Road to California: Day One

What a marvelous day we had yesterday. Attending the Road to California was a bucket list item for me, so check! It was an easy-enough drive, taking about an hour to get there. We were able to use the carpool lane for much of the way, and that cut down on our drive time significantly.

The show was at the Ontario Convention Center in Ontario, California, very near the Ontario International Airport. When we could see planes lining up to land and take-off, we knew we were close. Soon, the convention center came into view.

We were headed for the "B" Lot to park. The show opened at 9:00 a.m. we arrived just after 9:00 and found the "B" Lot already full. It meant making a u-turn and heading to a different lot, but there was plenty of parking there. I'd purchased my tickets online, and so we walked straight through the doors without delay.

Interestingly, when I handed these tickets to the person who seemed to care, she said, "What's this?"

"These are the tickets I paid for," I said, somewhat confused. Well, we'd also been provided with arm bands, and she really wasn't interested in the tickets. Before we could enter, we had to put the arm bands on our wrists. Okay. Whatever. But that was the only snafu, and I knew it was going to be fun when the first thing I saw hanging high overhead was this next quilt:

Cats! Bring in the cats!

So, I'll get to the show in just a second, but I first want to tell you about some of the things we saw among the vendors. And let me tell you...the area where the vendors were was absolutely mobbed. Mike and I are both crowd-phobic, and so we sped through the vendor area faster than I would have liked. It was okay. Our eyes were full by that time. And, kudos to Mike, who was very braved and followed me through the whole show and vendor area with nary a whimper.

But, hey...how about these leggings for your sewing day. One size fits most!

As a reminder, however, I've heard that spandex is a privilege, not a right, and so I passed these by.

But here's a quilt I've made. It's always fun to see something I've put together in my own sewing room. This pattern is called "On a Roll."

This is my version, hanging in our bathroom at home.

This next quilt was hanging in one of the vendor booths. I couldn't get close enough to get the whole thing. This one is for Molly and Buddy. They've been suffering through their staff's attempts at penguins all during the month of January. Take heart, Molly and Buddy. The month is almost over.

And, of course, anything with a cat was photographed. This is a template...pretty close to life sized.

This was a cute quilt, but I smacked my hands any time I looked at any embroidery patterns.

And I loved this one...but again, I was determined not to buy yet more patterns I won't live long enough to make.

Mike actually encouraged this next purchase. These are pretty nifty, and I can never get enough light over my sewing machine. This one will light up the whole table, and it will attach to the surface where my sewing machine is. You can see pictures and read about it right here...and no...we didn't pay the price listed on the website. There was a significant savings at the show. Mine was $150.

Purchases over $100 were eligible for this freebie, and so I got one of these. This will be a really nice light for doing hand embroidery, and it is rechargeable via a USB cable. This one is available on Amazon, and you can read more about it right here.

Also, I had a mind to add some fabric to my next Shop Hop quilt to represent our attendance at the show, and so I bought a fat quarter of this one. I have an idea about copying and printing the pretty design from the tickets and using it along with this fabric in whatever quilt block I come up with for this.

So, that's not what you want to see though, is it? You want to see the quilts! So let's get started. Just outside where the quilts were on display was this Special Exhibit honoring Road to California.

There were a lot of quilts here, but I only photographed just this one. For the quilts that follow, I'll first show the information included about the quilt and its maker, and then I'll show the quilt. For some, I'll show some detail.

This one appealed to me because of our visit to the California Poppy Reserve last spring.

Okay, and from here, we were into the quilt show proper. I'll continue on showing the quilts as I mentioned above. It was hard not to take a picture of every single one, but I did maintain proper decorum at all times. It was also very crowded, and so you'll notice some of the quilts and information a little off-kilter. My apologies. I think you'll still find all you need to know...except possibly this first one, where I managed to cut off the right side of the sign. Oh well. I'll try to keep my lip-flapping to a minimum and just let you look and enjoy.

Nancy Stovall had a hand in this next one. Visit a quilt show in Portland, and you'll see lots of Nancy's work. Also, there was a musician playing the piano just across from this one, adding to its ambiance.

This next one was three-dimensional. Where do people get their ideas?

I noticed most of the quilts were densely quilted, or densely thread-painted. It made me wonder if that was why my flamingos were rejected, since they were not as densely stitched. There were a few exhibits where they would have fit right in. I'm not disappointed, since I didn't really expect to get in. Still, I'd like to learn for future reference. Either way, this one was interesting. Lots of thread lost its life here.

Those little red circles were about the size of a dime.

I loved this next quilt. I could have looked at it for hours.

This next one gave me ideas. I'd dearly love to make a crazy quilt some day, but I've been intimidated at the thought of making a big one. This quilt was a mini...doll quilt sized...and I believe I could attempt something like that.

So, I have lots more pictures to show you, but I'll reveal them over the next couple of days. As for today, it's a sewing day here at the Traveling Three Cats Ranch. Truly. No excuses. The time has come.