Welcome to the Road to California Blog

Jodi Barrows

October 9th, 2010

Jodi Barrows

Jodi is teaching classes 4030, 5032, and 6031

Matt: How long have you been quilting? What made you begin quilting?

Jodi: My family was instrumental in starting me quilting 40 years ago.

M: Do you have a quilting studio? How big and is there anything unique that you keep in your studio?

Jodi: Yes I have a 1600 square foot studio.

M: What do you consider your quilting “specialty” or what makes you unique in the quilting world.

Jodi: I love to put many (21 or more) fabrics together in a quilt. Also the technique of Square in a Square plus speed and accuracy.

M: What is your favorite color schemes to work with?

Jodi: Muddy colors – tan and red.

M: What do you do while you quilt? Do you listen to music?

Jodi: I listen to music, tv or just the quiet.

M: What books or articles have your written?

Jodi: 20 books and many articles.

M: What is your quilting inspiration?

Jodi: Colors, feel and just all of life.

M: What is the funniest moment you have had happen while you were teaching?

Jodi: I was teaching in Vegas, it was my last lecture and then flying right out. So all my luggage was with me, personal and work. I pop open a quilt to show and a pair of panties flies out. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas! They all thought it was a hoot.

M: What was the best class you have ever taken?

Jodi: 30 years ago I took a rotary class.

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Christal Carter

October 8th, 2010

Christal Carter
Christal is teaching class 6005 Matt: How long have you been quilting? What made you begin quilting? Christal: My “Kansas” grandmother taught be to hand-piece a ninepatch when I was a teenager, and I was hooked. I didn’t actually complete a quilt until 1971 for the birth of my second daughter, Catrina. By 1980 I had begun designing and teaching. I still LOVE it! M: Do you have a quilting studio? How big and is there anything unique that you keep in your studio? C: I have a lovely country studio in Calley Center, CA. It is about 600 Sq. feet and has 2 decks outside among the giant oak trees. The floor below is a quest house and art studio. We included built in bunk beds for overnighters… the grandchildren love it! M: What do you consider your quilting “specialty” or what makes you unique in the quilting world? C: I am known primarily as a designer of the ‘log cabin’ block picture quilts, including the traditional squares as well as diamonds, triangles and hexagons. I also design appliquéd pictorial quilts and geometric quilts. I use many techniques, often combining hand & machine work. M: What is your favorite color schemes to work with? C: My favorite color schemes tend to be the warmer colors; I love reds, pinks, oranges and purples. I love all colors, however, and am able to experiment with color blending when I do my oil paintings. M: What books or articles have you written? C: Books: Holiday Happenings, Quilts for All Seasons, A Child’s Garden of Quilts, The Log Cabin Design Workbook. I am a contributor in these books: Decorating with Quilts and Decorating with Quilts and Collections. My quilts have appeared in numerous periodical publications since 1983. M: What do you do while you quilt? C: When I am quilting, I am usually very focused, so music is a great background for that. I sometimes do hand appliqué while watching television. M: What is your quilting inspiration? C: Everything! It doesn’t take much… a comment by a grandchild, a flower in the garden, memories from childhood, just a swatch of fabric can send me spinning. M: What is the funniest moment you have had happen while you were teaching? C: While teaching in Washington State one year, my husband was invited along. A well-known national teacher invited us to stay in her vacation guesthouse. When we arrived back at the house after giving the lecture, we found that the key did not work in the lock. Since our hostess lived some miles away, we borrowed a ladder from the neighbor and climbed into an open second story window with quilts in tow! That was great for so many laughs and wonderful memories! M: What was the best class you have ever taken? C: I loved learning from some of the men in quilting. My favorite was Michael James.. quite the artist! And Geoffrey Gutcheon, quite the quilt rebel at the time. They were both great teachers and very different.]]>

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Bonnie Hunter

October 7th, 2010

Bonnie Hunter

Bonnie is teaching classes 3006, 4006, 5006, 6008, 7007 and 8404 Matt: How long have you been quilting? What made you begin quilting? Bonnie: I started quilting in a high school home economics class my senior year of high school in 1980. I have that teacher to thank for giving me the bug early! I love all things geometric and piecing with shapes just lit a fire in me from early on. M: Do you have a quilting studio? How big and is there anything unique that you keep in your studio? B: My studio is in the basement of my house. It’s large enough to house my long arm machine, my corner area where I sew and do my piecing. I love being down here. I have a fireplace with a wood stove insert for cozy winter days, and window view out to my 1/5 acres of woods in rural North Carolina. I also have my collection of antique toy machines and other vintage machines down here. I’m not a neat freak, so it is usually a “creative mess in progress” in between bouts of “clean and straighten.” M: What do you consider your quilting “specialty” or what makes you unique in the quilting world? B: I have a dear friend who says I take the “Trash Can Approach to Quilting!” And I think this is true. I am a scrap quilter from way back because scraps are what I started with. When I got married my scraps came with me! I love scrappy vintage quilts, and I was always bored with quilts that used a limited amount of 2 to 5 fabrics. Just not enough going on in them to hold my interest! I like making the most of my fabrics, getting them to go as far as they can. As far as I’m concerned, fabric does NOT have an expiration date! If it’s still ugly, you just didn’t cut it small enough!

M: What is your favorite color schemes to work with? B: Definitely scrappy, not paying attention to fabric genre, mixing 30’s prints with civil war, batiks, old vips, solids, everything goes. There are no rules as to what fabrics can be put next to each other. M: What books or articles have you written? B: For the past several years I have been featured in Quiltmaker magazine. I currently have a column in each issue dedicated to using our fabric to its true potential! The column is called “Addicted to Scraps”. My first book, “Scraps & Shirttails” was published by Kansas City Star in Fall of 2008. My second book “Adventures with Leaders and Enders” was released in January 2010, and a third book the sequel to Scraps & Shirttails, more quilting with recycled fabrics ids due to be released in February of 2011. My website, Quiltville.com has loads of free patterns, tips and techniques for all thing quilty! M: What do you do while you quilt? B: I always have music on. It’s the first thing that goes on in the morning when I wake up! The other thing I love to do while piecing, machine quilting or hand quilting is listen to books on my mp3 player. I don’t often get hours just to sit and READ a book but I love to listen while my hands are busy with a needle. M: What is your quilting inspiration? B: My inspiration comes through my love of antique quilts. I can’t get enough of them, especially the quirky ones. I wonder about the maker, and what her/his life was like. Where did their fabric come from, where did they get their design inspiration. Most of these questions will never be answered, and I am drawn to the mystery in that. I love quilts with no rules, but still have a very traditional approach. M: What is the funniest moment you have had happen while you were teaching? B: Oh, this is easy! I was teaching for the Gulf States Quilting Association symposium weekend in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When we break for lunch we have to tell the students they can stay in the room and sew as long a there are two people in the room for safety measures. One older lady got a puzzled look on her face and asked….. “You mean they don’t trust us to stay by ourselves? They think we will steal something?” And the response was “No, it’s for you protection, what is someone came in here and molested you?” She got a very silly girlish look on her face and said “REALLY?????” Like that was the best offer she’d had in a long time! We all cracked up laughing because she was maybe 80 years old. It was SO FUNNY. I’ll never forget that. M: What was the best class you have ever taken? B: I’m basically a self-taught quilter. I haven’t taken many classes, but I did get the opportunity to attend one of Gwen Marston’s retreats in Michigan last year. It was such a great week, and lots of inspiration.

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Marilyn Badger

August 23rd, 2010

St George, UT
Visit Marilyn’s Website!
Marilyn will be teaching classes 1001, 1007, 2001 & 2007. Matt: How long have you been quilting? What made you begin quilting? Marilyn: Over 30 years. I picked up a copy of “Quilter’s Newsletter” in the late 1970’s and I was hooked. Matt: Do you have a quilting studio? Marilyn: Yes, we built a special room onto our house to house all my quilting stuff.

Matt: How big is your studio, and is there anything unique you keep in your studio?

M: Well, I have 12′ longarm machine, huge bins of thread, bobbins and industrial racks filled with fabric in the main room, then I have my two sewing machines, serger, cutting table, taptop computer and ironing board in a separate room attached to the longarm room. The unique thing I have hanging in my longarm room is a ceremonial kimono that I received as a gift from the President of Bernina Japan on one of my trips there to teach and work the Tokyo and Yokohama quilt shows. Matt: What do you consider your quilting specialty or what makes you unique in the quilting world? M: I was in the 1st class of longarm quilters, along with Linda Taylor, Marcia Stevens and Pam Clarke, who pushed the envelope and made longarm quilting acceptable in the quilting world back in the late ’80s and early ’90s. When we all purchased our machines they were mostly used to quilt bedspreads with edge to edge quilting all over them. We all saw no reason for that to be the case and each of us independently came up with out own way of dealing with our machines to make our quilting not only acceptable but competitive as well. Matt: What is your favorite color schemes to work with? M:I love color, period! All colors! Right now I seem to be doing lots of red/rust/green/blue combinations. Matt: What books or articles have you written? M: No books – not enough time to quilt and write books. I have written several articles for “Love of Quilting” magazine and contributed to articles about my quilts in other magazines. Matt: What do you do while you quilt? Do you listen to music? M:At one time I listen to lots of music but now I seem to like the silence when I quilt. I do listen to the radio sometimes when I’m pinning a quilt on or during one of my ripping sessions that can take quite a while. Matt: What is your quilting inspiration? M: I would say my partner, Claudia Myers, is a big inspiration to me. She comes up with fabulous designs just one after another. There are so many of them up there in her head and they are all so totally different. That keeps me on my toes because I want to have my quilting original on them all as well. Of course, there are some other big names in quilting who have been truly an inspiration to me as well as thousands of other quilters. Two that I can come up with from my early days of quilting are Charlotte Warr Andersen, and Caryl Bryer Fallert. Their work is perfection!! Matt: What was the best class you ave ever taken? M: I have not taken very many classes, but the ones that stand out to me were classes I took in Oregon in the early 90s from Moneca Calvert, Margaret Miller, Nancy Pearson and Marilyn Doheny and a 2-day class at Houston from Charlotte Warr Andersen.

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Karla Alexander

August 18th, 2010

Karla Alexander

Salem, OR

Visit Karla’s Website!

Karla will be teaching classes 4001, 5001, 6001 & 7001.

Matt: How long have you been quilting? What made you begin quilting?

Karla: I always sewed as a young girl – I began my quilting career during the long dark winters in Kodiak, Alaska.

Matt: Do you have a quilting studio?

Karla: Yes I have a studio by default. When we purchased our house, it came with a newly built 20’x24′ music studio, entirely hidden from street view, complete with lots of windows and vaulted ceilings, overlooking out back yard. The only thing in my studio that I think is unique is Lucy, my black lab.

Matt: What do you consider your quilting specialty?

K: I like to work and teach designs that can be re-worked into whatever style I want without always having to have a predetermined out come. I encourage students to make projects their own rather than simply duplicating a pattern, to change it up and put their own spin on it. I also love using a lot of different fabrics – often using 8 to 10 different pieces to represent one color, etc.

Matt: What is your favorite color schemes to work with?

K: As much as I hate to hem myself in to one color scheme… seems purple and green are always in the final cut!

Matt: What books or articles have you written?

K: I have written six books; Stack the Deck – 2002, Stack a New Deck – 2004, New Cut for New Quilts – 2006, Baby Wraps – 2008, Color Shuffle – 2009 and Stack the Deck, Updated Quilts – 2010.

I have also designed 4 rulers for Creative Grid, unique for cutting curves.

Matt: What do you do while you quilt? Do you listen to music?

K: I listen to music ALL day long – fill orders and hang with my Lucy.

Matt: What is your quilting inspiration?

K: To begin with – I am fascinated with quilts from the past. I am amazed at what quilters accomplished with the tools and fabric they had available. Quilters from the past are an enormous inspiration to me. with that in mind… I love to find designs in nature, floor tiles, old buildings etc.

Matt: What is the funniest moment you have had happen while you were teaching?

K: That would have to be when I showed up to teach a class and found most of the students had the wrong supplies. I continued on, encouraging them to learn the new techniques I was teaching – claiming they would eventually begin using them in their project. It wasn’t until an hour in that I realized I was teaching an entirely different project than they had signed up for…

Matt: What was the best class you ave ever taken?

K: July 2009, I had the pleasure of taking a class with the Ladies of Gees Bend. Nothing will ever top that experience!

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Classes at Road

July 14th, 2010

Road periodically sends out an email newsletter. If you are signed up for classes, have signed up for classes in the past or entered the contest in the past you should get the newsletter. We will have this information on file, so you don’t need to resign up.

One of the jewels of this years road show is a Saturday class we are offering. This is a “Mommy and Me” class. The class is number 6005 and is taught by Christal from Christal Carter which will be located in booth 1216. This class allows you to bring a daughter, granddaughter, son, grandson or whatever youngster in your life that is excited to learn a little about quilting! You will need to bring one sewing machine for the two of you to share! The cost of the class includes a name badge for your “sewing buddy” so they can enjoy the show with you!

Did you know that Road is now offering Hands on Longarm class all week? Handi Quilter has generously provided machines for the entire conference. Hurry and sign up before these classes fill up!

Our online system is so advanced it can now accept waiting lists for classes and lectures. You can wait list the same was as you can sign up for classes at https://online.roadtocalifornia.com We have already filled spots from the waiting lists, so don’t be bashful to put your name on one!

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Mickey Depre

June 17th, 2010

Mickey Depre

Machine Quilting and Piecing Faculty

Mickey will be teaching classes 3004,4011,4013,5004,6006,7014

(Information about this class will be posted soon)

Matt: How long have you been quilting? What made you begin quilting?

Mickey: I have been quilting since 1987. As a daughter of an accomplished seamstress I have learned to love fabric, needle and thread from a very early age. The bicentennial quilts in 1976 (when I was 10) intrigued me and when I was married and spending evening s along (husband worked second shift) I decided it was time to learn to quilt. So I dove into the dusty books on the library shelves and taught myself.

Matt: Do you have a quilting studio?

Mickey: My studio is pretty much the entire basement of our home. It started out as a family room and slowly but surely I took it over and last year it got one last “remodel” and well…it’s my own slice of heaven on earth now!

Matt: What do you consider your quilting “specialty” or what makes you unique in the quilting world?

M: I am known for my whimsical art quilts..but truly I love and make traditional and art quilts. It is a joy to hear someone giggle when they view my art quilts. That makes my heart sing.

Matt: What is your favorite color schemes to work with?

M:I truly love all colors and as for schemes…I guess…just mixing commercial and hand dyed fabric (done by my dear husband Paul) together is my favorite. I find I can’t work exclusively just with hand dyes, as lovely as they are…well there are too many beautiful commercial fabrics out there that need a good home too. And I love the character/texture/movement that they bring to my work

Matt: What books or articles have you written?

M: Articles…to be honest…starting to lose track. The latest was just published in Professional Quilter . As for books…my book Garden Whimsy Applique is a technique /creativity book that discusses my method for machine appliqué and has 12 patterns (to which any style of applique can be applied) too! And I currently working on a new book….shhh….

Matt: What do you do while you quilt? Do you listen to music?

M: Music…oh yes! All types, rock, country, jazz, instrumental…my ipod is FULL. Podcasts too! And a funky thing that I listen to is my police scanner. I find it gives my brain just enough to hold it’s interest but I don’t get lost in it. Plus as a nocturnal person by nature I do a lot of studio work between the hours of 1am and 4am…very interesting police scanner time…that’s all I’m saying…lol.

Matt: What is your quilting inspiration?

M: Anything and everything has inspired a quilt. Current events to just a silly phrase someone has said. It is the spoken word that usually sets my creative muse into overdrive and half the time I have the image in my head before I can locate a pen and paper after hearing something.

Matt: What is the funniest moment you have had happen while you were teaching?

M: My first teaching gig was in Kentucky. And I was nervous. Of course..I’m only human. The class was Machine Quilting 101 and if was full..actually overbooked to the tune of 29 students. All were heads down about a few hours in working studiously…when Ruby (age 95 and bought a new machine just prior to class just to learn this technique…no pressure…) let out in a very loud voice. “HOT DAMN! I can do this!” the entire class bust out laughing and my life on the road has been a joy ever since.

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Cathy Van Bruggen

June 15th, 2010

Cathy Van Bruggen

Appliqué Vendor Teacher

Cathy will be teaching class 3009

(Information about this class will be posted soon)

Matt: How long have you been quilting? What made you begin quilting?

Cathy: I began quilting when I retired from the family clothing business in 1995. Customers told me about their wonderful projects and the fun of being involved with a quilt guild. So, I decided to become a member of the Orange Grove Quilters Guild. I love the creative process while working with cloth. The first few years were spent trying every quilting technique possible. I soon found that appliqué was my favorite because I love to tell a story with my quilts. Designing patterns that look realistic gives me so much pleasure!

Matt: Do you have a quilting studio?

Cathy: My formal living room became my quilting studio. I agonized over selling all of my furniture. Of course, I was concerned about visitors seeing my “creative mess” when they entered the front door. My daughter, Kim, convinced me that I shouldn’t worry about the mess because my friends are quilters and they would love my special space. Now, my studio has a view of the garden with wall to wall storage. The middle of the room has a cutting table and large sewing machine cabinet. The best part is that I work in the middle of family activities

M: What do you consider your quilting “specialty” or what makes you unique in the quilting world?

C: My quilting “specialty” is appliqué. My designs are unique because they feature “botanically correct” flowers and small creatures. I attempt to tell a story with my designs and quilting. When I quilt my finished design, I continue the story by quilting in birds, butterflies, and small creatures. Next time you are close up to one of the quilts, take a second look and see if you can find quilted surprises.

M: What is your favorite color schemes to work with?

C: When I began quilting, I loved soft cottage color themes. Now, I try to design pictorial appliqué with vibrant colors. Mother Nature is very colorful and I like my designs to be colorful too.

M: What books or articles have you written?

C: The Appliqué Society Newsletter recently featured a series of my quilt designs. I am presently writing a book that explains a fantastic new approach to hand appliqué. The book will feature blocks that have creatures in a natural setting.

M: What do you do while you quilt? Do you listen to music?

C: I frequently have the television on for background noise. I really don’t know why, because there is usually plenty of noise and confusion with two dogs, three cats, a daughter, and her teenage daughter running through my quilting studio!

M: What is your quilting inspiration?

C: There is inspiration everywhere! I love to walk in my garden and see the beauty in how a flower grows. Watching a momma bird build a nest and hatch babies always brings new ideas for quilt blocks.

M: What is the funniest moment you have had happen while you were teaching?

C: Once a young police officer came into my class and looked around at us sewing. He finally confessed that he was n’t looking for a criminal. He had lost a button and wondered if anyone could help him sew it back onto his shirt. Quilters are always so helpful. Hopefully, the word won’t get out to those officers in need of assistance.

M: What was the best class you have ever taken?

C: I’ve taken so many wonderful classes. I can’t decide which one was best. Each teacher has influenced how I make quilts and teach my classes. I never have a closed mind to learning new things. In every class I gain something new.

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Darlene Zimmerman

May 11th, 2010

Darlene Zimmerman

Traditional Piecing Faculty Member

Darlene will be teaching classes 3012, 4010, 5014, 6015 and 7011

(Information about these classes will be posted soon)

Matt: How long have you been quilting?

Darlene: I started about 25 years ago.

Matt: What made you begin quilting?

Darlene: Two reasons: 1) I loved to sew 2) Desperation! I was a stay-at-home mom with 3 small children and one on the way. I needed to do something more than just be a mommy.

Matt: Do you have a quilting studio?

Darlene: Yes

M: How big and is there anything unique that you keep in your studio?

D: Too small!!! We added an addition to our house 18 years ago—before I had a computer, printer, fax machine, etc. and before I started designing fabrics. Now it’s stuffed with fabric and my office area takes up way too much space!

I also collect vintage toy sewing machines and pincushions of all types. I love to make my own pincushions using 30s vintage planters. (See photos)

M: What do you consider your quilting “specialty” or what makes you unique in the quilting world?

D: I’m best known for my 30s fabrics and also my quilting tools with EZ Quilting by Wrights.

M: What is your favorite color schemes to work with?

D: Pastels of course (my 30s fabrics and other pretty fabric). But I also enjoy sewing with reproduction fabrics from the 1800s—the Civil War quilts and later.

M: What books or articles have you written?

D: I frequently contribute to Am. Patchwork & Quilting magazine, McCall’s Quilting, Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting and others. I’ve written quite a few books. Those still in print are:

Fat Quarter Small Quilts

Granny Quilts

Granny Quilt Decor

The Quilter’s Edge

Quilting: The Complete Guide

Quilts from Lavender Hill Farm

I’ve also started self-publishing patterns. You can see them on my website: www.feedsacklady.com

M: What do you do while you quilt? Do you listen to music?

D: I usually have music playing while I’m sewing on the machine. I do quite a bit of hand applique and quilting, which I generally do in the evening while watching tv or listening to audio books.

M: What is your quilting inspiration?

D: Primarily old quilts…. I have a collection of the state quilt search books that I love to page through. In the past quilters weren’t so bound by color or quilting “rules” and were very inventive. I look for interesting color combinations, interesting settings or border treatments. Since I work primarily with reproduction fabrics I also try and determine what is typical in design and color for a time period.

M: What is the funniest moment you have had happen while you were teaching?

D: The most exciting moment was when a woman dropped her small scissors which caused a deep puncture wound. There was blood everywhere! She had to go to the emergency room to get it stitched up and have tetanus shots.

funniest moment (for me) was when a woman in class was having problems with her machine “eating” her fabric. I suggested The she change her needle. She replied “You can replace the needle??”

M: What was the best class you have ever taken?

Unfortunately I’m usually teaching classes, not taking them. However, I took a wonderful design class with Jeanna Kimball years ago, and still remember what she taught us that day.

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May 8th, 2010

We have been busy little workers here at the Road office this month. Terry and myself have been working on putting together teacher and vendor contracts for the 2011 show. Carolyn has been busy coordinating a travel schedule for Road’s Quilting Makes a Difference Exhibit as featured in the 2010 Showcase.

Road has had a Facebook page now for some time, and we are still in the process of figuring out what content you would like to see on the page. Please let me know what you would like to see on the Facebook page! facebook.com/road2ca

At the show, our office overlooks the Exhibit Hall B. This year we decided to place a camera to take a picture every 5 minutes at the show. The video can be found on Road’s facebook page. It goes from the decorator set-up of the show, to the tear down. We hope you enjoy a birds eye view of the 2010 show! Check it out at facebook.com/road2ca

Teacher bios and interviews will be posted as soon as we get information back from our 2011 Faculty.

Be sure to save the dates for the 2011, 2012, and 2013 shows.

Jan 20-23, 2011 Classes will begin on Jan 17, 2011

Jan 19-22, 2012 Classes will begin on Jan. 16, 2012

Jan 24-27, 2013 Classes will begin on Jan. 22, 2013

As always, if you have any questions about the Conference, Showcase or the Quilting Makes a Difference Exhibit please email us.

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