Erika returned from lunch and said “Grandma, we have a bird in the office!” Sure enough when we pulled back the vertical blinds in the reception area there sat a very frightened, very small black bird. It was trying valiantly to peck its way out the window. Erika brought me a fat quarter of fabric and I placed it over the bird. It was really quivering. I took it to the door and opened up the fabric and the little bird flew off to the nearest tree. I guess one could say the “new employee” has flown the coop. I wish I had taken a photo to share with you, but alas did not think of it.]]>
Welcome to the Road to California Blog
New Employee???
January 31st, 2008Wrap up
January 25th, 2008 Parking has been a growing problem for us the last few years. We have been pushing the Convention Center to find more parking but, as evidenced this year, they did not come through. The parking – or lack of – is really controlled by the city of Ontario. I believe that they should be working on a solution to the problem, NOW.
This is where you come in. Please email info@road2ca.com and tell us if you had a problem. I would like to forward the comments to the management at OCC and to the city council. You, the customer needs to make your voices heard. We are striving to make the show even better.]]>
The Canvas Cafe
January 12th, 2008 They are offering a hot lunch in the Canvas Cafe.
Thursday will be a Mexican Buffet featuring fajitas and a salad with beans and rice, dessert and beverage.
Friday will be an Italian Buffet with Penne Pasta, a salad, meatballs fresh vegetables dessert and beverage
Saturday will be a soup, salad and Potato Bar, Dessert and beverage.
Sunday a Mexican Buffet No. 2 featuring a salad, beef and chicken make your own tostadas, dessert and beverage.
The cost is $12 for one trip through the buffet.
Premade sandwiches will be sold in the hall.
Although food will be available at the rear of the exhibit hall, you will have to take it to the tent to eat.
Also, they will be offering box lunches on the second floor above the south lobby. Class students may purchase a box lunch and eat in the classroom as long as there are two people in the room.
Wow, seems like there should be something for everyone.
Enjoy the show!]]>
New Fabric
January 12th, 2008 We have three new fabrics to introduce at the show. All three are Hoffman Prints.
No. 1 is a Screen Print that has post cards of various places in California. The beige background has the road logo and a highway connecting the postcards.
No. 2 is a Bali Print in bright navy with California poppies and the Road Logo.
No. 3 is a Bali Print in spice color with a California theme and the Road Logo.
Sorry the photo of No. 3 spice did not come through
These prints feature our wonderful state and will make great souvenirs of your trip to Road.
I deliberately avoided quilting images this time.
We will have some pillowcase kits and various other kits combining the fabrics with other fabrics.
ALSO we have had shirts made from the screen print, both ladies and mens.
Be sure to stop by booth 801 to see our new fabrics.]]>
Using technology
January 4th, 2008 This past year I went to google to look for black string or twine to use to hang the quilt poles. If felt that black string on black drapes would make the best presentation. Well my google search did not turn up any black string except for “black string bikinis”. Wouldn’t that have created an interesting show? My grandson (the younger ones seem to have better luck with technology) finally found a company that had black rosary twine which we ordered. The black rosary twine is sold by a company that manufactures twine for fishing nets. A real roundabout search!!
I also went to google a couple of years ago and typed in my name and lo and behold I came up. I was so surprised. Tried my ex-husbands name and he did not come up. HA HA. I came up because I had made several appearances over the years on Simply Quilts with Alex Anderson. Well now that they have pulled the shows and are not showing reruns seems that my name is not as high on the list. Now when I type in my name a young and upcoming porn movie star comes up.
We couldn’t do this business without our web site and our computers, but using technology can give some interesting results.]]>
Buy admission bracelets before show
December 4th, 2007 purchase on the internet.
Each day is a different color and is valid only on that day. One day admission is $10 plus a handling fee of $1.50 per bracelets. Multi-day bracelets are $20 plus the handling fee of $1.50.
Children 12 and under are free. Strollers are permitted on Sunday only.
Quilt shops in Southern California may sell the multi-day bracelets, they just need to call our office to make arrangements. Currently The Fabric Patch in Montclair and Ginger’s Quilt Shoppe in Upland have the bracelets.
We have added another lecture on Thread Facts and Fiction by Bob Purcell, from Superior Threads on Saturday at 2 PM. LE 08. The cost is $5.00. This is one of the most informative lectures I have ever attended. I have been sewing for over 55 years and thought I was well-informed. Well, I learned a lot in his lecture. Bob also makes regular appearances on The Quilt Show. If you have not checked out Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson’s The Quilt Show you should pay them a visit. It is almost like a video/web magazine.
I have heard rumors that the Sunday Morning Show on CBS is planning an episode on Quilting in America on a Sunday in December. The camera man who was filming Custom Creation’s booth at Houston Quilt Festival did not know when the show would be aired. Keep your eyes open.]]>
Mark is coming!!
November 14th, 2007We filmed a video at Houston Quilt Market where he talked about his new line of fabric coming out soon from Troy Fabrics. Mark was also just featured in a newspaper article in the Washington Post. ]]>
The Jury Process
November 9th, 2007 The jurist are selected because they have a good knowledge of quilting, one may be fairly traditional, one may be more arty, one may specialize in applique or another in embellishing or ????.
We jury the entries on our computers. The jurist can be anywhere they have their computer. They might even do it in “Jammies”. We jury independently and do not know the other jurists opinion until after we have completed a category.
When we jury a quilt entry we only have the title of the quilt, its size and the two photos. The computer has already sorted them into the category that you selected on the entry form. If all the jurist accept or reject an entry, the computer removes them from the jury process and adds them to the appropriate list.
The remaining entries are then discussed by the jurists and a final decision is made whether to accept or reject. Sometimes the discussions can be quite “lively” if two really disagree, but we finally reach a mutual decision.
I would like to say that a good photo is REALLY IMPORTANT. That is all we have when we are in the jury process. Some really outstanding quilts could be rejected because of a poor quality or missing photo.
We plan to mail out the letters the week of November 26. The letters will have appraisal forms, shipping instructions and return instructions.
Good luck to all who entered!]]>
Kathy Kansier in January 2007
November 6th, 2007 
n for Linda Carlson who is recovering from surgery. Kathy and Linda are friends and Kathy is spending time with Linda to make sure she is including all the information from Linda’s classes that Linda had planned to teach.
Kathy is also offering two of her own classes, both of which she just taught in Houston and Brazil.
Let’s Go Fishing(WE01) on Wednesday, January 16 will cover lots of embellishments and techniques for manipulating fabrics. Students will learn to work with sheers, nettings, beads, silk ribbons and shells.
On Saturday, January 19 she will offer Quilts with Great Edges(SA03). In this class you will make samples of a variety of edge treatments including single and double piping, scallops, prairie points, reversible bindings, rick rack bindings and simple bindings. A 25 page booklet written by Kathy is included in the class kit to help you remember all her great edge treatment tips.
Kathy’s greatest joy is to encourage quilt makers. Not only in her classrooms but on the judging floor as well. Her judging experience has ranged from local county fairs to national shows. We are pleased that she has joined our judging staff.
For more information about Kathy please visit her web site www.kathykansier.com]]>
My First Blog
October 22nd, 2007 
Carie is currently entering all the quilt and wearable entries into the computer so we can begin the jury process after returning from Houston. Did you know that 85% of the entries arrive in our office three days before the deadline? That’s over 500 entries in just 3 days! So much for trying to get a head start on entering them into the computer.
More after we return from Houston.]]>
