I will admit up front, I debated heavily whether to attend the show this year or not. Los Angeles County was still having high rates of infection from omicron and I really didn’t need anything having attended Quilt Show Reno in June and Houston Festival in October. Evidently, I wasn’t the only one who decided to stay home, and after getting attendance reports from my former A Couple of Old Broads business partner, Cindy, who was there with the booth, I decided to brave it.
Don’t expect a balanced gallery of quilts - I’m an art quilter and I mostly photograph what I like! That being said I hope you enjoy these photos of quilts that caught my eye at the Road to California Quilt show this year.
Top row: Not Today - Kestrel Michaud, W. Melbourne, FL; In Perfect Harmony - Sandra Mollon, Valley Springs, CA; Woodland Wilds - Ann Horton, Redwood Valley, CA.
Second row: Desert in Spring - Andrea Brokenshire, Round Rock, TX; The Memories That Remain - Lynn Czaban, Eugene, OR; Welcome Home - David Taylor, Fort Collins, CO.
Top Row: Memories of a Maiko - Melissa Sobotka, Richardson, TX; Chrysanthemum - Shelley Rothgeb, Phoenix, AZ; La Catrina - Cindy Stohn, Chandler, AZ; Passiflora - Find Joy, Live your Passion - Andrea Brokenshire, Round Rock, TX
Bottom row: Do You See What I See - Lise Belanger, Trois-Pistoles, QC Canada; Sassy Lady - Judy Crotts, Long Beach, CA; Red Bird - Karen Kay Buckley, Carlisle, PA with Judi Madsen; Hang in There, Sally Freeberg
Chrysanthemum caught my eye because of the irregular edge, the entire shape is finished! At first glance it may look like a flower on a black background, but the background you see in the photo is the convention center curtain. Do You See What I See appealed to me for its strong graphic style.
I am looking to up my game in terms of my quilting this year, so much of what I was drawn to was pictorial quilts that were well quilted. The 2 white/black quilts have lots of negative space making it easy to see the background quilting.
The selection above are quilts from the special exhibit of quilts by Linda Anderson, of La Mesa, CA. I am a longtime fan of Linda’s work, and it was really great to see so many of her pieces in one time and space. I’m afraid I did not make note of the titles of these pieces, for my own curiosity I would have liked to know which years they were made. I’m wondering if the style of quilting on the faces, for example, the toddler reading a book is done very differently than the one next to it of the little girl standing on the bench. Which came first?
And of course, what’s a quilt show without shopping? I was excited to see Janet Wicker-Frisch has brought back some of her She Who Sews fabric line, now with Riley Blake. I couldn’t resist this Asian theme panel from QT Fabrics, even though I pulled out my collection of un-quilted panels and this one brings the count to 17!! Despite my needing NOTHING a few more fabrics followed me home, a chunk of night sky, steam-punk spider fabric by Desire’s Designs (I used up all I bought last year), and some metallics that are companions to the panel.
The problem is, I have completely run out of fabric storage and am now creating towering piles on the floor - This year I aim to use more than I purchase, but I will never say I’m not buying fabric. I’m taking a cue from my friend Sam Hunter of Hunters Design Studio, she suggests we keep a tally of fabric in (purchased) and fabric out (used) and aim to use more than you purchase for the year, that way the stash reduces but we keep our quilt shops and vendors in business!
My friend, Jean Impey has been posting these portrait quilts, a collaborative project with Freddy Moran. Each portrait is accompanied by a fun characterization. What I didn’t realize was they would be on exhibit, displayed as a group. There must have been 50 of them altogether, I’m so sorry I didn’t get a shot of the row of them, each fun on its own, very impressive en masse
The costume designer in me was tickled by an exhibit of wearable art by Marty O, using repurposed vintage quilts
There was much more I didn’t include in this report, more products, more quilts, more garments, but I hope you enjoyed this taste of the Road to California Quilt show and I hope to see your there in 2023!