Road to CA

On the road again...yep. I caught a bus back to Ontario, CA, for another day of fun in the sun. Just look at that blue sky!! Hard to believe that the parking lot in Visalia was so foggy I did not see the bus sitting there, waiting for me, 100 yards away. (I wish that were not true. It is.)

Thankfully, the fog lifted and spirits were bright as we zoomed south to the quilt show.

While there, I met up with some friends. Oh my. I should have looked in a mirror before taking the picture!

Let me introduce you to Sherry Reynolds and Sharon L. Schlotzhauer. As you can see, they are both sporting blue ribbons. And big smiles.

Sherry's quilt, Christmas All Around, was selected for the Excellence in Machine Quilting award, and hung right up front.

Sharon's quilt, "Wild Flowers: Second Season," won First Place in the Innovative, Wall, Mixed Technique category.

I'd seen Sherry's quilt before, but I'd only seen pictures of Sharon's. The internet is handy that way. Although it is fun to view quilts online, it is much, much better to see them in the fabric. :)

"Peppermint Stars" was made by my online blogging friend Kathy Scheidt. You can check out her blog here. Oops. I didn't realize I'd chopped off the corners. Sorry about that!!!

Another quilt that I'd seen in progress online was this one. "Sunday Morning," by Dianna Grundhauser, was made using Ruth McDowell's techniques. The flowers of the agapanthus were appliqued, not pieced. whew! Had you worried for a minute there, didn't I?


I snapped a few pictures of quilts by "local" quilters. "Touching the Edge" was made by Paulette Landers of Springville. I saw her at the show and slipped a postcard with entry information for Best of the Valley into her tote bag. Yes, you can ship your entry ahead of time. It does not need to be delivered in person. Contact me and we'll work out the details.


I also found Debbie Van Fossen's "Blue Berry Wine." This was the first time I've seen this quilt.

Finally, I'm often asked, "Which quilts catch YOUR attention." Well, I thought I'd share three of them with you.

I am fascinated by quilters who are able to piece strips together in a manner that is both complex and "simple." I mean, look at it. It's all straight lines. The trick is knowing how to size the strips and place the fabrics and cut and piece and organize it so that it sings a melody instead of screeching chaos. All I can do is chaos. I am fascinated by those who don't.

Next up is this fascinating aboriginal piece. I say that, because the subject is Australian aboriginal art. The quilt artist is from...Norway!

Finally, this was my favorite piece in the show. The quilt was done in raw edge applique, and it reminded me of an oil painting. Actually, I was specifically reminded of Van Gogh, but don't ask me why. Maybe it was the dramatic way the fabrics were sewn together.


And there you go. That's a quick run-through of Road. I'm certain that others will be posting pictures on their blogs, and I'm guessing that Road will also post their winners some time in the near future.

I certainly enjoyed the show, I hope you did too!!