I had a great time teaching at the Road to California show in Ontario, CA last week! It was my first time there–as a teacher and as a visitor. The students were great and the quilt show had some really wonderful work in it by some of my favorite artists.

I taught my Artful Improv class on Thursday, my Fearless Curved Piecing class on Friday, and my Fire and Ice Bargello class on Saturday and Sunday. All three classes were full, with 20 students each.

Artful Improv Class at Road to California 2018 - Cindy Grisdela

Artful Improv Class at Road to California 2018 – Cindy Grisdela

Artful Improv is a fast paced, fun class based on my book, Artful Improv: Explore Color Recipes, Building Blocks, & Free Motion Quilting.   My approach to Improv is “no patterns, no templates, no rules – no worries!” We talk about choosing colors and using simple design principles to create artistic compositions using five techniques that I use to create my own work. I want to encourage my students to explore their own creativity to make art quilts that are uniquely theirs, and it’s always inspiring to me to see how students are able to take some of my ideas and make them their own. In any class, no two quilts will be alike and none will be exactly like mine, either–that’s creativity!

Here are two examples of work from the class:

Maria's Artful Improv quilt Road to California 2018 - Cindy Grisdela

Maria’s Artful Improv quilt Road to California 2018 – Cindy Grisdela

 

Sally's Artful Improv quilt Road to California 2018 - Cindy Grisdela

Sally’s Artful Improv quilt Road to California 2018 – Cindy Grisdela

The next day, I taught my Fearless Curved Piecing class. This one is always fun. Students are often nervous about trying to piece curves without templates or pins, but usually by the end of the class they have a lot more comfort with it. We were working on the table runner, narrow wall hanging format so students could focus on the curves. One student, Jean, told me at the end of the class that this was her first quilt ever! That’s exciting!

Jean's First Quilt Road to California 2018 - Cindy Grisdela

Jean’s First Quilt Road to California 2018 – Cindy Grisdela

Here are a couple more:

Student Work Fearless Curved Piecing Road to California 2018 - Cindy Grisdela

Student Work Fearless Curved Piecing Road to California 2018 – Cindy Grisdela

The third class was my Fire and Ice Bargello quilt. This is one of my most popular patterns on Craftsy. This class was a little different because it was based on a specific design I created several years ago. But I encouraged the students to make it their own. This class was held over two days, because there’s a lot of stitching required, and I like for my students to be able to make enough progress in class that they can finish on their own at home.

Here’s my version:

Fire and Ice Art Quilt - Cindy Grisdela

Fire and Ice – Cindy Grisdela

Some students opted to make the quilt very similar to mine–you can see them below.

Bargello Class at Road to California 2018 - Cindy Grisdela

Bargello Class Road to California 2018 – Cindy Grisdela

Others decided to do something different–using a another color scheme or another size altogether.

Blue, White and Orange Bargello student work at Road to California 2018 - Cindy Grisdela

Kathryn’s Blue, White and Orange Bargello at Road to California 2018 – Cindy Grisdela

 

Student Work Bargello Table Runner at Road to California - Cindy Grisdela

Student Work Bargello Table Runner at Road to California – Cindy Grisdela

Thanks to all the students who spent the weekend with me–it was fun!

And then there were the show quilts!

Here are a few of my favorites in no particular order:

Go Green by Linda Evans - Road to California 2018

Go Green by Linda Evans – Road to California 2018

I loved the colors and lines in Go Green by Linda Evans, above.

 

Devil's Due by MJ Kinman - Road to California 2018

Devil’s Due by MJ Kinman – Road to California 2018

I had the good fortune to meet MJ Kinman last September when we were both in Ohio filming our segments for Quilting Arts TV–we’re even in the same episode! Check PBS for listing in your area, or visit https://www.quiltingcompany.com/quilting-arts-tv-series-2100/ to order your copy of the entire season.

 

Dark Matter by Jenny Emry - Road to California 2018

Dark Matter by Jenny Emry – Road to California 2018

I love Jenny Emry’s work above-she’s been creating improvisationally since before improv was cool! And she’s a member of my guild in Virginia.

And I was fortunate to have a small piece in the show myself–Pastel Impressions:

Pastel Impressions at Road to California 2018 - Cindy Grisdela

Pastel Impressions at Road to California 2018 – Cindy Grisdela

I made it large so you could see the stitching, but in reality it’s just 14″ square.

The only drawback was I came home with the flu–so I’ve been in bed most of the week! This has been my view–it’s times like these that I really miss my cats who used to keep me company when I wasn’t feeling well. Thankfully I’m feeling much better now.

 

My workspace this week - Cindy Grisdela

My workspace this week – Cindy Grisdela

 

Thanks for reading to the end of this long post and I love to hear your comments, as always!