Happy Monday! It’s great to be back…I was away for a few days attending the Road to California Quilt Show in Ontario, California. While I was there, I was also able to visit a few quilt shops that had been on my “must see” list for quite a while!
One of the highlights of my trip was being able to see the beautiful Coastal
Lily quilt made by Thelma and beautifully quilted by Judi Madsen of Green Fairy Quilts. It was wonderful to follow along on Thelma’s blog while she made this amazing quilt, and I was so excited when she and Judi won at Paducah. So to see this quilt in “real life” was a great treat!
Two other quilts were super fun to see in person because I followed along on my friend Elizabeth’s blog while she was making them. Even more fun was the fact that Elizabeth received a third place for her Pineapples quilt (below). This quilt had pineapple blocks pieced by Elizabeth and several friends. Elizabeth also machine quilted this beautiful quilt on her home machine. It’s absolutely beautiful and is the inspiration for my scrappy pineapple blocks!
I also followed along while Elizabeth made her Color Wheel quilt. Her choice of fabrics for this quilt was really perfect…the colors were amazing. Again…I absolutely love this quilt!
I took lots of pictures of beautiful quilts at the show, and while I won’t share them all, I will share some of my favorites!
It’s always interesting to think about what draws one to particular quilts hanging in a show. I know that beautiful contrast, a wonderful use of color, and exquisite quilting are three elements that always catch my eye!
The Moonflower quilt below was made and quilted by Molly Y Hamilton-McNally and is a beautiful homage to the humble daisy! I love daisies, and this quilt was absolutely stunning!
Ewe Are My Sunshine by Janet Stone was one of the big favorites (and big winners) at the show. This is a beautiful alphabet quilt with incredible detail and workmanship!
I was also immediatedly drawn to Technicolor Decco by Shirley Gisi. The colors, construction technique and beautiful quilting stood out in this quilt.
Propellers and Planes by Ann S. Brooks caught my eye because of the design. This quilt is based on Jen Kingwell’s Steam Punk pattern which I hope to make one of these days!
This beautiful blue and white quilt was another favorite. Sarah’s Revival in Blue, made by Gail H. Smith and quilted by Karen C. McTavish was stunning.
Whitework Elegance aka No I’m Not Hawaiian was made and quilted by Debbie Van Fossen. The applique’ and the quilting were beautiful!
Blooming Together, made my Nancy Otta and Friends, and quilted by Nancy Otta is a group project using Lisa Bongean’s Garden of Stitches pattern. This was another of those quilts I was immediately drawn to!
There were several special exhibits at the show, and one that really caught my eye was the Woolies 4# challenge. This group of quilts was made by Pat Sloan and several of her friends using the strings, strips, and scraps from two of Pat’s fabric collections. Each participant received a four pound box of strips (I believe there were 20 quilters), and each person made a gorgeous scrap quilt with their fabrics.
Every quilt was different, and it really just goes to show you how far your scraps can go!
Another of the exhibits that caught my eye was the feedsack quilt exhibit. This beautiful quilt dated 1947 came from the Dorothy Bass estate in Rocky, OK and was just precious.
I really had a great time at this incredible event. Before attending I thought it was just an area show, but it was really an international event with people attending from all over the United States and many different parts of the world. On my flight home I sat near a group of 13 women who traveled from Washington state to attend. There are great classes, the wonderful show quilts, and a lot of fantastic vendors if you need to add to your fabric and notions collection!
I’ll be back soon to share what I was able to bring back and also to share a little about the shops I visited in the area.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Quilt Granny says
The quilts were all beautiful. I really like the first one with the flowers and flying geese. I may have to try to find a pattern. I am in charge of next years raffle quilt for our guild and this would be amazing. Thanks for sharing.
gailss says
Love all the quilts and thank you for sharing with us…. always like seeing what everyone has worked on. I never get tired of Thelma's "Coastal Lily's" and a very special quilt it is. Those daisies are the best!!! Thanks Sherri
Robby H. says
Thanks so much for sharing your favorite slices of the show with us. I think seeing so many different approaches to quilting really inspires the creative juices, and I'm with your love of color.
Needled Mom says
It was such fun to see the beautiful pieces. I loved seeing the ribbon on Elizabeth's quilt…..well deserved too.
Gayle says
I love the Whitework Elegance applique quilt and Pat Sloan and friends string scrap quilts. Thanks so much for sharing your pics.
Gayle
Hildy says
Love the quilts they are all beautiful!
Margaret says
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and photos about this quilt show. It sounds like you had a great time! Did you take any classes while you were there? I'm hoping to visit my daughter in LA in January next year and will plan on visiting this show.
Quilts By Laurel says
Gorgeous quilts! I can't wait to go to the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show here in VA next month! 🙂
GrammyK says
Beautiful quilts. Since I live in California, I would love to know which quilt shops you visited. Always looking for a great new quilt shop to visit.
Thanks for sharing and your wonderful blog. I look forward to receiving your email everyday.
~Laurie~ says
WOW! Thank you for sharing these beautiful creations! Unbelievable talent!
AnnieO says
My sister and I were there on Saturday. I took a lot of photos too! It was a really good show and we enjoyed ourselves.
Mary Howland says
Thanks for great photos of beautiful quilts. I appreciate seeing someone else's favorites as I get to see the quilt again and usually see something I missed the first time. I think you'll be visiting us this summer at my guild. I'm looking forward to taking your workshop although I can't remember what it is! Each time I take a workshop I learn something and quite often it's not what I went to learn, so it's a bonus.
Helen L says
Thanks for sharing the photos: so fun to see the beautiful quilts! I got to see the propellers and planes in Oct at PIQF: I took lots of pictures because it was just so amazing!! Hugs, H
Swedish Scrapper says
Oh, I recognised Coastal Lily right off the bat, it's marvellous! I bet it was quite a sight to see in person. I'm struck by the range of styles at the Road To California show. How about the best of show quilt? It was very hard for me to see what it looked like at the (all people quilt?) site. Thanks for sharing these!
Swedish Scrapper says
Oh, I recognised Coastal Lily right off the bat, it's marvellous! I bet it was quite a sight to see in person. I'm struck by the range of styles at the Road To California show. How about the best of show quilt? It was very hard for me to see what it looked like at the (all people quilt?) site. Thanks for sharing these!
Lara B. says
Wow, it looks and sounds amazing Sherri! It is pretty darn exciting to see a friend's quilt that you've watched coming together on their blog. I just did a Whoop! seeing Ann's Propellers and Planes. They're each gorgeous! Thanks for sharing.
OPQuilt says
Having you visit made the quilt show all the more fun–thanks for all the nice things you said about my quilts. It's quite flattering, since I consider you the Queen of All Quilts, or something like that. Let's do it again!
Thelma says
Thanks so much Sherri! Coastal Lily's two minutes of fame are now over, it's going on the guest room bed as soon as it gets home. It made my day reading all the comments from quilters who enjoyed that quilt.
mascanlon says
Thanks for the review! I missed R2CA this year because we were out of town. Looks like some fabulous quilts as usual. And be use we are organizing it's a good thing I couldn't go to add to my cache of notions and fabrics!
Mary Ann says
Thanks for sharing the photos. I hope to get to that show someday……..the quilts were beautiful…