Well, I'm finally back from "Road to California". We had classes even on the last day up until the very end, and I'm flat out exhausted. I owe an apology to anyone who tried to call me on Saturday afternoon because, unbeknownst to me, my cell phone was deader than a door nail. Suze was kind enough to call when she arrived, but unfortunately I wasn't at the show but out to lunch, and she was headed off to class. (that "out to lunch" just begs for a comment on my general mental state, but I won't go there).
The show was fabulous and I was just blown away by all the wonderful quilts. I have never been to the Houston show, or to Quilt National either, but I have been to Paducah and, for venue at least, I like Road to California better. Of course, for me, it's easier because no plane travel is involved.
Quilt shows are so overstimulating sometimes, you don't know whether to feel inspired and elated or overwhelmed and defeated. I chose to be inspired, especially after a few workshops. Remind me next time not to schedule so many back to back. Later, I will talk about them one by one and share photos of my own results.
One of the things I love about "Road" is the variety of things offered. My friend and roomie studied things like antique Quilt Appraisal and restoration. Her workshop classes involved beautiful old patterns and Civil War reproduction fabrics. I know that a few months from now she will be completing some absolutely gorgeous traditional quilts. I studied things like creating faces by painting on fabric, bobbin work, embellishment, and African Folk Art embroidery. Something for everyone. We shared our workshop results every night and had a great time.
I will post more later about the workshops. For me it was all about painting, embroidery, and embellishment. I learned a ton, and it has inspired me in a whole new direction.
A clarification about the "Journal Quilt". This is for a group of quilters from About.Com who are going to explore and share their quilts over the next 12 months. It is for fun, sharing, and learning techniques that are new to us, and none are going to a show as far as I know. (It is not part of the "journal quilts" for Quiltart that are going to Houston.) There is a link in my sidebar if you want to browse around the list and see what's going on. I have only just now gotten back online, so I have lots to go around and see. Thanks to everyone who visited and left a comment! I have a LOT of catching up to do.
4 comments:
I'm so glad you had fun and I can't wait to hear about each class. You are so right about finding a balance between feeling "inspired and elated or overwhelmed and defeated." A perfect set of words.
Some of my friends were there. I hope to see some pics soon.
Amen to the fine line between inspiration and humiliation! Glad to hear about your roomie's classes in traditional design. I feel like a loner sometimes, among you art quilters. I look forward to your Road digest.
It was a great show, wasn't it? I found it cool that we were able to see work from our frineds here, too. I didn't spend too much, bought a couple of fabrics that will go into a future journal piece, and a few other things, but the main draw for me were the quilts...they were spectacular, I thought...Saturday was hectic but I'm glad I got to go. Glad you had a good time, too!
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