Pleasanton Craft Show

Today I met up with my friend Tekoa at the Pleasanton Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival being held at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA. We got there the first day about one hour after opening and it was packed! I was glad to see this show's resurrection since the COVID pandemic really curtailed the extent of many of these events; happily they are surging back.

My goal for the show was to buy other green fabrics that would work for the face of Frank per my previous post dated 9/24/25. I also was determined not to buy any more kits. Kits are a weakness of mine. I was only going to add fabrics to my stash that really spoke to me. When I get home from a show like this, my habit is to I challenge myself to remember everything I bought without peeking. I silently chastise my self (mildly) that if I cannot remember an item I really did not want it and it was an impulse purchase. I am not too hard core about this philosophy, because I also maintain that indulging a few of our impulses is what keeps us happy. Nevertheless I try to recall what I bought; picturing where I bought it helps. I look at the map of the vendors and try to match that with my receipts. Here is my spreadsheet to jog my memory. Seeing the overview I categorize items by type of purchase.

Fabric type purchases
I did indeed meet my first primary goal and get more green fabrics for the face of Frank. I added to those, a yard of red and white stripe. I find I do use this graphic stripe as a basic, or for binding especially around Christmas time. The magenta and teal fabrics with white line drawings I will admit was an impulse buy. They called to me. I got one yard each. But to my credit, I did not buy them in the other colorways of royal blue, aqua, peach, purple, black, orange, or red. On the selvage, I noted that they are Patt 1319 Cameo by Allison Glass for Andover Fabrics ©2024. If I do get desperate, I may be able to get the other colors. I show a few of the colors I did not buy.

Panel type purchases
Even though I have a drawer crammed full of fabric book panels to make up, these two seasonal panels appealed to me. The colors are so soft and calming. My grandkids are beyond cloth books but I can make these pages into a quilt, graphic novel style, by separating "pages" with sashing as in my 11/20/2014 Mitten Graphic Novel post. I can also make them into placemats as I did in my 12/17/2018 Twelve Dogs of Christmas post or my 12/26/2018 Twelve Cats of Christmas post.

The soft colors of this Santa panel also seemed to whisper to me to buy it. I think the gentle bunnies in the lower portion did the urging. I also include a photo from the web showing the entire panel. This will inspire, test, and develop my FMQ skills

Not all the panels I caved over were soft and subtle in coloration. My tastes can be very eclectic. I saw this orange pumpkin and starting searching the booth for the fabric. Its siren call to me was so loud, I was about to ask the vendor if I could just buy the pillow, all made up. The vendor had five related pillows made up. Then my friend Tekoa found the panel with the funky characters on it to sew and stuff. I snatched it up.

Tool and pattern purchases
In making up my 9/21/2025 Bees and Sunflowers Banner, I embroidered the antennae on the bees and renewed my interest in stitchery, hence my interest in this redwork pattern. For my own quilting, I liked the pattern with sheep each having a different detailed mini-block in its body. At another booth I found a charm to go with the yes, yet-to-be made, quilt.

Each of the redwork ornaments are about 3" tall. An enlarged view of a bird ornament shows it to be interesting enough yet uncomplicated enough to perhaps encourage a young sewist to be successful. I thought it might provide small enough projects to perhaps interest my granddaughter. That is why I bought an embroidery hoop and scissors to go with it. A small perk is that the investment in floss only needs to be one color.

Here is a full size image of the Down the Lane pattern. Once I got it home I noticed it is by Lamb Farm Designs. This is the same designer of the Make it Merry wreath I am thoroughly enjoying assembling on a monthly basis. These are the posts of my progress on that pattern: 6/14/2025 Make It Merry Month One, 6/21/2025 Make It Merry Month Two, 8/16/2025 Make It Merry Month Three. This quilt may be a noble goal for an Easter quilt. Easter can be much more than bunnies and chicks.

I had a fun outing with my friend. I did not come home with any more kits, only with lots of inspiration and enthusiasm for some fun future projects. Lately I have been completing smaller projects and found the satisfaction is very joy-inducing indeed. Not all endeavors need to accommodate a king size bed! Buying, in moderation, is also a mood booster in its own right. It was a great day.

Visit to Back Porch Fabrics

Even though my husband and I had just visited Quilts by the Bay on Friday May 2nd, I was in no way deterred from the desire to admire and drool over yet more fabric. A local quilt shop met that need. Back Porch Fabrics on 218 Grand Avenue is a bright, cheery quilt shop in Pacific Grove that I make every effort  to visit anytime we are on the Monterey Peninsula. On Saturday, right after the morning's Good Old Days parade, my husband and I made a stop there. There is a bench right inside the front door so my husband can relax. He makes himself comfortable while he subtly grins and listens to the banter among the two helpful ladies in the shop and me. He joins in the conversation here and there, of course. He is not merely eavesdropping; he is enjoying watching me be happy.

Note the panel on the back wall and the logo of the shop. A fair amount of the fabric is locally special, pertaining to the ocean life in the area. I kept an eye out for that. I try to buy fabric in moderation considering the size of my stash at home. I need little. I want lots. Instead I aim to focus my purchases on quilting related stuff other than just material.

Based on the locale and closeness to the otters of  Monterey Bay, I could not resist buying a one yard piece of this otter fabric. I intend to make it into a small tote bag. I also have good intentions of quickly whipping up (wishful thinking, I know) this cute otter stuffed toy. I could not pass up the pattern. And patterns are not more fabric, right? Especially, if I use it to dwindle down my stash...

I was very much drawn to the Alison Glass quilt on the wall. My grandson, turning 10 years old this July, is into archery and takes lessons. This pattern called Feathers reminds me of the tail end of an arrow. I can visualize it in boy colors in his room. I bet sewing up that pattern would make a slight dent in my stash.

In terms of not-fabric, I picked up these cute tape measures, one for me and one for my quilting daughter. They have a soft, cushiony, leather feel, so nice to touch and hold.

Ok. I could not get out of the store without a least one piece of fabric that I bought on impulse, with no project in mind, just cause I liked it. I convinced myself that I have very little florals in my stash so I was addressing a void.  I bought two yards of this Moda fabric called flower patches. (The otter fabric purchase does not count because it has a predetermined use.)

The friendly sunny atmosphere in this store made it a joy to shop here. I will definitely re-visit Back Porch Fabrics when I am in the area. I live about two hours north in the San Francisco Bay area so it will be a little while before my return. But, I will be back!

DVQ Show "Autumn Renewal"

Saturday, September 21st, I went to the Diablo Valley Quilters 2024 Quilt Show Autumn Renewal in Walnut Creek with my friend Kathie. In addition to showcasing quilts of its members, the show also featured a Fabric Follies where cloth was available at the bargain price of $4/yd. I counted 88 quilts on display. In this post I will show only my favorites, the top 10% that appealed most to me, in no particular order. Then I will reveal my purchases at the Fabric Follies.

The Quilts
This Christmas quilt was appropriately titled Happy Christmas as it did indeed scream happy to me. The story behind how it was made up from a gradual collection of scrap blocks of trees was creative and inspiring. This approach gives me permission to make up random blocks just because I feel like it and because I've accumulated scraps that I think go together. I resolve to have faith. All will work out.

The next three quilts all have a modern feel to them and are destined for donation to youth in foster care. The first, Intertwine, interested me in the blocks that have either one, two, or three stripes and then capitalize on that with the graded colors on the diagonal. All the straight lines are complemented by a swirling quilting pattern. The second quilt, Elements, once again is very angular but the rigidity is set off by the flowing parallel wave quilting, effective, simple, and requiring a lot of patience. The third quilt, Paint Box, reminded me of a fabric color chart, so naturally it appealed to me due to the association. The quilt pattern was not dense and yet was oh-so fitting. I enjoyed the intermingling of circular and angular stitching lines — kind of like a clever hybrid of Bishop Fan and Grecian Key.

I Love Us Year Round appealed because of the bright colors and assortment of block patterns. It also showcased a variety of techniques in block creation.

Whirligigs reminded me of a quilt I made for my daughter and her husband. I was bemused that it lingered in the creator's stash just as mine had done. Whirligigs has a kaleidoscope appearance in each block made from four identical rotated quarters, a sort of Stack and Whack technique.  My quilt that it brought to mind was call Masquerade but more regularly referred to by me as The Quilt From Hell. Masquerade was completed in October 2020. My daughter had been married in 2011 and that is how long that hexagonal quilt was in the making. I could truly relate to Maryann Maiorana and the amount of effort involved; I gave Whirligigs my "Heartfelt" vote at the poll of the show.

Christmas in Baltimore got my WOW vote at the show. The block detail brought out by the exquisite quilting was truly WOW.

Pretty Polly was the last quilt I viewed in the show. It was modest in size. I do not have exact dimensions but, for scale, that clothespin is 3½" long, so I estimate the height at about 30". What gave me inspiration about this wall hanging was how effective the echo quilting around the bird was. I am always on the lookout for FMQ techniques I can add to my repertoire that enhance the quilt and yet are still within my skill limit. Hopefully my skill limit is an upwardly moving target, but progress is relatively slow. The beading and embroidery details on the bird are also pretty awesome. These intricacies are, however, a bit beyond my patience level.

My Bargain Purchases
You can't get more of a bargain than free, and I picked up these two patterns as giveaways. I liked that the Round Trip Duffle has a back strap to fit over a luggage handle. The Sunshine pattern by Elizabeth Hartman is sweet and I can see making just one row as a table runner or one block as a pillow. The Sunshine pattern uses conventional patchwork. No templates or paper piecing! Both should be small, fun projects to complete relatively quickly with fabrics I already have.

At $4/yd this stack of five fat quarters was $5. I am not overly fond of the black, large scale feature fabric but the mottled solids in red or yellow and the stripes in multi-color or black will easily get used.

These ten fat quarters of buffalo plaid flannels could make five great burp cloths for a baby for the bargain price of $10. I enjoy making these quick projects and often finding good quality flannel in a cute-but-not-insipid print is challenging. In 2015, I made 42 burp cloths! I made 42 more in May of 2017! 

These pretty two-tone florals in one-yard lengths caught my eye. I may use them all together in one project but I think they are versatile enough to be separated and blended with other prints. They are from different colorways of Tula Pink's TRUE COLOR series, pattern Wildflower by Free Spirit. They are very pretty fabrics and at $4/yd what a bargain — $24 for 6 yards!

This next collection of three ½ yards on the far left are from Kaffe Fassett and are titled Shark's Teeth. These are fun to use when a spot of nearly solid fabrics are called for and I want to be a bit risqué. To the immediate right of the Sharks' Teeth is a ½ yard length of a large scale print that would make a whimsical pillow or large scale blocks in a small quilt.  To the far right is 2½ yards and ½ yard of a large scale graphic reminiscent of Alice In Wonderland ; this fabric yardage could be useful as a backing. I show the ½ yard large scale print and the 2½ yard graphic Alice in Wonderland opened up in the follow on photos. 

I learned from the selvage that the delightful birds birds nestled among vines is from the art work of Monika Forsberg and the collection of Anna Marie's Conservatory.

Monika Forsberg was born in a seaside town in the very north of Sweden, where it was almost always winter. She moved to London to study art, became an animator and a mum. And later on an illustrator. Her work has appeared in magazines and books, and on children’s apparel and gift products.

I also learned of Anna Marie's Conservatory, which is a fabric collection made from the works of various artists. Among these artists are Anna Maria, Carolyn Gavin, Courtney Cerutti, Monika Forsberg, and Nathalie Lete. I will admit I am ignorant about these artists and of Anna Marie's Conservatory, but I plan to learn more. I like the colors and style of many of these fabrics.

This fabric is a Tula Pink design and titled Down the Rabbit Hole. Note that it is printed cross grain, the selvages run above and below the print when the trees are oriented up and down. I will need to keep this in mind if using it as a backing. The extra half-yard I picked up may help out in piecing if necessary.

The DVQ Autumn Renewal Quilt Show with accompanying Fabric Follies was not only a fun, social, experience, but also a source of inspiration for techniques and fabrics. I have some new ideas to try out in my FMQ. I also have some new artists to watch out for in fabric purchases.

Delta Quilters Show Favorites

Saturday, August 10th, Frank, my friend Kathie, and I went to the Delta Quilters Guild annual show in Brentwood, CA. This is favorite show of mine because the quilts, although exquisite and creative, are not so extreme as to be discouraging. They are inspirational. I take many pictures (this time over 70 photos) and then share them via drop box with my daughter who lives in Oklahoma. I did not photograph the entire show, which contained 153 quilts, but only those quilts that struck me and those I wanted to discuss with my daughter over the phone.

Show Quilts
The featured artist was Jean Wallace, herself a member of the Delta Quilters Guild. This dandelion was my favorite quilt of hers. I also loved her write up about dandelions. I never knew they were so versatile. I enjoyed blowing the seeds with my children and was a bit saddened when they were viewed as an annoying weed. The definition of a weed is "an unwanted plant", and I always thought those yellow flowers were pretty, not unwanted.

Several of the guild members had taken a class on making tuffets. I was impressed by the ones that were displayed at the show: one in red/white/black, one in jewel tones, and one with matching quilts and pillows out of Laurel Birch fabric.

I am very fond of Laurel Birch fabrics and so this set of tuffet, pillow, and quilts by Vika Cherkashyna drew my attention, the tuffet and pillows in particular.

The simplistically graphic animal heads in Colorful Safari were very striking and I was wowed by how effective the echo quilting was around the faces. The quilter had a pattern for the giraffe but she generated that elephant head on her own.

Midway through the show I went to check on my husband, Frank, who had found himself a comfy chair in which to read. He was in good company with three other men with the same idea. My husband is the closest guy in the foreground, holding the book. Normally Frank walks the show with me, but he only did part of it this time due to aching feet. He rejoined me toward the end. Hmm... these guys kind of look related, but they are not. Must be the characteristic appearance and stance of a quilter's husband. 

The paper piecing on Just Dandy was appealing and the colors were fresh and bright.

Along a back hallway were very large and very intricately pieced and quilted entries. I was in awe of Fire Hosta, a Judy Niemeyer Fire Island Hosta paper pieced pattern. I could admire it, but learning it was over two years in the making, I realized I would not be motivated enough to attempt something of that magnitude.

Aloha reminds me of a bundle if six Hawaiian fabrics in one yard cuts I have been saving for a Hawaiian shirt quilt. I liked the interspersed stars o f Aloha. I also like 9 patch blocks, so I might intersperse them as corners stones instead when I make my quilt. Then again, one yard is a large enough amount I could make the shirts bigger and fewer of them. Hmm... decisions, decisions.

Show Purchases
I went to this show pretty adamant I would buy NO KITS since I have so many waiting in my stash. My last kit audit was my 1/17/23 post and totaled about fifteen. I succeeded in buying NO KITS at this show, although I did look longingly at these three.

I bought only one yard of fabric, a bargain at $4, convincing myself my stash had little to no florals. A show guest giveaway, I got two free fat quarters from a color wheel spin.

I bought two patterns. The one on the left sucked me in because I have a weakness for checkerboards and stars. The one on the right I wanted to complement a wall hanging on canvas we own. I thought it might be fun to make it for this Christmas and hang it near the screen print shown in the following photo. 

Our stellar unique purchase was this table with the yardstick top.  A close-up of the top follows. This side table was one of the first items I spotted at the beginning of the show. I was instantly attracted to it and so was my husband. We agreed in unison right off to snap it up. The vendor held it for us til we were ready to leave and Frank carried it out to the car. After all, he is the CEO of DianeLoves2Quilt. He Carries Everything Out.