Road to California has been a popular West Coast quilting event to kick off each new year. The devastating fires striking the Los Angeles region were much farther away, so the show could continue as scheduled. The organizers collected quilts and sewing gear to donate to those fire victims.
The show, held at the Ontario Convention Center, featured classes, short workshops, a judged quilting event, and a vendor showcase. The classes offered hands-on training on specific quilting techniques and styles. Long arm machines and sewing machines were humming during the festival. Plenty of deals were offered by the various vendors and shops.
Plenty of vendors filled the convention floor, and there was plenty of room to display some magnificent quilts. There were nine categories of quilts for judging, plus a few extra displays. I particularly enjoyed seeing the unique designs offered by Laundry Basket Quilts and Edyta Sitar. She even was a featured evening speaker on “30 Years of Quilt Making”.
It is a thrill to see the quilts displayed so carefully with the artists' commentary. The Best of Show Award went to “The Arrival” by Kestrel Michaud. (Readers may recall seeing this quilt earlier in our recap of the Houston International Quilt Festival, where it won the Master Award for Contemporary Artistry.)
The Outstanding Hand Quilting Award went to Barbara Clem for “My Journey with Grace.” This nearly five-year project was highlighted by exquisite quilting. The Outstanding Original Design Award went to Lili Li from China for their “Jing He” quilt. The artist explained that Jing translates to spatial environment, and He refers to harmony. So, this quilt was seeking to represent those two themes. The white cranes were especially appealing in this quilt.
Jing He
The show's Outstanding Artistry Award went to Audrey Durman for “St. Radigund's Garden.” There was an original quilt with hand-dyed and hand-painted whole cloth representing a favorite English garden.
Margaret Solomon Gunn was awarded the Outspreading Award for Machine Frame quilting for her “Adventures of Aquamarine and Amethyst.” In this stunning work, she combined half-stitched mandalas completed seven years ago. This was inspirational for all of us with half-finished projects.
The Outstanding Machine Stationary Quilting Award went to Linda Crouch for “A Magical Winter Garden.” The quilting was completely done free motion on a domestic machine.
It is not too early to make plans for the 2026 Show, which will be held from January 21-24, 2026, at the Ontario Convention Center
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