Houston, Houston

Let me just say – GO! If you ever have a chance, you will not regret it. Our 3 days were roughly divided into a day of classes, a day of quilt exhibits and a day of shopping. Hardly enough.

The Houston International Quilt Festival displays the best of quilting, with the best teachers, and hundreds of vendors with unique (i.e. enticing!) items from all over the world. 1700 quilts. 45 special exhibits. 120 teachers. 500 classes. 1100 vendors.

In competitive quilting, this quilt won Best of Show. It is called Reflections of Cape Town, by Cynthia England. Spectacular!

In the category of Abstract Art, Leah Gravells (from Edmonton) won for her piece called Summer Solstice.

Another winning quilt I enjoyed was Birds Fly by Barbara Lies. It is held together by tubes of fabric (you can see her fingers through the tubes)

Special exhibits included categories such as Christmas Memories, African Expressions, Fly me to the Moon, In Celebration of the Doll, Millefiori quilts, and so many more.

The largest was ‘Specimens’ by Susan Carlson. Susan has collected specimens of endangered, extinct and not-widely-familiar species as subjects for quilts.

I loved this sign was posted in ‘For the Love of Linens’ exhibit. Most of the time we are not allowed to touch or take pictures. This time it was different.

The most unusual quilting was showcased in the ‘Cowboys, Horses, Quilting and Leather’ exhibit. Quilted leather by Cathy Wiggins.

On a personal note, here is Grand Illusion done by Beth Nufer, quilted by Clem Buzick of Fargo North Dakota. I had the pleasure of meeting Clem a few months ago so it was nice to see her quilting in Houston.

Vendors also had some very nice display quilts. I noticed many used Swarovski crystals. What do you think about that? Would you put crystals on a quilt?

In terms of purchases, I did buy a few rulers and other quilting gadgets but to be honest it was a little overwhelming. The first day we called it quits after the 2nd isle. The next day I started at the end and worked backwards. There may have been some in the middle that were missed altogether. But here was my favorite find. A thimble. It is from Thimbles by TJ Lane. A new form of jewelry.

My creative juices are feeling like they have had a major dose of sugar. Or coffee. Maybe both. But first I need to finish projects I was working on prior to this trip.

Next week I will share pictures of our quilting cruise. Have a great week!