ByAnnie.com sponsored a Bag Challenge at Road to California 2018.Participants submitted their finished bags to compete for cash and prizes which were awarded during the show.
The judges were delighted at the 31 entries and had a difficult time choosing the top five prize winners. Here are the winners along with the judge’s comments: 
Karen’s original design received $400 from sponsor Road to California. Karen has used her bag for numerous family reunions. The bag carries plates, wineglasses, wine bottle, silverware. napkins, placemats, potholders, serving spoon, & napkins. A unique feature is that she used elastic ponytail holders for the expandable side closures and the bow is a separate pattern that consists of bias strips sewn and turned over yarn.
Comments from judges: The silverware set on the front button is awesome! This bag is incredible! Bias strips OVER YARN are perfectly done. Amazing. Never would I have guessed this was not commercial cord. Well done!
Mirla used a Cecile Franconie pattern to showcase her large collection of African fabrics. This jewelry bag has pockets for make-up as well as jewelry.
Comments from judges: Love the Bohemian feel of this bag, with its intricate and unusual construction. Love the bells, charms and special gold stitching. Great use of different fabrics, and nice, consistent mix of textures.
Amy was looking for a way to use up her stash when she created this bag. It was inspired by a 1950’s style vacation souvenir tablecloth and two leftover garment sewing fabrics, red wool and blue/white striped cotton. Recycling these materials helps Amy remember memories of past trips.
Comments from judges: Very interesting! Love the wool (stunning) and rivets. Good fussy cutting. Very well made! Love the special pocket inside.
Kathy loves to wear backpacks when exploring and traveling. She has an RV and travels throughout the US in it. Backpacks free up her hands and can carry a lot of things. The train case bottom separates items for easy location. It also has a convertible strap that can be changed from backpack straps to a cross body or over the shoulder style bag.
Comments from judges: Beautifully made and perfectly done. Great job with all the zippers. Love the cork-bottom and fabric combinations. The cording in seam is beautifully done!
Rebecca gives lectures on her quilts to local quilt guilds as well as teaches Orange Peel machine applique. She needed something to hold the money she gets for selling her patterns as well as her iPad when she is doing her presentations and came up with this idea to showcase her skills with this purse.
Comments from judges: The Trapunto flowers are gorgeous! 5 stars on the cotton, lining and quilting. Love the Orange Peel design. Good contrast. Beautiful!
Road and ByAnnie.com will be sponsoring another bag challenge soon. Start thinking about your designs and styles and stay tuned for details. 
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Posts Tagged ‘ByAnnie.com’
Trending: Award Winning Bags
Friday, April 13th, 20182018 Bag Challenge: How Do You Use Your DIY Bags?
Friday, June 16th, 2017Making bags is a very popular sewing trend. How do you use the bags, totes, purses, and caddies you’ve made?
One great way to use your DIY bags is on a Road to California 2018 bus trip. Organized and led by The Traveling Quilters, Road is once again offering two unique, all-day bus trips to add to your Road to California experience. Bringing along your specially designed DIY bag is the perfect way to hold souvenirs, personal items and of course, fabric, picked up along the way on one of these excursions.
The Traveling Quilters’ experienced guides, Pam Overton and Lynn Crawford, have been in business for 27 years and have conducted over 200 quilt related tours. Experienced quilters since the 1980’s, Pam and Lynn have been familiar with Road to California every year since it started. Pam and Lynn handpick the locations they visit which include historical sites, delicious restaurants, and of course, quilt related shopping.
The bus trip on Wednesday, January 17th will include a stop at the headquarters of Robert Kaufman Fabrics where travelers will have the opportunity to hear firsthand about how Kaufman’s beautiful fabrics are conceived and manufactured. Robert Kaufman Fabrics offers an extensive supply of cotton prints, novelty fabrics, yarn-dyes and solids, covering a full assortment of woven fabric offerings such as poplin, twill, denim, corduroy, linen, canvas, crepe, voile, lawn, satin, georgette, flannel, organza, chenille, stretch woven’s, plaids, stripes, etc. Lunch will be on your own at the world-famous Original Farmer’s Market followed by stops at the Quilt Loft quilt store and at historic Graber Olive House, both located in Upland.
Then on Monday, January 22nd, the bus tour will be headed south of the Ontario Convention Center to Orange County and Hoffman California Fabrics. Guests will learn about the latest designing and distribution of Hoffman’s famous batiks and other lines of fabric as well as get a complete tour of their facility. This opportunity is especially significant as Hoffman does not allow individuals to come on their own to their site.
Following the Hoffman tour, the bus will continue on to the Mission San Juan Capistrano for a tour and lunch in town. Before heading back to the Convention Center, the bus will make one more stop at Quilter’s Cocoon in Riverside.
Registration for the bus tours begins with the regular Road 2018 class registration in early July.
Whether you’ve used your old DIY bags, totes, purses, and caddies you’ve made on tours, around town, or on a trip, we really hope your planning on making a new bag to enter in our 2018 Road to California Bag Challenge sponsored by Road to California and ByAnnie’s Soft and Stable®.
“On The Road Again” is intended to enlarge the circle of Road’s traditional quilt competition, offering a total of $1,200 in cash and merchandise prizes to the top winners. For complete rules and instructions, please visit our website.]]>
Road 2016 Bag Challenge
Tuesday, August 11th, 2015 Have you caught the latest handbag trend? Here’s a way to join in — and possibly earn a great prize!!
Road to California, ByAnnie.com and ByAnnie’s Soft and Stable, have partnered to sponsor the Road to California Bag Challenge. Cash prizes and merchandise totaling $1,000 will be awarded for purses or bags made from Road’s 20th Anniversary Commemorative Fabric, designed by Alexander Henry Fabrics.
Bags or purses can be any size or style, uniquely designed or made from a pattern and can include other fabric, embellishments, hardware, or stabilizers. Entries will be juried and the winners, along with a few additional selected entries, will be displayed at Road to California’s 2016 show.
What are the prizes being offered for the Road to California Bag Challenge?
Best of Show: $400 Cash Prize from Road to California.
1st Runnerup – $300 gift certificate from ByAnnie.com
2nd Runnerup – $200 gift certificate from ByAnnie.com
3rd Runnerup – $100 gift certificate from ByAnnie.com
The deadline for the contest entry is October 1, 2015. Rules and the official entry can be found on the Road to California and ByAnnie.com websites.
You can order the exclusive Road to California 20th Anniversary commemorative fabric online at Road’s store. The fabric is a limited printing and will not be reprinted, so be sure to order early. 
Looking for ideas to design your bag? ByAnnie.com featured some great bag designers on their blog who shared their expertise and inspiration. Check out these fabulous designers including Annie from ByAnnie.com, Kat from StudioKat Designs, Trisha from Trisha Jane, Sam from Hunter’s Designs, Marcea from Abbey Lane Quilts, Ginnie from Wonder Woman Quilts, Nancy from Pink Sand Beach Designs, and our very own Carolyn Reese.
Good luck. We can’t wait to see what you come up with.
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Let’s Get Organized With Bags
Thursday, March 19th, 2015 Annie Unrein, owner of ByAnnie.com, knows a lot about keeping things organized. For one, she used to be a Certified Public Accountant. Having order was her life then and continues today. She has a special interest in keeping her home organized, especially her sewing room. 
Fifteen years ago, Annie’s passion for organizing led her to create patterns for bags that keep things organized not only around the house but when traveling too. Annie developed an online class on the web site, Craftsy, showcasing how to make her travel bags. It became apparent very quickly that other people saw the value of being an organized traveler, as over 9,000 people signed up for Annie’s Craftsy class in just the first six months!!
At her Road 2015 class, Let’s Get Organized, Annie offered 3 Top Tips for making useful, fashionable, and efficient handbags, purses, and organizer bags:
[caption id="attachment_2994" align="aligncenter" width="597"]
Photo by Gregory Case Photography[/caption]
1) Handbag Zippers are a must!! Clothing zippers are not wide enough, long enough, or sturdy enough to hold up to all the constant opening and closing.
2) Proper Zipper Form. Sewing a zipper in your project is not like how you did it in HomeEc. The best way to put a zipper in a project:
∙ Make sure the zipper is all the way shut
∙ Lay the zipper face down on top of the fabric, allowing it to hang over on both ends
∙ Stitch zipper down with a ¼” seam
[caption id="attachment_2993" align="aligncenter" width="598"]
Photo by Gregory Case Photography[/caption]
∙ Turn zipper over and finger press the zipper tape so that it lies flat. Stitch again along zipper tape
3) Vinyl is Versatile. Vinyl is a great addition to handbags, purses, and organizer bags. Always use heavy, 16 gauge, premium weight vinyl, 50 weight polyester thread, and a 90-14 topstitch needle (the eye is twice as big). There is no need to change the stitch length on your machine. To avoid static when sewing vinyl, use the tissue paper that comes with the fabric as a backing between the fabric and the sewing machine. Simply tear away when you are done stitching.
Annie, along with Road to California, is sponsoring the Purse and Handbag Challenge. Using Road’s 20th Anniversary fabric as the foundation, participants are encouraged to use their imagination in embellishing their designs.
With spring just around the corner, there is no better time to get organized around the house and for upcoming trips. Sewing handbags, purses, and organizer bags – using Road to California Fabric – is a great way to start!!!
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For Your Shopping Pleasure: The Road To California Online Store Is Now Open!
Monday, March 2nd, 2015We get lots of requests for Road to California merchandise, after the show has closed. Not wanting to disappoint our dedicated roadies, we’ve opened the Road to California Online Store
This is the only place to purchase one-of-a-kind Road to California souvenirs, show CD’s, and the specially commissioned Road to California 20th Anniversary fabric.
The 20th Anniversary heavy oxford fabric is the foundation for the Road to California Tote Bag & Purse Challenge, sponsored by Road to California and ByAnnie.com with $1,000 in cash prizes being offered. Purchase the fabric in our store and design a one-of-a-kind bag or one from a designer, adding other fabrics, embellishments, hardware or stablizers. Rules and entry blank will be available starting March 15, 2015 on the Road to California and ByAnnie.com web sites.
Shopping for the anniversary fabric and other Road items is easy. Simply go to the store website, click on the items you want to purchase, and fill up your shopping basket
Checking out is fast and hassle-free. Let us know if you will be picking up your order at our office (ready in 30 minutes for no extra charge Monday through Thursdays, 9:00 a.m. to 2 p.m.) or want us to send it to you for a flat $5.00 fee. Before checking out, you can also write us a note if you have any special requests.
There are two options to use when you pay. Either create a Square account to save time for future shopping trips or sign in as a guest for one time purchases.
We are so excited about our new store, that we are offering a special code for you to receive Free Shipping on any purchases made March 2nd through March 7th, 2015. Enter FREESHIP2015 at time of purchase and all items will be sent for no added cost.
Save and Shop for the items you’ve been wanting at Road to California’s online store. See you there!!
]]>Road 2015 Faculty Spotlight: Meet Annie Unrein
Monday, October 6th, 2014 Annie will be teaching three evening classes: 4074C Cosmetic Clutches on Thursday; 5074C Project Bags on Friday; and 6075C iCases on Saturday.
Personal: Annie Unrein was born in Hereford, Texas, the second of five girls. She has two grown children, a son and a daughter. Her son is a CPA/MBA who along with his wife, work with Annie at ByAnnie.com. They are expecting Annie’s first grandchild in the spring.
How did you get started in quilting? Both of my grandmothers were quilters and I loved the look and feel of the quilts that they made. Neither of them lived close enough to teach me how to quilt, so I taught myself by studying the quilts that they’d made me and by reading the limited articles about quilting that were available in the early 1970s.
Does anyone else in your family quilt? I share my interest in quilting with several cousins. My cousin Cindy (who lives in Ojai, California) and I reconnect at Road to California every year!
Where do you find your inspiration for your projects? I now primarily use quilted fabric to make purses and bags to organize my quilting supplies. Seeing a mess and figuring out how to clean it up and organize it serves as inspiration for many of my patterns!
What is the one sewing tool you can’t live without? My trusty stiletto/pressing tool helps me hold pieces in place as I sew, protects my fingers, and enables me to attach beautiful bindings. I feel that it is every bit as important as a rotary cutter!
What has been the best class you have taken? Learning how to use Electric Quilt software opened up a world of design and exploration to me. Working through the lessons in the various EQ books really helped me to understand the many facets of the program.
What do you like best about teaching? I love showing students how to break down a project into manageable steps so that they can make projects that look like they bought them rather than like they made them. . . and seeing the pride on students faces when they finish a professional-looking project.
What is the funniest or most embarrassing moment that you’ve had while you were teaching? I taught EQ classes at a state-wide guild event several years ago. There were so many students registered for the class that tables were packed from wall to wall. There was no easy way to get around them, so I had to crawl under the tables and around the cords to help people who had questions!
What is your best tip for quilters? My best tip that applies to quilting can also be applied to just about anything in life: If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you can’t. Go for it with confidence!
What do you hope your students will get out of your classes? Students will leave my class with the confidence to install zippers in purses and bags and the skills to use ByAnnie’s Soft and Stable in their projects.
You can find Annie at: https://www.byannie.com
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