geometry of objects and from old traditional quilts. John and Kate have different preferences when it comes to working with color. John’s favorite palette is the colors of the rainbow; bright primaries and secondaries. Kate likes strong pastel combinations and monochromes. Interestingly, Kate is the company’s fabric buyer; she has a sure hand in color selection. While they enjoy their partnership, working closely with each other can have its drawbacks. Kate says, “It’s hard not really having a separation between work and family. Who wants to plan their next business trip at Thanksgiving dinner?” John admits his challenge is that since he and Kate both have engineering minds, “they think alike most of the time” which can be both positive and negative. When they aren’t working together, John likes fly fishing, fly tying, and biking.

Kate, who has been married since August, 2003 to graphic designer Kevin Nichols, enjoys reading, rockhounding, gardening and watching either Animal Planet, the History Channel or the Discovery Channel.

What are their favorite tips for quilters? From Kate: “Relax and be forgiving with yourself. You are a human, not a machine and your projects should reflect your humanity!” John adds, “Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy. It is easier to take your time and do it right the first time rather than rush through and do it over and over.” There is still limited space in both of their classes. You can learn more about this dynamic father-daughter quilting duo on their website: www.flynnquilt.com

Tags: Flynn Quilt Frame Company, John Flynn, Kate Flynn Nichols, Quilt Teacher
Posted in Faculty, Road 2017 | 1 Comment »

Meet The Friendship Square Quilt Guild

September 5th, 2016

4c7ff3_114e218c07a242a086c28837df35789a-mv2_d_2744_2787_s_4_2 The Friendship Square Quilt Guild was started in 1981 when a group of women in the Whittier, California area wanted to get together to share their love of quilting. Today, with over 120 members, the guild meets monthly, sponsoring guest speakers on both traditional and modern quilting. Every other year, the guild holds a quilt show at the La Habra Community Center. Their next show is scheduled for March, 2018. [caption id="attachment_4294" align="aligncenter" width="625"] At Road 2016 showing off their Opportunity Quilt[/caption] The friendship activities that the guild is most proud of is their community and philanthropic outreach. One of their longstanding projects is with Quilts for Wounded Veterans. Members work together on red, white and blue themed quilts quilts that is part of a nationwide effort to thank wounded veterans for their service. The Marine Corps Family Foundation distributes the quilts to the Veterans Hospital at Camp Pendleton. Another adopted organization is From Maddi’s Closet which is dedicated to the memory of little Madison Holmes, whose brief life touched so many and continues to inspire others to reach out to children and families who still struggle in search of a cure for pediatric cancer. Guild members make pillowcases and Beads of Courage Bags for children undergoing treatment for cancer. The Beads of Courage Bags are used to store the beads they receive for their courage in undergoing treatment. Each December at the guild’s holiday meeting, local non-profit agencies are honored and receive a donation from the guild along with quilts to be used in their programs. Agencies honored last December included Women’s and Children’s Crisis Center, St. Matthaias Episcopal Church, Interfaith Food Center, Salvation Army Transitional Living Center, Rosie’s Garage, and From Maddi’s Closet. Friendship Square Quilt Guild is so much more than a love of quilting. It is reaching out in friendship to those less fortunate, providing them warmth and security through quilting. To learn more about the Friendship Square Quilt Guild, please visit their website. ]]>

Tags: CA, Friendship Square Quilt Guild, From Maddi's Closet, Interfaith Food Center, La Habra, Modern Quilting, Quilts for Wounded Veterans, Rosie's Garage, Salvation Army Transitional Center, St. Matthias Episcopal Church, The Marine Corps Family Foundation, Traditional Quilting, Whittier, Women's and Children's Crisis Center
Posted in Quilt Guilds | No Comments »

Sibling Time at Road

August 31st, 2016

Siblings who share family ties and quilting ties are a great combination!!

Lauraine Clark (Upland, California) and Dianne Gullino (Bonnie Lake, Washington)

Even though Dianne is the sister that lives the farthest away from Road’s show location in Ontario, California, she has been coming the longest, for the past 10 years. About four years ago, she began persuading Lauraine to come with her and they have been attending together ever since. Dianne figures that she generally makes about 12 quilts a year. In 2014, she made 30 pieced quilts to honor all the veterans in her Pomona High school graduating class for their 50^th class reunion. At first, she was just going to make one quilt for the student body president, a veteran who was suffering from MS and could not make the reunion. After making his quilt, she decided to make quilts for all the veterans in her class. Classmates donated the money for the fabric to help relieve Diane of some of the cost. Lauraine helped with the piecing. The veteran classmates were moved by Dianne’s gift and were very appreciative. For some, it was the first time they had ever been recognized for their service. Dianne made sure that those who didn’t attend the reunion still got their quilts, mailing them off after the event. Terri Krause and Keith Dommer

For over 20 years, sister and brother Terri Krause and Keith Dommer, have met their mother at Road to California to celebrate her birthday and do some quilting. Terri thinks Road is the best place for a family outing. While Terri loves applique, she doesn’t have any desire to do it. She prefers a more traditional style and gives away most of the quilts she makes. Keith started out making pieced quilts. After 10 years of quilting, he started doing machine applique. His quilt tops integrate bold, graphic designs. Keith has won numerous awards for his quilting including this second place award for Traditional, Large, Mixed at Road to California in 2012:

Marina (Oak Hills, California) and Lisa Caraway (Rancho Cucamonga, California)

Sister-in-laws who both love to quilt, Lisa brought Marina for her first visit to Road in 2016. Marina loves to quilt and loved the show. She said “I can’t wait to come back.” Lisa offered some good advice for show guests from her own experience. She said, “make the rounds to all the vendors before you commit!!” The sister-in-laws have already begun their “plotting” to attend Road 2017. Do you have a sibling that quilts? Will you planning be getting together at Road 2017?]]>

Tags: Families that Quilt, Road to California 2017, Siblings that Quilt, Veteran Quilts
Posted in Road to California | 2 Comments »

Road 2017 Special Exhibit: The Lion King Cherrywood Challenge 2016

August 25th, 2016

Road to California 2015 – The 20^th Anniversary Show, Cherrywood Fabrics presented their popular The WICKED Cherrywood Challenge special exhibit. Road 2017 will be hosting Cherrywood’s second in their series of quilt challenges, The Lion King Cherrywood Challenge 2016. Explains Karla Overland, owner of Cherrywood Fabrics, “The Lion King was a natural progression after doing “WICKED” for our first challenge. The resources we had for that first challenge led me to the Lion King and it happens to be their 20th Anniversary in 2017. They will be showing off some of the quilts at the Minskoff Theatre in November of 2017.” The exhibit is made up of 120 small art quilts that were submitted for The Cherrywood Challenge 2016. When displayed together, they create a dramatic (jaw-dropping) visual experience that covers 80 feet. The cohesive color, size, theme and texture of the Cherrywood fabric makes it easy for the viewer to see the entire exhibit as a whole. The excitement of discovering all the details of each little work of art makes this collection unforgettable. All entrants started with the same four hand-dyed Cherrywood fabrics (golds and black) and designed their own original quilts within a 20-inch square. Accent colors had to be Cherrywood as well, but techniques were wide open. Karla said that they “saw many examples of thread painting, coloring with pencils and pens, Zen tangle drawing, intricate piecing, all kinds of appliqué methods, and even tatting. Images of the final squares were uploaded to ArtCall, a website designed for the jury process. A panel of three jurors was enlisted to select the final quilts for the exhibit using a point system. It was an extremely difficult process considering there were over 300 quilts entered from 41 states and 9 countries. After the 120 finalists were sent to Cherrywood, three prize winners were chosen as well as a “Cherrywood Choice” and 20 “Disney’s Choice” quilts – they could not decide on just one! Compared to the WICKED exhibit, The Lion King Challenge is slightly larger than WICKED which had 114 quilts. Since there were so many more submissions for The Lion King Challenge, Cherrywood was able to get the cream of the crop and select exactly what they wanted for the traveling collection. It was interesting to Cherrywood to see the wide variety of interpretations, skill level and workmanship. The exhibit made its debut at AQS QuiltWeek Grand Rapids in August 2016. After traveling with AQS in the fall, it will be shown at International Quilt Market and Festival in Houston, Texas. The 2017 season kicks off with Road to California. After Road 2017, the exhibit will continue on to 13 other locations, ending up at the Minskoff Theater in New York City. Cherrywood has been able to already meet several of the artists who worked on the exhibit. While each quilt has an artist statements that adds to the quilt, Karla remarked, that hearing “them tell their stories in person is the best part of this adventure. We did get submissions from well-known quilt artists, and yet several people said they had never tried a challenge, or had never shown their work in public, and some had just started quilting!” Karla was able to meet the first place winner, Jill Cranford, and her family. Karla said that Jill “was a young woman who had sewn her whole life and was quietly teaching herself quilting on her own. I was so impressed with her workmanship from the design concept which has many layers, to the perfect stitching, both machine and hand. It is good to see up-and-comers in the quilting world.” [caption id="attachment_4276" align="aligncenter" width="625"] First place winner Jill Cranford and her mother.[/caption] As with any quilt challenge, the intent of this project was to allow people to push themselves beyond what they are used to; try working with colors and fabrics they normally would not have chosen; and grow creatively. As Karla observed, “It is not easy to put yourself out there.” A photo book of the exhibit has been created to give the artists a chance to have their work published and be part of a timeless collection. What will be Cherrywood Fabrics next quilt challenge? They will be announcing the new theme at Quilt Festival in Houston. Stay tuned… ]]>

Tags: AQS, Cherrywood Fabrics, Hand dyed fabric, International Quilt Market, Karla Overland, Minskoff Theater, The Lion King, The Lion King 20th Anniversary, Wicked
Posted in Road 2017, Special Quilt Exhibits | No Comments »

Le Projet Fou or "Crazy Project"

August 23rd, 2016

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.]]>

Tags: Association French Patchwork, Bohin Factory, Bohin France, Catherine Bonte
Posted in Vendors | 3 Comments »

Meet Road 2017 Teacher Gudrun Erla

August 19th, 2016

Gudrun Erla will be teaching 4013C Scandinavian Style on Thursday; 5013C Stripology Squared on Friday; 6011C Mastering Quilt as you go on Saturday; and 7009C Strip Your Stash on Sunday.

Gudrun Erla is fond of the cold country. She was born and raised in Iceland and currently lives in Minnesota with her family: Atli (23), Gisli (16), Svana (15) and a puppy Koby. When Gudrun isn’t quilting, she likes to cook, enjoy outdoor activities, run and exercise or just relax with friends.

Gudrun got into quilting by happening to take a class. She gets inspired for her quilting from just about everywhere. She says she never knows what will spark an idea; she is open to anything. Her Stripology Ruler is her favorite quilting tool. It saves her so much time cutting anything and makes everything so accurate and easy.

Gudrun has taught quilt classes as far away as her native Iceland and in Alberta, Canada. She likes teaching because she likes to get to know her students and share in their success in class She can adapt quickly to any class situation, One time when she was teaching, Gudrun was doing a lecture on Stripology and had planned to show all the quilts out of her newest Stripology book. The only problem was, she left the bag with all the quilts at home so she had to quick-like reorganize her lecture around the quilts she did have with her. She is hoping that all her students at Road to California 2017 will have a fun day of sewing with her, meeting new people and learning a few things in the process. Gudrun wants everyone to go home confident in continuing and finishing the projects they started in class.

What is Gudrun’s favorite quilting tip? Relax and enjoy the journey. Practice does make perfect but she adds that you should always have fun while you are practicing, because nothing is ever perfect. To learn more about Gudrun, please visit her website. ]]>

Tags: GE Designs, Gudrun Erla, Iceland, Quilt Teacher
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Meet Road 2017 Teacher: Jenifer Dick

August 13th, 2016

JeniferDick Jenifer began quilting on a whim. She was a cross stitcher in college and was checking out a new shop in Kansas City for supplies when she noticed that half the shop was fabric. By this time, she was getting bored with cross stitching because she felt constrained by the lack of freedom in recreating the charts. Jenifer noticed that the quilt girls could pick their own fabric and put it together however they liked. That kind of freedom really intrigued her. There was a sign-up for a beginning quilting class and she signed up on the spot. This was in 1993. The rest, as they say, is history; Jenifer never cross stitched again! Jenifer says when it comes to quilting, “I am kind of schizophrenic. I am equal parts bold and graphic, and equally organic! I have a graphic design background so simple shapes and bright colors have always caught my eye. And the art of the early 20^th century has always attracted me. Contrastingly, I live in the country in the woods and love my trees and birds! They often show up in my applique designs.” When asked what her favorite quilting took was, Jenifer replied, “I keep my tools really simple – machine, scissors, rotary cutter, mat, rulers. I find you can do 99% of what you need to do with those simple tools. I do have one tool I use that isn’t a quilting tool at all that I like! It’s an orange stick, used for manicures. It can be a stiletto, a third hand, it helps cleaning out nooks and crannies in my machine, and it helps in applique. Quite versatile for a small piece of balsa wood!” The best quilting tip Jenifer has to offer is to spend the money on a really good quality iron. Why? Because “You can’t imagine how big a difference a good iron makes! It glides over the fabric better, helps reduce fatigue, and the heavier weight helps with pressing open seams without making them wobbly.” Though Jenifer also recommends having “a cheap iron with a non-stick sole plate on hand for gooky jobs – working with fusible, lots of starch, etc.” The best part about teaching for Jenifer is meeting the quilters and getting to know them. She says that she has found that her quilting students come to her classes with tons of knowledge and that she always learns something from the students at every workshop she teaches. Since Jenifer mostly teaches locally in Missouri, she is really looking forward to coming to Road to California and meeting her students. She hopes that they learn something new and have a lot of fun. Jenifer shared that in her classes, they laugh a lot and she gives out fun prizes throughout the day. But most importantly, she strives to teach something new – no matter how small – to even the most experienced quilter. To learn more about Jenifer, visit her website. ]]>

Tags: Jenifer Dick, Quilt Classes, Road to California 2017
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So You Want To Make A Winning Quilt? 2016 Excellence In Hand Quilting

August 9th, 2016

Elegance was made and quilted by Elsie M. Campbell. She received $1,500 from sponsor, World of Quilts Travel. “Quite pleased,” was Elsie’s reaction when she found out she had won the prize for Excellence in Hand Quilting. Elsie Campbell’s love for quilting is in her genes; from her mother, grandmothers, aunts…… and even back several more generations. Inspiration for Elegance came when her son took Elsie in September, 2007 to an exhibit of antique quilts from the Henry duPont collection at Winterthur, duPont’s childhood home. The collection had been opened to the public more than 60 years ago as a museum. There were some exquisite boutis (trapunto or stuffed work) quilts that fascinated Elsie. She decided that if women from the 18th and 19th century could do this form of quilting, “I surely could, too.” Work on Elegance began soon after Elsie returned from the exhibit and continued until September of 2015 – a total of 8 years to complete. During those 8 years, Elsie also made 50+ other quilts AND wrote 2 books ALONG with her traveling schedule, teaching quilt making techniques to others across the nation. Elsie said she never doubted that she would complete Elegance. She would stitch when she had a few moments here and there, usually in hotel rooms while she was on the road and at other odd times. Says Elsie, “A little bit of time here and there really will allow you to accomplish something significant. Just keep at it. If you enjoy the process (and I do!) it doesn’t matter how long it takes to make something of lasting beauty.” [caption id="attachment_4234" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Close up of Elsie’s work[/caption] Elsie also makes heirloom machine quilted quilts, quilting them on a domestic sewing machine. While she loves to do all kinds of quilt making techniques, she started off quilting everything by hand and still loves taking the time to hand quilt. What is Elsie working on next? Elsie is a new iquilt.com instructor. Her online workshop is based on another award-winning quilt, Aunt MiMi’s Flower Garden quilt. The first version of that quilt won the Judge’s Special Merit at Road to California in 2009, and the second version won Best Traditional Quilt in 2014, and several top awards at the AQS Shows. [caption id="attachment_4235" align="aligncenter" width="336"] Aunt Mimi’s Flower Garden II – 2014[/caption] The workshop features 7 online lessons, complete with patterns and professionally produced instructional videos. Elsie still travels to teach quilting to guilds and at quilt shops and national quilt shows across the USA, delivering programs, and workshops, and generally enjoying herself. She sums it up by saying, “I love it ALL!” To learn more about Elsie, please visit her website. ]]>

Tags: Award Winning Quilts, Elsie M. Campbell, Hand Quilting, Traditional Quilting
Posted in Winning Quilts | No Comments »