Welcome to the Road to California Blog

Plane, Car, or Bus Tour: How Are You Getting To Road?

November 13th, 2013

Convenience — that is what Road to California specializes in. Having it at the Ontario Convention Center is convenient. If you are flying in, it is convenient to Ontario Airport. If you are driving in, it is convenient to Interstate 10 and 15. If you are staying more than a day, it is convenient to hotels. And what could be more convenient than leaving all the arrangements to attend Road to California 2014 with an official bus tour!!

There are four organized bus tours for Road 2014 . Two are starting in California, one is originating in Arizona, and one will be beginning all the way from South Dakota!!! Anyone can join a tour even if you aren’t from the location where the tour starts.

Country Heritage Tours: The Ultimate Road to California

This tour begins in San Diego, California and ends with two days at Road in Ontario, California. The tour stops at six of the area’s best-loved quilt shops along with California’s must-see countryside & attractions including Palm Springs.

Stitchin’ Heaven Travel: Trip of a Lifetime

A Southern California Quilt Shop Hop is what you’ll experience on this tour. Fly in to San Diego Airport and stay two days in the beach community of La Jolla, California. While at Road, the tour includesPreview Night and two days of shopping and quilt viewing at the show.

Blissful Bus Tours – Quilter’s Dream Tour

Gathering quilt lovers from the Tucson and Phoenix areas for this first annual trip west to Ontario, California and the Road to California Quilters Conference. Luxury motor coaches, on board refreshments and raffles, hotel accommodations, complete access to Road, and more!

ABS Travel Group – Quilting Extravaganza

Departing January 22, 2014 for a 6 days / 5 nights tour beginning from Rapid City, South Dakota and landing in Ontario, California. (Other airport arrivals can be arranged) Includes all the best Road to California has to offer: hundreds of vendors, all entrance fees, the popular Roundabout evening session, the Alex Anderson Lecture and 3 additional lectures of your choice. Also included is a day’s tour of the area including many quilt shops, bead and embellishment shops and more. You are sure to have a ‘quilt-mazing’ experience!

In addition to these extended tours, there are seven, one day bus excursions planned. Please check the Road to California website for additional information regarding dates of travel and departure locations.

No matter how you plan to get to Road 2014, we can’t wait to see you!!!

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Tags: ABS Travel Group, Blissful Bus Tours, Bus tour, Country heritage Tours, Ontario Airport, Ontario Convention Center, Stitchin' Heaven Travel
Posted in Road 2 CA Blog, Road 2014, Road to California | No Comments »

Road 2014 Vendor Spotlight: Meet Jeanie Sumrall-Ajero of Kaleidoscope Collections

November 9th, 2013

Jeanie will be in Booth 3H which will be featuring Kaleidoscope Kreator software.

Personal: Jeanie Sumrall-Ajero and her sister Nancy Kurokawa founded Kaleidoscope Collections in 2004. Jeanie is the chief designer and creative force for the company. She is an avid photographer and has a professional background in computer technology. Jeanie enjoys hiking the trails in the Rocky Mountain foothills where she lives with her husband Ramon and their two long-haired cats, Kira & Luna.

How did you get stated in quilting? A few people noticed some of my designs in paper crafting and suggested I think about quilting.

Does anyone else in your family quilt? My mother. I got her started in quilting when she was 75 years old.

Where do you find inspiration for your quilting? Everywhere. I can’t think of a place that doesn’t provide some sort of creative inspiration if I am looking for it.

What is the one quilting tool you can’t live without? My computer. Almost all of my quilts are based on photographs that I run through Kaleidoscope Kreator software. Then I use Photoshop to flesh out initial concepts, choose color schemes, and modify designs if they don’t come together as planned. I use Adobe Illustrator to create artwork that I then digitize in Floriani Total Control Pro. I would not enjoy quilting nearly as much without my computer.

What do you like to do when you aren’t quilting? Photography. I was a photographer many years before I started quilting. I love capturing images from perspectives that most people never take the time to discover.

What was the best class you have taken? Surprisingly not a quilting class but a photography lecture. I attended Photoshop World about a year ago and sat in on a lecture by Vincent Versace. I was expecting a lecture about techniques, but found myself totally engrossed as he described his philosophy behind taking photos instead of the act of actually taking the photo. It totally changed my mindset surrounding my own photography. It also made me realize that teaching the “why’s” can sometimes be more important than teaching the “what’s” in a class.

What do you like most about sharing your product? I love to teach technical concepts to non-technical people. You would be amazed at how many concepts from traditional quilting can be used to teach technical things!

What do you want people to know when they walk away from your booth? I want them to feel like they can conquer the world! But short of that, I want them to feel confident in using the Kaleidoscope Kreator software so that they can relax and have fun with it. And I want them to discover how easy it is to get stitched designs to line up with printed designs in the embroidery hoop – no matter what kind of machine they have.

What is your best tip for quilters? Don’t be afraid to experiment with new techniques, with new colors, and with new tools. Start small – you don’t have to experiment on a big project. It is not a waste of time or materials to experiment on a small piece first – that’s where you work out any kinks without fear of ruining a bigger project!

You can find Jeanie at http://www.kalcollections.com/

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Tags: Adobe illustrator, Floriani Total Control Pro, Kaleidoscope Kreator, Photoshop
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Road 2014 Vendor Spotlight: Meet Pat Yamin of Come Quilt With Me

November 7th, 2013

Pat will be in Booth 811 which will be featuring Pat’s Perfect Patchwork Templates and the Brooklyn Revolver rotary cutting tools.

Personal: Pat Yamin loves to read, knit, and hang out in her kitchen baking chocolate chip cookies and trying out new recipes. Born in Michigan and currently living in New York, her quilting experiences have taken her to all of the Hawaiian Islands. Pat’s business, Come Quilt With Me, is a family run operation. It began in 1981 as a mail-order catalog for quilters, selling everything but fabric. In the late 1980’s Pat changed the focus of her business to manufacturing her own quilting products, starting with Pat’s Perfect Templates in 1991 and later adding her rotary cutting tools, Brooklyn Revolver.

How did you get started in quilting? When I moved from the Midwest to New York City in 1969 after I got married. At that time, I was working full time as a Vocational Counselor. I taught myself how to quilt since there were no quilting classes offered at that time, and only 2 or 3 quilting books were available.

Does anyone else in your family quilt? My paternal Grandmother was an avid hand piecer and hand quilter.

Where do you find inspiration for your quilting? I was a history major in college so the documentation of patterns and where they came from is very interesting to me. I LOVE all of the traditional quilting patterns. I own over 100 quilt tops, and antique quilts. I also have a very large collection of the original Kansas City Star newspaper patterns.

What is the one quilting tool you can’t live without? Mechanical pencils! I adore them and have several jars of them. I draw all of my quilting patterns on graph paper. I know; don’t laugh. I want to make sure of the sizes and the proportions. I am not a computer geek and this works very well for me.

Pat will also be teaching one class, #3021 Hand Piecing the Drunkard’s Path on Wednesday

What do you like best about teaching? The people I meet. There is always something new to learn. The classes that I offer and the students are the best. Traveling to different areas of the country I also see different kinds of fabric and everyone has really cool tools. I think quilters are ingenious in coming up with creative carriers for all of their “stuff.”

What is the funniest or most embarrassing moment you have had while teaching? Years ago, I was demonstrating how to use a rotary cutter. I paused to explain the pattern and how we were going to next cut the strips. All of a sudden, the class began to giggle. While I had been talking, I was casually flipping the 28 mm rotary cutter in my hand and had shredded the entire front of my pants!!!! Those in the class are all still laughing about this today!

What is your best tip for quilters? Relax, have fun and don’t stress. Buy the best fabric you can afford and buy some extra as well. If you are thinking of borders down the road, buy at least 4 yards.

What do you want your students to get out of your class? To remember my name, and to send me photos of their finished quilts and or projects.

You can find Pat at: http://www.comequiltwithme.com

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Tags: Brooklyn Revolver, Come Quilt With Me; Pat's Perfect Patchwork Templates
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Meet Gregory Case and Elena Morera: Official Road Photographer

October 22nd, 2013

Gregory Case and his wife Elena, owners of Gregory Case Photography, have been photographing Road to California for the past five years and will again in 2014. They are the only independent full-time photo studio photographing quilts, textiles, and fiber arts in the United States. They have regularly photographed for 5 different quit and textile magazines, in addition to contributing to over 25 quilt-related magazines and over 50 books. How did a licensed clinical social worker find his niche as a quilt photographer? Read on….

How did you get started in photography? It was a hobby of mine that I started very briefly in high school. Back then everything was film based and I quickly lost interest trying to figure out all the buttons on the camera. Years later, we were attending Elena’s niece’s wedding and I saw the perfect picture moment but the photographer was nowhere around to capture it. My reaction was, “What a shame to have missed such a great shot.” Later, during the reception, I was sitting by another guest who had brought their Canon Rebel to the wedding. I asked questions and observed what they were doing with their camera and decided I could do that. Two weeks later, for my birthday, I got the same camera and started shooting away.

What did you do to develop your skills? I completely self-taught myself, reading everything I could get my hands on. When I started, the transition from film to digital was just beginning which I think worked in my favor. I was learning and struggling with this new medium right along with all the other photographers. A year later, when I was offered my first paid job, photographing the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show, I hadn’t any real experience but they took a chance with me any way. It actually turned out pretty well and I stayed with them for five years, learning and improving as I went along. I even went on to photograph other national garden shows from that first opportunity.

How did you find your niche in quilt photography? Eleven years ago, we were living in Northern California and I worked with a woman named Sue Astroth. I had photographed her author’s photo for a quilt book she had written. Sue had a friend, Verna Mosquera, who saw Sue’s book and asked if she thought I would be interested in taking pictures of her quilt. Sue encouraged Verna to call me and that was how it all started. I’ve been perfecting my craft ever since and for the past eight years have been photographing quilts exclusively. The growth of my business has been pretty much by word of mouth. Quilters and fiber artists from 35 different states and 6 international countries have sent us their designs to be photographed at our studio for patterns, juried shows, and publications.

What all is involved in photographing quilts? Ha-ha—everything!!! You just don’t want to throw a quilt up and take a picture. It isn’t that simple. Basically there are three things I work on: Color, Tone (brightness and darkness), and Surface Detail (quilting and thread). Of the three, color is the most difficult and challenging. Every device used in the process (from human eye to camera to computer to printer to paper to ink) has a different interpretation for the same color. The trick is getting them all to see the particular color as close as possible. The average quilt typically takes an hour and a half from beginning to end to photograph in my studio. If it is a difficult shoot, it can take up to four hours to photograph one quilt.

What do you and Elena do at Road? I am the photographer and Elena is the stylist, preparing the quilts and scenes to be shot. Generally we take anywhere from 1,000 – 2,000 photographs during the week, looking for variety and following a shot list given to us from Carolyn and Matt. For three years, I also taught classes which I really enjoyed. Next Spring, I will be teaching on Road’s Quilting Through the Panama Canal.

How would you describe your experience with Road? I love it. No other show compares. For me, Road is the “Apple” of the quilt world. It is a high quality show with the reputation of having the best teachers, vendors, and staff. I look forward to it every year.

You can find Gregory and Elena on their web site: www.gregorycase.com

Stay tuned. Next on the blog, Gregory is going to share some easy photography tips.

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Tags: Gregory Case Photography
Posted in behind the scenes, Road 2 CA Blog, Road 2014, Road to California | 2 Comments »

Road 2014 Faculty: Meet Katie Pasquini Masopust

October 19th, 2013

Katie will be teaching two, two day classes: #3401 Painted, Stitched Canvas on Wednesday and Thursday and #5601 From Watercolor Painting to Quilt on Friday and Saturday.

Personal: Katie Pasquini Masopust has taught quilt classes as far away as Australia and New Zealand but what she enjoys most, happens right at home. She likes to walk and dance and play with her three dogs: Ziggy a Chesapeake retriever; Jake, a yellow lab; and Buddy an Australian Shepard. Katie also enjoys her three wonderful step children and three grandchildren.

How did you get started in quilting? I took what I thought was an embroidery class which turned out to be a quilting class and was hooked.

Does anyone else in your family quilt? My sister and my cousin and I make log cabin quilts together twice a year.

Where do you find inspiration for your quilting? I find inspiration for my quilts in the world around me and through my paintings.

What is the one quilting tool you can’t live without? My Gingher scissors

What do you like best about teaching? Sharing my knowledge with the students and enjoying working with fabric together.

What is your best tip for quilters? Enjoy yourself!

What do you want your students to get out of your class? The ability to think it up, then make it.

You can find Katie at: http://www.katiepm.com/

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Road 2014 Faculty Spotlight: Meet Jacquelyn Gering

October 16th, 2013

Jacquie will be teaching four classes: 4005 Stitch Flip and Improvisation on Thursday, 5005 Log Cabin Modern Makeover on Friday,6005 Slice and Insert Improvisation – The Shattered Quilt! on Saturday, and on Sunday,7005 Creative Quilting With Your Walking Foot. Personal: Jacquie Gering sits on the Board of Directors for the Modern Quilt Guild and is an enthusiastic advocate for all things modern quilting. The inspiration for her modern quilt designs comes from the world around her (like the city of Chicago) and from causes she is passionate about. She has created a quilt in response to the Boston Marathon Bombing and one in support of anti-violence. The mother of two sons in their 20’s, Jacquie’s quilting partner is her adopted black lab, Bruno.

Photo by Gregory Case

How did you get started in quilting? I started quilting by accident 5 years ago. A visit to the Gees Bend exhibit happened to correspond with me quitting my job. There was something about The Quilts of Gees Bend that reached out to me. They inspired me, and I had the time, so I gave quilting a try.

Does anyone else in your family quilt? Not really. My family is Mennonite so making is a tradition. The men and women in my family are all makers. The women are/were all accomplished seamstresses. They could make a quilt if they needed to.

What is the one quilt tool you can’t live without? My sewing machine. It’s my best friend.

What do you like to do when you aren’t quilting? I love to visit art museums, walk my dog and listen to music. I also love to write.

Photo by Gregory Case

What do you like best about teaching? I’ve been a teacher for over 30 years. Teaching is the best job in the world. The best part of teaching is that kids and adults learn!

What is your best tip for quilters? Don’t be afraid to fail and then learn from your mistakes.

What do you want your students to get out of your class? It’s important to me that students leave class having gained knowledge and skill in the technique and confidence in their design ability.

You can find Jacqueline at: www.tallgrassprairiestudio.blogspot.com

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Tags: Anti-Violence, Boston Marathon Bombing, Gregory Case, Modern Quilt Guild, Modern Quilting, The Quilts of Gees Bend
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Road 2014 Faculty Spotlight: Meet Christen Brown

October 11th, 2013

Christen will be teaching on the weekend: Friday #5002 Hanky Panky, Saturday #6002 Garden of Hearts, and Sunday #7002 Ribbon Work Garden

Personal: Christen Brown loves to embroider and embellish stitched pieces even when she isn’t teaching others to do it!! She was born in Manhattan Beach, California and has lived near the beach most of her life. Her biggest fans are her husband Kevin and her daughter Gwendolyn. And when you see her at Road, be sure to ask her how many times she has read the Harry Potter series!!!

What first interested you in quilting? The quilt on my bed when I was a kid was a crazy quilt made from vintage fabrics; I loved it and still do.

Does anyone else in your family quilt? No, just me. But I do have a very creative family and they all make wonderful things.

Where do you find inspiration for your work? The fabric, the colors and the quantity I have on hand. The rest takes care of itself.

What is the one quilting tool you can’t live without? I love my rotary cutter. Straight lines simply make me happy!

What was the best class you have taken? I took a Shibori class from Ana Lisa Hedstrom. What an artist and giving person she was.

What do you like best about teaching? I love to see the light turn on in my students’ eyes when a concept is conceived or a new idea occurs to them. Then my job is done and they are on their way to a marvelous creative journey.

What is the funniest or most embarrassing moment you have had while teaching? Daylight Savings, many years ago, I had scheduled a class at my house and forgot to set the clock ahead. Five students showed up when I was still in my pajamas. OOOPPPPPS!

What do you want your students to get out of your class? I want them to be comfortable with the knowledge that no matter what their skill level is, they can create beauty, enjoy the process, and be proud of their accomplishments.

You can find Christen on her web site: http://www.christenbrown.com or on her blog: http://1creativeone.wordpress.com

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First Impressions

October 9th, 2013

Everyone knows that first impressions are extremely important. They set the tone and expectations for what will happen later. When you walk through the doors of the Ontario Convention Center for Road to California, we want your first impression to be something special – just like the event itself.

Past themes in the arcade have included winter icicles and honoring individual quilters. For the past three years, the massive hallway has been adorned with quilts provided by quilt guilds from throughout Southern California.

How are the guilds chosen? Any quilt association can submit an email to Road requesting to be considered. The guild to be honored is chosen randomly from all the submissions. Once chosen, the guild then picks 35 quilts to be displayed. The only requirement is that the quilts must be at least 6 feet long. Road staff supervises the hanging of the quilts on special wiring in the arcade.

While the exhibits on the show floor tend to offer quilts that are created by artists and specialty quilters, the guild quilts showcased in the arcade are more traditional in workmanship and provide inspiration for quilters of all skill levels.

So, who will be the featured quilt guild for Road 2014? The Camarillo Quilters Association.

The Camarillo Quilters Association has 300 plus members from the Ventura County area and beyond. Besides exchanging ideas about quilting, learning new techniques, and improving quilting skills, they also work to inform their community about the history and preservation of quilts.

This group gives away 700 quilts a year among their many philanthropies including RAIN Communities, Inc. (helping homeless families in transitional housing); A New Start for Moms (quilts are given as a motivation and reward for graduation from their parenting skills program); Habitat for Humanity; Life Centers of Ventura County; the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit; and convalescent homes.

The association is quite excited to be able to share their quilts in the atrium exhibit. Remarked one of their members: “I have been going to Road for the last 10 years. What a joy it would be to see my quilt up there.” Previously, they had one quilt that was shown at Road in 1995 and have had the Presidents Quilt 2011-2013.

When you come to Road 2014, prepare to look up. A wonderful first impression will be waiting to welcome you.

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Tags: Camarillo Quilters Association, Ontario Convention Center, Quilt Guilds
Posted in behind the scenes, Road 2 CA Blog, Road 2014, Road to California | 6 Comments »

Road 2014 Faculty Spotlight: Meet Norah McMeeking

October 5th, 2013

Norah will be teaching #5020 Stacked Hexagon Stars on Friday and a two day class Saturday and Sunday #6701 Cosmati Rings I.

Personal: While Norah McMeeking has traveled as far away as exotic Palermo, Sicily for her quilting endeavors, it was looking at antique quilts at an Apple Festival in a local history museum in Illinois where she first caught the quilting bug. She decided then that “If I had to live among the corn and soybeans, I should get something out of it, so I took a quilting class.”

Norah enjoys the company of her two children, one granddaughter, a “spoiled dog,” and two feral cats. Her favorite foods are green beans, steak, and popcorn. And devil’s food cake. The last book she read was The Paris Deadline by Max Byrd.

When she is not quilting, Norah likes to entertain the neighbors, take photographs, travel, go to museums, and “pet my dog.”

Does anyone else in your family quilt? My niece quilts and my sister and my daughter-in-law “dabble.”

Where do you find inspiration for your quilting? Absolutely everywhere!

What is one quilting tool you can’t live without? Besides my sewing machine? I guess that would be my computer.

What do you like best about teaching? The students of course!

What has been the funniest or most embarrassing moment you have had while teaching? Once, about 2 hours in to an intense class on foundation piecing, I said to the students “You do know you won’t finish this in class don’t you?” And a student exclaimed, “Thank God!”

What has been the best class you have taken? I’ve been lucky to take many great classes, but one of the first, from Margaret Miller, stands out for its breadth. Another class I took from Ruth McDowell stands out for a real “ah-ha!” moment. It changed the way I thought about quilt design.

What is your best tip for quilters? Never be afraid to try something. Give yourself time to learn.

What do you want your students to get out of your class? I want my students to gain the confidence they need to do whatever they’d like with their quilting.

Visit Norah on her website: www.bellabellaquilts.com

P.S. Norah made this beautiful quilt titled What Goes Around and it is missing. If you have seen it, please let Norah know.

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Sharing a Passion – Helping the World

October 2nd, 2013

Leora Raikin has three passions: embroidery, education, and South Africa. This South African native who now resides in Los Angeles, started African Folklore Embroidery as a means to share and promote her passions.

Leora learned how to embroider from her mother and she has in turn taught her son. She realized that embroidery has become an endangered art; it isn’t as popular or as well-known as in times past. Her multi-culture embroidery kits are perfect for quilters, those who love to quilt, embroider, hand applique knit and crochet. She especially enjoys teaching young people — boys and girls alike — through after school programs and her African Folklore Challenge, the basics of embroidery. “When children learn how to embroider at a young age, they are encouraged and teach their parents.”

African Folklore Embroidery has over 40 kits available. Many of the kits are inspired by life in South Africa. Each kit features an African design pre-drawn on black over-locked fabric and several brightly colored threads to complete the project. The kits are creative, fun, and feature African geography and culture. They are made for the beginner embroiderer as well as the sophisticated stitcher and are a great take-along project. All of the kits can be converted into pillows, purses, quilts and wall-hangings. (A great way to get rid of one’s fabric stash!!) The extreme contrasts of brightly colored threads against the black fabric make any completed design both striking and beautiful.

The threads found in the kits are hand died in South Africa and are environmentally friendly. Production of the threads provide employment and income for women living in that country.

There is no right or wrong way to stitch a kit. Individuals choose which threads to use and go on to create their own interpretation of the design.

The African Folklore Challenge was started as a way to encourage people to finish their projects and earn prize money. Additional proceeds go to the organization, Kidzpositive, a charity devoted to helping HIV-positive children in South African. Participants purchase a kit, complete it and submit it to the challenge. The challenge offers $500 in total prize money: $250 Grand Prize; $150 Second Place Prize; and two-$75 Third Place Prizes. The challenge encourages not only creativity but a love for handiwork as well.

At Road 2013, Leora had a booth on the vendor floor, selling kits and a display showcasing winners from past African Folklore Challenges. For Road 2014, Leora will be teaching two evening classes: 4035 African Folklore Embroidery on Thursday and 6039 Advanced African Safari on Saturday. Taking one of Leora’s classes is like going on a safari without the jet lag!!!

Please visit Leora on the American Folklore Embroidery website: www.aflembroidery.com

Who taught you how to embroidery?

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Tags: African Folklore Embroidery, Kidzpositive, Leora Raikin, South Africa
Posted in classes, Faculty, Road 2 CA Blog, Road 2013, Road 2014, Road to California | 2 Comments »