Road to California 2012

Well the Road to California Quilt Show 2012 is over (for us) for another year…we survived the Freeway, the loooooonnnnngggg line-ups to get in (next year we are buying our tickets from the Calico Horse in Redlands!) and the line-ups to get into booths, the line-ups for food, the line-ups for the bathroom…I think you get the idea!!  Lots of people and lots of line-ups!   It’s a good thing that quilters are very patient…and we do love to talk, so while in these line-ups you meet some very wonderful ladies!

Where to start??  I had THREE priorities once I got inside the conference centre..go to Primitive Gatherings Booth, the Heart to Hand booth and the Wooden Spool Booth…

So off I headed, with Seattle Judy, Gwen and Anne in stride…first stop~ the Primitive Gatherings Booth!!  (Remember they are all new woolies!)  {WHAT?!!! SCREECH!!} The PG booth was already JAM packed with hot, sweaty quilters…me being one of them!!  So we wedged ourselves into the throng and tried to look!  OMGosh…sensory overload in that booth!!  Woolie goodness ALL over!  If only we could have shoooed everyone out for a better look!  Wow!!  I wanted one of everything!!  When we finally emerged, the line-up to pay was around the corner!  YES, the quilters’ economy is alive and and doing VERY well!  At the till, Nick gave me the nod to take a few pictures…the only thing was I couldn’t bring myself to push myself back into that pack…so I took pictures of what I could from the outside…

Here’s Lisa’s hubby, Nick..well the back of him…but more importantly…look at all the wonderful pennies and quilts!!

Wall to wall quilts…and quilters…looks like one of them is going to get strangled…

These gems were hanging on the outside to their booth…look at the mottled green wool in the leaves!  LOVE IT!!

You will recognize some of these quilts from Lisa’s blog…magnificent in REAL life!!

I wish I could have taken more pics but you get a feel for it!!

Then it was onto the Heart to Hand Booth!!  We lost Anne somewhere in the frenzy but Seattle Judy and Gwen were keeping up!!  What to say about the Heart to Hand Booth…be still my HEART!!  Again this booth was JAM packed!! 

While waiting in the line-up to pay…I met this VERY nice lady…Marian…she is a blogging fan and recognized me!!  There I was with this huge stack of stuff  tucked under my chin…which was spilling all over…stuff that I was trying to buy…I felt like I was caught in ‘The Act’!  BUSTED!! haha  Anyways, we had a nice visit…before the final total came!!  OUCH!!  I don’t think she expected to see a grown woman cry…but I kept saying to myself… “half of this stuff is Claire’s!…half of this stuff is Claire’s…half of this stuff is Claire’s…”

The lady at the H2H booth was so helpful and nice…she helped me with a lot of my purchases as I needed TWO of everything (one for me, one for Claire:)! 

Just look at the Snow Days quilt…love it!!

And this pillow stopped my heart…good thing they had a defibrillator handy!!  I think this must happen a lot! :)

Ahhhh…come to Mama!!  This is what I came for!!  STUNNING!!

Too many people to get a long shot…so had to take the picture in sections…

Wouldn’t you LOVE to have this hanging in your sewing room!

Hey…there’s my new friend, Marian…HI MARIAN!!…(do you think she is stalking me…??)

Then there was this beauty!!  Geeze decisions…decisions!!

Well I think I am going to HAVE to stop with this picture…unfortunately my WiFi can’t handle posting a lot of pictures…so we will have to do it in a series…

Before I go I have to tell you that I got to meet a Blogging Friend…Elaine from Faithful Quilter Blog!!  She saw me coming out of a booth and stopped me in my tracks!!  So wonderful to finally meet her (we were suppose to meet up in Victoria this Fall but it was not to be…:(  Anyways it was lovely to meet her…she was camera shy so you will NEVER know what she looks like!!…but I can tell you this…She is VERY, VERY nice!! 

When I got home there was an email waiting from blogging friend, Janet… who was going down on the escalator and saw me in the crowd…she tried yelling at me…but I didn’t hear so I didn’t get to meet her!  Next year, I will have to have a specific time and place to meet up with everyone!!  Love it!

I have to admit that when I am at Road I glaze over, focus on all the ‘stuff’ and don’t look at the people…So honestly…I wasn’t being rude…Unless you have a penny rug wrapped around your head and wool dangling from your ears, I am not going to see YOU! :)

More Road stuff tomorrow!

Oh…and here’s the motley crew at the end of our day…

Yes, the bags are all full…and yes we are eating ice cream!!  Nothing like a ‘tall cool one’ after a day of marathon shopping!! 

Have a FUN Friday and Happy Quilting!~P